Friend of Hemlock Hat

by Meredith Ramirez from aknittingblog.com

This hat was born on the train on the way to a wedding. I was intending to knit another one of Jared Flood’s Hemlock Ring Blankets, because I knitted it as my wedding present and loved it so much that I wanted one of my own. But I realized when I got ready to cast-on that I had forgotten how to do the invisible cast-on the pattern calls for. So I ended up starting this hat, which has the Feather and Fan pattern from the Hemlock with my own random hat ideas thrown in. It was early February and I was starting to think of spring, and wanted to make a hat I can wear during the transition period. I also like the pairing of the Feather and Fan with a rib because it produces this interesting alternation of curved and flat lines at the brim. Finally, I wanted to make a hat that had three sides so it would look different from the back compared to the front, so the pattern is divided onto three rather than four needles. Best of all, this is a super-quick knit: I started it the day before the wedding and finished it the morning after an entire day of wedding festivities. I even had time to take some pictures with it on before we left.

Yarn

1 skein (250 g. and 478 yards) of Cascade Ecological Wool in Shade 8018. This is enough for at least three hats.

Gauge

Note that this gauge is for unstretched fabric.

20 stitches x 26 rows using larger needles for small hat in Feather and Fan pattern

18 stitches x 24 rows using larger needles for medium hat in Feather and Fan pattern

16 stitches x 22 rows using larger needles for large hat in Feather and Fan pattern

Tools

1 set of 4 or 5 7 or 9-inch double-pointed needles in each of the following sizes:

US size 8 and 9 (5 and 5.5 mm) for adult size small (19-21.5” circumference)

US size 9 and 10 (5.5 and 6 mm) for adult size medium (21-23.5” circumference)

US size 10 and 10.5 (6 and 6.5 mm) for adult size large (23-25.5” circumference)

or size needed to obtain gauge.

Note: 16” circular needles can be used instead of double-pointed needles until the beginning of Row 42.

Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Abbreviations

k: knit

p: purl

k2tog: knit 2 together

yo: yarn-over

Rib / Feather & Fan Pattern

Row 1: p1, (k1,p1) twice, k2tog 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, k2tog 3 times. Repeat twice more.

Row 2-4: p1, (k1, p1) twice, k18. Repeat twice more.

Note: This pattern gets modified for the decrease rows near top of hat. Please follow the instructions accordingly.

Instructions

Using long-tail cast-on or your preferred method, CO 69 stitches and divide onto three of the smaller dpn’s (23 stitches on each needle). Join, taking care not to twist yarn.

Row 1-8: k entire row.

Row 9: Switch to larger needles and k entire row.

Row 10: k entire row

Row 11: p 1 row

Row 12-13: Knit last two rows of Rib / Feather and Fan Pattern.

Row 14-41: Knit Rib / Feather and Fan Pattern seven times, or to desired length.

Decrease row:

Row 42: p1, k2tog, p2tog, k2tog 4 times, (yo, k1) twice, k2tog 4 times. Repeat twice more. (45 stitches)

Row 43-45: p1, k1, p1, k12. Repeat twice more.

Decrease row:

Row 46: p1, k1, p1, k2tog 3 times, yo, k2tog 3 times. Repeat twice more. (30 stitches)

Row 47-49: p1, k1, p1, k7. Repeat twice more.

Decrease row:

Row 50: p2tog, k2tog 4 times. Repeat twice more (15 stitches)

Row 51-52: p1, k4. Repeat twice more.

Decrease row:

Row 53: p1, k2tog twice. Repeat twice more. (9 stitches)

Break yarn, leaving a 12” tail. Tie the end of the yarn to a tapestry needle, pull it through remaining stitches once, and then through the hole at the top of the hat. Keep pulling until the hole closes. Weave in all ends. Block to desired measurements. Note that the lace pattern relaxes after blocking so the hat will seem too short prior to blocking. If you would like to customize according to your own measurements, make sure to measure using your blocked gauge swatch rather than by how the hat measures while you’re knitting.

Now you have a Friend of Hemlock Hat. It’s especially cute if you have a Hemlock Ring Blanket to go with it!

This pattern is protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike License. Pattern may be redistributed but not resold without the author’s permission. Please attribute the author if the pattern is reused or adapted. For more information, visit www.creativecommons.org.