Whit's Knits: Simple Pleasures Hat

Treat yourself to the simple pleasure of Jade Sapphire's Cashmere Silk. It's just one of those yarns that fills you with deep satisfaction, so sumptuous and alive!

Also, enjoy how easy this hat is knit. No fussy stitch patterns and no double pointed needles! Perfect for holiday travel or for a weekend at home with a few good rentals. Simple pleasures are the best! --Whitney

ps. If the yellow mittens are catching your eye, check out last March's EZ's Mitts entry - it's a great time of year to be thinking about mittens!

Materials

• 1 ball of Rowan's Kid Silk Haze, 70% super kid mohair, 30% silk (This color is "Majestic", #589.) (For more color options, consider Alchemy's Haiku mohair/silk blend. The equivalent gauge of Kid Silk Haze, it's a beautifully hand dyed alternative.)

• 1 skein of Jade Sapphire's 2 Ply Cashmere-Silk, 45% cashmere, 55% silk. (This is color is "Tea Leaves".)

• A US #8 16 inch circular needle

• A US #9 16 inch circular needle

• A tapestry needle

The Pattern

Gauge

4.75 stitches = 1 inch in stockinette stitch, using the larger needle and 1 strand of cashmere silk and 1 strand of mohair

Finished Size

18 inches in circumference, unstretched. To fit an average woman's head.

Note

For this pattern, I call the Cashmere Silk "Yarn A". (It is doubled for the cuff.) I call the Mohair "Yarn B". (For the crown, one strand of Yarn A is combined with with one strand of Yarn B.)

To double Yarn A, either wind the skein into two balls and pull one strand from each ball. Or, wind a center-pull ball (by hand or, more easily, on a swift) and pull one strand from the inside of the ball and one from the outside.

Cuff

Using 2 strands of Yarn A, cast 92 stitches onto the smaller needle.

Join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches. Place marker to indicate the end of the round.

Round 1: *K2, p2, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Round 1 until the piece measures 6 inches from the cast on edge.

Crown

Cut one of the strands of Yarn A and add one strand of Yarn B (so that you're knitting with one strand of A and one strand of B).

Change to the larger needle, and knit every round until the crown measures 7 inches from the top edge of the cuff.

Next Round: *K21, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (88 stitches)

Knit 2 rounds.

Next Round: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (66 stitches)

Knit 2 rounds.

Next Round: *K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (44 stitches)

Knit 2 rounds.

Next Round: *K2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (22 stitches) (This round will be a litle tight on the circular needle. Feel free to switch to double pointed needles if you want, but I didn't find it neccessary.)

Cut a 12 inch tail and thread it onto a tapestry needle.

Thread the tail through the remaining 22 stitches.

Remove the circular needle and pull the tail tight. Thread the tail through the center top to the inside of the hat.

Weave in all the tails. (Remember to weave in the cast on tail on the right side because the cuff will be worn folded up.)

The hat looks a little funny...

...but starts to look a little less funny when you fold the cuff...

...and then looks totally cute when you put it on!

Comments

[Diana]

I think this is so pretty, yet simple. Its a great idea to use the two different yarns.

[Calia]

Awesome job Whit! It's beautiful! I can't want to make this!!!

[ina and gumby]

whit' ... it's a deliciously beautiful hat ... what color is the koigu kpppm of the sweater ... and when did that get whipped up?! ... ;) ... kisses ... kisses ... kisses ...

[Steph]

Very nice pattern! And yes, totally cute when you put it on! Can't wait to make this one. :)

I loved the mittens in March, and I still love them now! Might have to get started on some of those, too. Thanks for the post!

[Beste]

Thank you for the pattern. The hat looks very nice and the pattern seems easy. I have been following your blog for a little while. Thanks for the nice posts as well.

[Jen.]

Love the hat and am anxiously awaiting everything to be back in stock at Purl to make it! Just lovely...

[Carolanne]

Beautiful project... this will be my holiday indulgence. Can you tell me what pattern you used to make your sweater?

[kim]

I love this hat. I made it really fast in just one day. It's so cozy. Thanks for the great pattern!

[Natalia]

I love it, I think I might make it for somebody as a Christmas gift!

[Chris T.]

Lovely!

[saz]

this is so great! its cute, fancy and easy (looking, im such a beginner!) all at once :D thanks for the pattern!

[Nicole]

Could you please tell me what pattern that sweater is from and the yarn too...Thanks

[becky]

Has anyone made this hat for a man? Would it just be and inch or two more in circumference?
Thanks,

[purl bee]

Hi Becky,
Yes, that should do it! Good luck!

[becky]

Thank you so much.

[Max]

I love this more and more. It is indeed simple - and beautiful.

[marianna]

im giving it a shot with dpns and a more chunky yarn. why the pattern uses #8 needles if the yarn looks so thin in the picture? if it comes out nice im gonna use the cashmere blend im saving for something special since im a beginner and i dont wanna make a mess with it.

[annie]

wow! this is such a great pattern! so simple and really beautiful. i made this hat in just a couple of days, and though mine is chunkier and a lot less elegant than yours, it's still really cute! i made mine with stripes and i put a big pom-pom on the end. it's a great winter hat because it's really warm. thank you so much!! :)

[LP]

Il est vraiment très joli ce bonnet et il a l'air très confortable.

[Lydia]

I'm a bit of a beginner and am a little confused with using two strands of the same yarn--do you cut the whole skein in half, do you just double it while making it into a ball? I can get my head around knitting with two SEPARATE yarns, but I'm getting a little confused with two of the same. :)

[purl bee]

Hi Lydia,
The easiest way to do it is to make a ball where you can pull from both ends of the yarn at once (this is most easily accomplished by winding the ball on a ball winder, you pull one strand from the outside of the ball and one from the center). If you can't do this, you can instead wind two balls of the yarn and pull one strand from each ball. You won't need to make two equal halves, maybe one ball that is approximately 1/3 of the total length and the other approximately 2/3.
Hope this helps!

[Lydia]

Thanks so much! I ended up doing the two balls and I'm finishing up the cuff tonight which is great because tomorrow is my day off and we just got a lot of snow here in Massachusetts, so now my head can be warm and cozy!

[molly]

Sorry, this is probably common knowledge, but what's the purpose of knitting the band of the hat on a smaller needle, and then the rest on a larger needle?

Thanks!

[tbell]

I just finished this for a friend's birthday, and I don't think I'll be giving it to her. I put it on to see how it looked and I don't want to take it off even long enough to weave in the ends. It is so cute and incredibly comfortable - thank you!!!!!!

[Heather]

How does a doubled up lace weight work on a size 8 needle? I tried this and it looks nothing like it. What am I doing wrong?

[purl bee]

Hi Heather,
Without knowing what yarn you are using, or being able to check your gauge, it's going to be a bit of guesswork to help you figure out what is wrong. But here are a few pointers to help you get going in the right direction:

Make sure that you are getting the required gauge, which is 4.75 stitches per inch in stockinette. If your gauge is looser, you will need to go down in needle size, if it is tighter, you will need to go up in needle size.

The other issue is that one of the yarns that Whitney used is mohair which "blooms" when it is knit, filling in the space between the stitches. So you'll want one of your yarns to have this property.

Please let us know if this helps, or if you need further assistance.
Good luck!

[Rita]

Hi, want to know pattern for the sweater, yarn and color for the sweater too, thanks, Rita

[purlbee]

Hi Rita,

The sweater is just a simple raglan that I knit up without a pattern, although if there is enough interest I may have to write it down and post it!

The yarn I used was Koigu's KPPM which is here: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/409-Koigu-Wool-Designs-Koigu-Painters-Palette-Premium-Merino-KPPPM . I no longer know which color it was exactly, and unfortunately it can be very hard to find an old Koigu colorway - sometimes they make a color only once!

Thank you for your questions!
Whitney

[anon]

I want to make this with just one ball of yarn, is this possible? Would I use a worsted to get the same effect just with plain wool?

[purlbee]

Hi Anon -

I'm not sure whether your one ball is long enough to make the hat. I would guess that you'd be safe with 200 yards of yarn, so check your label to see if you have enough.

And, sorry to say, I'm also not sure whether your worsted will work. It depends on whether it's a light or heavy worsted. The gauge of this pattern is 4 3/4 stitches to the inch which is a light worsted weight. I recommend doing a gauge swatch with what you have to see if it will work. Here's our tutorial on knitting gauge swatches: http://www.purlbee.com/swatch-tutorial/

Good luck and thanks for your question!
Whitney

[erica]

This pattern is super easy, if not a bit boring to knit, and turned out great. I used Lion Brand Amazing yarn in Olympia (wool/acrylic blend) instead but followed the pattern otherwise and it turned out lovely, with just the right amount of fuzz that you got from the mohair. I like that since the yarn I used has bands of subtle color changes it added some interest to the plain stockinette. Since the pattern is so basic I can see how it's perfect to show off a beautiful yarn. Thanks so much for sharing this pattern, I can see this becoming a favorite hat!