Designed & Knit by Laura Andersson,
CPY “Sock Guru” and Sirius Knitting Publications

Inspiration: Well, you know what they say about peanuts and potato chips – bet you can’t eat just one! I had soooooooooooo much fun with my new argyle sock design link that I decided to try a hat!

Materials:
1 - 50 gm ball Mochi Plus #561 baby face [A];
1 – 50 gm ball Plus Solid #1500 natural ecru (or 1 - 50 gm ball Merino 5 #5204 natural ecru) [B]

Crystal Palace Bamboo needles - 16" circular US size 7, or size required for gauge; set of 6 inch DP size #6 for crown; large eyed tapestry needle or crochet hook

Gauge: 5.75 sts per inch (23sts/10 cm) over St st on larger needles

Size: Woman’s med-large (~22 in head circumference)

Abbreviations:
CO- cast on; dpn- double pointed needles; K- Knit; Kfb - knit into front & back of stitch; K2tog - knit 2 sts together; P- Purl; rep - repeat; St st - stockinette stitch; YO - yarn over; PSSO - pass slip st over; rnd(s) - round(s); st(s)- stitch(es); tog – together; SSK – SL-1 st, Sl-1 st, slide tip of left ndl under the 2 SL-sts and K2tog.

Instructions:
With 16" Circ and color A, cast on 108 sts. Join, being careful not to twist.
Place marker. P 1 rnd.
Join color B and work in corrugated rib (K2A, P2B) for ~ 1 in.
Inc 4 sts in last rnd evenly: *(work in K2AP2B rib pattern for 26 sts, now Kfb into same st). Repeat around [112 sts],
Inc rnd: K1 rnd with A only and inc from 112 to 136 sts thusly: *(K3, Kfb) repeat around until last 16 sts. [Check count, 24 increases = 136 sts]
Begin Argyle Motif 1
(Legend: white boxes = Color B; lavender boxes = Color A).


Notes: 1. Be careful not to carry yarn across long distances; the non-working strand should be caught up
~every 2-3 sts. 2. Loose stranding is also necessary for a good fit – you may wish to go up one needle size.
3. Place a marker at the beginning of each new motif to help in keeping track.

Argyle Motif 1

After completion of the chart, the hat is ~ 4 in from cast on edge.
Now begin Argyle Motif 2, being careful not to forget the color B sts between each motif.
Leave your markers in place from the previous chart to assist.

Argyle Motif 2

After completion of the 2nd chart, begin crown decreases while working Argyle Motif 3.
Change to the 1-size-smaller dpn as needed. The dec Sts are worked at the beg and end of pattern rows, so the pattern is not disrupted.

Argyle Motif 3

Legend


 

Notes:
1. using dpn that are 1 size smaller keeps the crown neater with all the decs.
2. the black boxes are there to show “no stitch”.
To illustrate: the first two rnds of Argyle Motif 3 are written out: Rnd 1: With color B only, K around.
Rnd 2: *(SSK, K2B, K1A, K3B, K1A, K3B, K1 A, K2B, K2tog, move marker), repeat around.
Note that the chart for Rnd 3 does not have a stitch any more in positions #1 & 17 of the motif.
St count at end of Argyle Motif 3, 88 sts.

Now work Argyle Motif 4.
 

At the end of Argyle Motif 4, 40 sts remain.
Cut color B and work the remainder with color A only.
Final dec rnd 1: *(SSK, K3), repeat around. K 1 rnd.
Final dec rnd 2: *(SSK, K2), repeat around. K1 rnd.
Final dec rnd 3: *(K2tog, K1) repeat around.
K2tog around.

Finishing
Cut the yarn, leaving an ~8 in end. With a crochet hook, pull the yarn through the sts one at a time, dropping each off the needle. Pull tightly to close; tuck end inside.
Finishing: Work in all ends. Try a crochet hook for this - no need to thread needle & is fast.
After completion of a knitted item with colorwork, a gentle rinsing helps even out the stitches. Run lukewarm (barely warm) water into sink basin, and gently dampen hat completely. rinse hat. With towel, pick up hat carefully and roll hat to remove excess moisture. Do NOT wring or twist!. Change to a 2nd towel and roll if necessary. With a dry third towel, lay hat flat and gently shape.

P.S. If you have cats, as I do, put a towel on top of the drying hat, as otherwise it is an irresistible attraction.
P.P.S. Even when a yarn says machine-washable, my special hand-knit items are rarely, if ever, machine-washed.

Designed and knit by Dr. Laura Andersson