The 500 Hat Projects continues this morning with a striped offering. I had small balls of light and dark blue shades of the same yarn which individually couldn’t make a whole hat but were enough to combine to make a large hat. I really want to include some striped and other multi-color creations this year so this is a first effort. As with all the 500 Hats Projects so far, this is from the acrylic bins so it’s either a Caron’s, Paton’s , or Red Heart Yarn.

Although I love the finished hat, I wasn’t thinking through whether a hat with some yarn-overs was the best idea for warmth. The bonus is that the yarn overs apparently hide jogging. So if you – like me – struggle with jogging when knitting stripes in the round, you’ll love the way this pattern looks. That being said, I may do this basic pattern again but in lieu of having the yarn overs and associated holes, I will try a different increase method to not have the lacy element.

The pattern is a simple repeat of 12 stitches. I used 96 stitches on US 8 needles with made a hat that when un-stretched is 19″ around (it could easily fit 22″ head). If I were to make the hat for myself, I would decrease the number of stitches to 84 to make a slightly smaller version.

Recipe below the fold.

Hat No. 6 Pattern:

• Cast on 96 stitches with first color. Join in the round, being careful not to twist your stitches.
• Knit the brim in the first color: 8 rows of knit 1, purl 1 rib
• Add the second color of yarn. You’ll alternate the two row pattern repeat with the two colors.
• Knit the body of the hat using the following two row pattern for a total of twelve repeats (24 rows total).
  • Row 1: *k1, yo, k4, sl1, k2tog, psso, k4, yo* repeat to end
  • Row 2: knit all stitches
• Crown decreases (if using a circular switch to dpn’s when needed, I needed to at row 6):
  • Row 1: *k1, yo, k4, sl1, k2tog, psso, k4, yo* repeat to end
  • Row 2: *k5, sl1, k2tog, psso,  k4* repeat to end
    • The decrease is a continuation of the same decrease from the rest of the body
  • Row 3:*k1, yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo* repeat to end
  • Row 4: *k4, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3* repeat to end
  • Row 5: *k1, yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo* repeat to end
  • Row 6: *k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2* repeat to end
    • This should be a first color row (dark blue in the sample). Cut the first color, leaving a 6″ tail to weave in later.
  • Row 7:  *k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1*
  • Row 8: *k1, sl1, k2tog, psso,*
  • Row 9: knit around
  • Row 10: ssk around
  • Cut yarn and thread through remaining stitches to bind off.