Whit's Knits: Simple Pleasures Hat
For this hat, I wanted to use the most luxurious fibers I could get my hands on and to let the yarn speak for itself by keeping the shape casual and the design simple. Jade Sapphire's 2 Ply Cashmere Silk answered the call. Doubled for the cuff and combined with a laceweight mohair (Rowan's Kid Silk Haze or Alchemy's Haiku) for the crown, the Cashmere Silk is one of Purl's gems. It is unbelievably soft and supple; it's beautifully hand dyed; its materials are of unparalleled quality; and it's surprisingly affordable. Whenever I knit with it, I spend as much time admiring what I've knit as I do actually knitting!
If you've never knit a hat before, this is a wonderful place to start. You will learn to knit in the round (with circular needles), but can delay the dreaded double pointed needles because they're not necessary for this pattern. Even if you've knit hundreds of hats, this may be welcome news!
To get started, please visit keep on reading. If the yellow mittens are catching your eye, check out last March's EZ's Mitts entry - it's a great time of year to be thinking about mittens! -Whitney
Updated: A New Simple Pleasures Hat
To make the version of this hat posted on August 30, 2012, you will need the following materials. Please note, the needles are smaller than in the original pattern. Over the years, thanks to the feedback of our wonderful readers, we found that dropping down a couple of needle sizes is a good idea. Cashmere blooms quite a bit with wear, so at first, the 14 1/2-inch circumference may seem a bit small, but after a wear or two, it will feel just right!
- 1 skein of Jade Sapphire's 2 Ply Cashmere in the color Ivory.
- 1 skein of Alchemy's Haiku, 40% silk and 60% mohair, in the color Platinum.
- US #6, 16 inch circular needles
- US #7, 16 inch circular needles
Original Simple Pleasures Hat: The Materials
- 1 ball of Rowan's Kid Silk Haze, 70% super kid mohair, 30% silk (This color is "Majestic", #589.) (For more color options, consider Alchemy's Haiku mohair/silk blend. The equivalent gauge of Kid Silk Haze, it's a beautifully hand dyed alternative.)
- 1 skein of Jade Sapphire's 2 Ply Cashmere-Silk, 45% cashmere, 55% silk. (This is color is "Tea Leaves".)
- A US #8 16 inch circular needle
- A US #9 16 inch circular needle
The Pattern
Gauge
4.75 stitches = 1 inch in stockinette stitch, using the larger needle and 1 strand of cashmere silk and 1 strand of mohair
Finished Size
18 inches in circumference, unstretched. To fit an average woman's head.
Note
For this pattern, I call the Cashmere Silk "Yarn A". (It is doubled for the cuff.) I call the Mohair "Yarn B". (For the crown, one strand of Yarn A is combined with with one strand of Yarn B.)
To double Yarn A, either wind the skein into two balls and pull one strand from each ball. Or, wind a center-pull ball (by hand or, more easily, on a swift) and pull one strand from the inside of the ball and one from the outside.
Cuff
Using 2 strands of Yarn A, cast 92 stitches onto the smaller needle.
Join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches. Place marker to indicate the end of the round.
Round 1: *K2, p2, repeat from * to end of round.
Repeat Round 1 until the piece measures 6 inches from the cast on edge.
Crown
Cut one of the strands of Yarn A and add one strand of Yarn B (so that you're knitting with one strand of A and one strand of B).
Change to the larger needle, and knit every round until the crown measures 7 inches from the top edge of the cuff.
Next Round: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (69 stitches)
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: *K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (46 stitches)
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: *K2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (23 stitches) (This round will be a litle tight on the circular needle. Feel free to switch to double pointed needles if you want, but I didn't find it neccessary.)
Cut a 12 inch tail and thread it onto a tapestry needle.
Thread the tail through the remaining 23 stitches.
Remove the circular needle and pull the tail tight. Thread the tail through the center top to the inside of the hat.
Weave in all the tails. (Remember to weave in the cast on tail on the right side because the cuff will be worn folded up.)
The hat looks a little funny...
...but starts to look a little less funny when you fold the cuff...
...and then looks totally cute when you put it on!
November 26, 2008
Reader Comments (54)
I loved the mittens in March, and I still love them now! Might have to get started on some of those, too. Thanks for the post!
Thanks,
Yes, that should do it! Good luck!
The easiest way to do it is to make a ball where you can pull from both ends of the yarn at once (this is most easily accomplished by winding the ball on a ball winder, you pull one strand from the outside of the ball and one from the center). If you can't do this, you can instead wind two balls of the yarn and pull one strand from each ball. You won't need to make two equal halves, maybe one ball that is approximately 1/3 of the total length and the other approximately 2/3.
Hope this helps!
Thanks!
Without knowing what yarn you are using, or being able to check your gauge, it's going to be a bit of guesswork to help you figure out what is wrong. But here are a few pointers to help you get going in the right direction:
Make sure that you are getting the required gauge, which is 4.75 stitches per inch in stockinette. If your gauge is looser, you will need to go down in needle size, if it is tighter, you will need to go up in needle size.
The other issue is that one of the yarns that Whitney used is mohair which "blooms" when it is knit, filling in the space between the stitches. So you'll want one of your yarns to have this property.
Please let us know if this helps, or if you need further assistance.
Good luck!
The sweater is just a simple raglan that I knit up without a pattern, although if there is enough interest I may have to write it down and post it!
The yarn I used was Koigu's KPPM which is here: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/409-Koigu-Wool-Designs-Koigu-Painters-Palette-Premium-Merino-KPPPM . I no longer know which color it was exactly, and unfortunately it can be very hard to find an old Koigu colorway - sometimes they make a color only once!
Thank you for your questions!
Whitney
I'm not sure whether your one ball is long enough to make the hat. I would guess that you'd be safe with 200 yards of yarn, so check your label to see if you have enough.
And, sorry to say, I'm also not sure whether your worsted will work. It depends on whether it's a light or heavy worsted. The gauge of this pattern is 4 3/4 stitches to the inch which is a light worsted weight. I recommend doing a gauge swatch with what you have to see if it will work. Here's our tutorial on knitting gauge swatches: http://www.purlbee.com/swatch-tutorial/
Good luck and thanks for your question!
Whitney
I would LOVE to have the pattern for the Koigu raglan sweater! as pictured here. It looks like it is so cute with the Koigu yarn. Even though the original yarn lot is not available, there are plenty of beautiful choices. I have used Koigu in the past, but not for a sweater. I love this yarn.
Thank you!
I am wondering which cast on method you used for this hat? Thanks to you and all the folks at Purl Bee for putting together such a nice blog! This is one of my very favorite places to visit on the Web.
All the best,
Angela
Both the yarns for the New Simple Pleasures Hat are available! You can click on the yarns listed at the top of the post or on the links listed below.
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/614-Jade-Sapphire-2-ply-Cashmere
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/1025-Alchemy-Haiku
Thanks,
Laura
Even though I was eight months pregnant in that photo, that sweater sprung right back into shape, and I still wear it and love it! Koigu is amazing!
I knit this sweater without a pattern, but you could easily replicate it with Ann Budd's fabulous book, The Knitter's Hand Book of Sweater Patterns: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/597-Interweave-Press-The-Knitters-Handy-Book-of-Sweater-Patterns . It has basic patterns for five sweater types (drop shoulder, raglan, yoke, saddle shoulder and set in sleeve) in tons of sizes and gauges. That's how I learned to make my own sweaters, and it's a great place to start!
Thanks for asking!
Whitney
Although I know some people get fancier when a ribbing is involved, I almost always just use a simple long tail cast on!
Thank you for your question!
Whitney
Any thin fingering weight or a substantial lace weight yarn would work. Swans Island Fingering is a good choice:
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/6281-Swans-Island-Fingering
As is Anzula Sebastian:
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/8197-Anzula-Sebastian
Thank you for writing in!
Molly
I am also planning to knit the new smaller-needle version. I love this hat!
How many skeins of KPPPM do you think are needed for a sweater like the one you are wearing on the photo? I know the answer can't be too precise, but I am just wondering if it is around 10 or 15 or???
All best and thanks,
ida
You could try a little light felting which is caused more by agitation than hot water actually. So try popping it in the washing machine for a few minutes of the wash cycle. Check on your hat's progress very often, there's no going back!
Thanks for your question. I hope it works out!
Whitney
No, not that many! I think I used 7 skeins for about a 38-inch chest. I also knit it a little bit loose at 6 stitches to the inch or so. It sounds like you already know this, but just a little warning that nothing is more upsetting than not having enough Koigu! It's so difficult to find more of your same colorway, and when you do, it often looks really different. So, buy more than you think you'll need, don't wind it all into balls, save your receipt and exchange what you don't use!
Thanks for asking!
Whitney
If you'd like to use your larger needles we'd suggest finding a different pattern. You can browse all of our free hat patterns here: http://purlbee.squarespace.com/hats-knitting/
Thank you for writing in!
Molly
Just curious. I'm working on a similar hat but with fingering weight yarn -- CO 144 sts and I'm wondering if I can decrease similarly to this pattern and how to work the math on that... Thanks for any insight you can provide!
Four years later, I honestly cannot figure out why I started the crown with that round of k21, k2tog! Although I suppose no harm comes from making those four decreases, they really aren't necessary, and I intend to streamline the pattern.
And to answer your other question, starting the crown with K2, k2tog decreases and ending with lots of stitches is a rapid decrease that does create a bit of a gathered top, which I like for this style of hat (that part was intentional!).
Thanks for your intelligent question! I'm so glad you pointed me in the direction of a very valid improvement!
Whitney