Basic fair isle HAT

 

This is a new pattern for my Basic Hats collection. The heart-shaped stitches of contrasting color make this hat look so joyful! They are accomplished with the use of the fair isle technique, which might seem a bit scary and complex from the first glance. But if you start learning it from something easy - like this hat - you’ll fall in love!

Chunky yarn makes this knit really fast, and two-colored design gives endless possibilities for color combination. You can adjust the pattern to another yarn, change the size or length of the finished garment, add a pompom or skip this step (if someone can actually do that!).

The pattern contains links to the video tutorial that makes the process more easy to understand.

 
 
 

YARN

  • Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick&Quick (80% acrylic+20% wool, 6 oz./170g, 106 yds/97 m).

  • Main color: light pink (Blossom) 3oz./85g;
    Contrast color: natural white (Fisherman) 0.7oz./20g + 1oz./28g pompom

  • Possible yarn substitutions: KnitPicks Biggo, Cascade Yarns Lana Grande, Loops&Threads Cozy Wool, Nako Spaghetti, YarnArt Alpine

NEEDLES

  • US 10 ½ (6.5mm) circular needles for ribbing, length with the cord 16”/40cm

  • US 11 (8mm) circular needles for the hat, length with the cord 16”/40cm

  • You might need to use the needles of one size up/down in order to obtain the same gauge. You can also use 5 double pointed needles instead of the circular ones.

NOTIONS

  • 1 stitch marker
  • Tapestry needle
  • Pompom maker (optional)
  • Scissors

GAUGE

  • 10 sts and 14 rows in 4”/10cm in Stockinette stitch worked in rounds.

FINISHED SIZE

  • 11”/28cm high with the brim down, 8.7”/22cm high with the folded brim (can be changed to any desired)

  • Covers all the circumferences from 15”/37cm to 24”/60cm depending on how much stretched
 
 

Pattern

 

CAST ON

Cast on 49sts with the smaller circular needles and yarn of main color (MC, pink) using Long Tail Cast On.
Combine sts in a round, knitting the first and the last stitch together. 48sts left on the needles.
Place the marker to show BOR.
If you are using double pointed needles, divide sts on them evenly: 12sts on each.  

RIBBING

R1: (k1, p1)x 24 times or until the BOR marker.
R2-7: as R1.
There will be a total of 7rnds of ribbing. The height of this part of the hat has to be approximately 2”/5cm.

BODY OF A HAT

R1: k all 48 sts along the next rnd on the same needles to make the ribbing more distinct.

After reaching the BOR marker, switch to US 11 (8mm) needles. Attach yarn of contrasting color (CC, white).

R2: (k1 in CC, k3 in MC)x 12 times or until the BOR marker.
R3: k all sts in MC
R4: k2 in MC, (k1 in CC, k3 in MC)x 11 times or until 2sts left to the BOR, k1 in CC, k1 in MC
R5: k all sts in MC

Repeat R2-5 for 27 rnds total. Total height has to be now appr. 11”/28cm.
Here, if you want your hat to be more high, you can keep knitting until the desired height (don’t forget that in this case you’ll need more yarn).

The video tutorial:

 
 

TOP OF A HAT

R28: In the next rnd, k2tog 24  times or until the BOR marker. 24sts left on the needles.
Cut the yarn leaving 8”/20cm tail. Insert the tail in a tapestry needle.

FINISHING

Gather all 24sts on the tail of yarn with a tapestry needle. Pull the tail to tighten the hole.
Make a pompom out of the light blue yarn. Attach it to the hat. Weave in ends. Enjoy!

 
 

This pattern has a page on Ravelry where you can get more inspiration and share your finished knits: