Description: This warm and cozy hat has a rolled stocking knit brim, a textured seed stitch body, and a flat spiral crown. It is knit with any yarn or yarns (I have used up to three yarns held together), in any size, or any gauge.

Pattern: This is a recipe/calculated type of pattern. It allows you the freedom of creative knitting. You can make adjustments to the pattern to make a hat that you want and not one that is confined to a specific yarn or gauge or size. For instance, using bulky weight yarn makes for a broader rolled brim. By knitting more of the body you can adjust where the hat will lie on your head, i.e., above, at, or below the ears.

Yarn: This hat lends itself to any type of yarn. I think the hat looks better in bulky weight but I often can’t find the color or weight of yarn I want. So, I end up using two or three yarns held together as I knit to obtain the fabric I have in mind. I’ve used mohair mixed with a wool or alpaca to get the gauge I want on size 8-10 needles. I’ve used Cascade 220, 220 supper wash, Cashsoft, Lamb’s Pride worsted and bulky, Aurora 8, kid seta, and thicker mohair blends, silks, and left over yarn mixed and matched.

Needles: The size depends on the yarns you use and the fabric thickness you want. If you want a soft floppy hat knit it loosely on larger needles. If you want a dense fabric that is wind and water resistant knit it very tightly on smaller needles.

Size: You must make a swatch, otherwise you will not know how many stitches you’ll need to cast on. Measure the head of the person you want to make the hat for. Multiply that number by the number of stitches per inch you got from your swatch. That number will be the number of stitches you cast on. For instance, your head circumference is 20 inches and you have a gauge of 5 stitches per inch. You multiply 20 by 5 to get 100. Now you cast on 100 stitches and start knitting. Easy huh.

Misc: You will need 1 marker for the beginning of the round and 5 more markers for the decrease rounds (total of 6 markers). You will also need a needle or crochet hook to weave in the yarn tails.