I know I started writing about this hat in the fall and should have gotten this pattern out ages ago, but I was once again the victim of my own lack of organization.
I lost my notes.
There, I said it. I’m a hot mess. I was so excited when I was making the hat that I didn’t really make great notes and the ones I did make, I lost!! Maybe I can blame the fact that I’m living in a limbo place where I don’t have a dedicated craft space? No, I can’t even do that because I have dedicated some drawers for my craft things. I didn’t even learn from previous experience with losing loose pieces of paper with my notes. What can I say, I’m a work in progress.
This hat, however, is not! After working back through the hat and an amazingly quick test knit by Amanda from The Calm Nook Crafts (you can see some photos over here on her Instagram), it’s ready to go!
I know it’s almost spring in most parts of the world, but it’s winter somewhere, right? It also gives you lots of time to get a jump on gifts for next Christmas! Oh, quit groaning, it will be here before you know it!
I’ve worn this hat a lot this winter and it was perfect for the average winter day here in France. It was cold but not super freezing most of the time and the Stone Washed yarn, which is a cotton / acrylic mix, was perfect for that kind of weather. Unlike my Black Brook Beanie, this hat wasn’t designed to be really warm, rather, the hat you wear when it’s cold enough to need one, but you know you’ll sweat to death in any of your heavier winter hats.
This is a great design for beginners who have been eager to try fair isle, but find themselves intimidated. I made sure to make this as beginner friendly as possible by making sure there are no more than two colours per row and that you don’t have to carry the yarn too far between colour changes. This may look complicated but it’s actually a great project for those who are new to this type of knitting.
This is a one size fits most hat which is made up of a four time repeat of 30 stitches. As I mention in the pattern, if you want to resize it, my first suggestion is to adjust your needle size as adding / removing stitches, unless you repeat the full 30 stitch pattern, may result in matching issues in the back.
If you know someone with an exceptionally huge head (hehe) you could also try using a slightly larger needle with Stone Washed XL! I haven’t tested this but if you do, be sure to let me know how it goes!
I hope you enjoy this pattern, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to ask! Don’t forget tag me on Facebook or Instagram if you make the hat as I would really love to see it.
If you would like to add La Benaize to your Ravelry queue, you can find it here!
This design is made with Sheepjes Stone Washed yarn. You can find a list of retailers that sell it here on the Scheepjes website. It is also available worldwide via Deramores and Wool Warehouse*.
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Hi, what length circular needles should I use?