Cinnabar Hat

Pattern now available!  The rich detail and color of carved cinnabar were the inspiration for this hat (for the coordinating scarf pattern, see the December 2006 issue of Magknits).  I used a modification of the "Double Ribbed Mock Cable" (DRMC) from Barbara Walker's 4th Treasury of Knitting Patterns.  In the pictured hat, the stitch pattern is used both horizontally, for a wide band which wraps around the head, and vertically, from band to crown, but directions are also included for a hat without the horizontal band, which omits the somewhat time-consuming step of picking up stitches along the band.

DIFFICULTY: Intermediate; skills include provisional cast-on and grafting (both optional); picking up stitches (for pictured version); increases, decreases and reading chart.

MATERIALS:  Sundara Yarns hand-dyed DK Silky Merino (50% silk/50% merino wool; 250 yds/229 m per 100 gm skein); #012; 1 skein. Yarn available here;for substitutions try Blue Sky "Alpaca & Silk"; Anny Blatt "Kanpur" (100% silk); Knit Picks "Elegance" (alpaca & silk).1 set US #5 / 3.75 mm double-pointed (dp) needles OR SIZE TO OBTAIN GAUGETapestry needleOptional:  1 16-inch circular needle, US #5/ 3.75 mm OR SIZE TO OBTAIN GAUGE; smaller needle(s) for picking up stitches along band.

SIZES & MEASUREMENTS: S:  14 in/36 cm unstretched; up to 18.5 in/47 cm stretchedM:  16 in/41 cm unstretched; up to 21 in/54 cm stretchedL: 18 in/46 cm unstretched; up to 24 in/61 cm stretchedWear one size up for a looser fit; size L hat pictured on size M head.

Pattern notes:  Directions for provisional cast-on and grafting may be found in Vogue Knitting, the glossary of Interweave Knits, or in a number of other knitting resources.  When picking up stitches around band to purl, insert needle through edge stitches from back to front instead of from front to back.

Click here to purchase pattern ($3.50) as an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file.

Edited to add:  My test download of the pattern is not working; I'm hoping it's just my slow internet connection, but any purchasers, please let me know if you have any trouble downloading.

Edited (again):  downloads seem to be working fine--but of course contact me if you have any trouble.