This pattern is designed especially to help reduce your small amounts of leftover yarn. Many knitters, including myself, have a lot of little bits of yarn hanging around, am I right? What to do with them? Put them in a basket to gather dust?

Here’s a fun option. Make a colorful, warm hat to keep or give as a special gift and bonus, it doesn’t cost a thing. This is a great chance to play around with colors and to try different combinations. Like a scrap quilt, you will be reminded of past projects as you knit along.

Pattern Notes
This pattern starts at the brim, casting on in the round, and continues with 2-color knit/purl ribbing. The body of the hat consists of purl ridges, with simple knit rounds and stranded knitting in-between. The crown is divided into 8 sections and decreased to completion. An optional tassel can be added, or other desired embellishment.

Start by gathering enough yarn scraps to complete the hat. You can use commercially made yarn or your own hand-spun. Make sure they are all a similar DK/8-ply/worsted weight. Separate yarn by general color groups; 3-5 different color groups are ideal for this project. For the hat shown in the photo, I chose purples, greens, pinks and golds. Choose colors with good contrast with each other for a bolder look; colors closer together in tone will create a more subtle effect.

How and where you use your colors will determine the final look. No two hats will turn out the same and it’s an interesting process to watch it take shape; it will often be different than what you expect. That’s the fun of this pattern!