A hat born out of frustration over being left with several half-used skeins of single ply yarn, and a love for gradients. The hat is meant to be made from as many (or as little) different fingering weight yarns that you have left in your stash, creating bands of color and texture much like a stratified rock or soil deposit from which the name is derived. I designed it to be worn inside-out, as I love how speckled and wildly variegated yarns look on the reversed side of a stockinette fabric, and the purls contrast beautifully with the change in texture to the folded k2p1 rib. Two color variations and three sizes are included in the pattern and a row-chart is provided for easy calculating of your own preferred color designs.

Size and finished measurements
S (M) L for head circumferences measuring 20,8”(22,4”)24”/52 (56) 60 cm. The size is meant to be worn with a 1”/2,5cm negative ease, and after blocking it’s a comfortable ‘hugged’ fit. The height of the hat is 7,2”(8”)8,8”/18 (20) 22 cm, but easily customizable by adding or removing rows in the body section. Each size has a 3”/7.5cm ribbed hem. If you want a tighter fit, consider going a size down, adjusting height if needed.

Skills required
Knitting in the round on DPNs, circular needles, or magic loop; increasing; decreasing.
Gauge
After blocking (4”x4”/10x10cm):
Rib (2.75mm needles): 40 stitches x 21 rows
Stockinette (3.25mm needles): 26 stitches x 40 rows
Materials
Yarn: Single ply fingering weight yarn, any little leftovers from your stash will work. The exact amount of yarn used depends on the amount of colors used, but in total you should have around 43 (51) 60 grams of yarn. Take into consideration that you need more of the colors in the ribbing of the hat, and less of the color in the crown.
Both examples shown here were worked with the Cozy Merino from WalkCollection. For the three colored version I used the colors:
A: Grunge Peach
B: Grunge
C: Frosted Moss
For the five colored version I added the colors:
D: Limestone
E: Metal Dust
Needles: 2.75mm for ribbed hem, 3.25mm for body. I work with the magic loop method, in which case you will need a circular needle of at least 32-40”/80-100cm circumference. Otherwise use a 16”/40cm circular for the rib and main body, switching to DPNs when the circumference gets too small. All DPNs is also a possibility of course.
Other: 8 stitch markers and a tapestry needle for weaving in the ends.