Free Hat Pattern Knit in “Mad Hatter”

In need of a hat pattern that was fun to knit, I began to search my favorite patterns which are saved at Ravelry. Many hat patterns are simple enough to knit up quickly. The Colorado Chic(k!) Beanie looked interesting, and it could be knit in a heavy weight yarn – and it’s free!

I just happened to have a colorful Madison (aran) yarn from Miss Babs in the fun colorway “Mad Hatter“. It would work beautifully.

Miss Babs Mad Hatter colorway — This hat knits up quickly in bulky yarn

Colorado Chic hat pattern in Miss Babs yarn — Simple knits and purls make up this interesting hat pattern

When the decrease rounds begin, it helps to place a marker just after each K2tog. Then, instead of counting the stitches, just do the K2tog just before the marker. Once the stitches are on the DPNs, use the end of each DPN as a marker. When you get to the end of the needle, knit the two last stitches together.

using DPNs to finish the top of the hat — It helps to mark the decreases with markers

I bought this yarn quite a while ago, just because it was pretty. Yes, once again I had made an impulse buy. I’ve tried to find a pattern this yarn would work for, but have had no luck. Variegated yarns can have lovely colors, but knitting them up to look good can be a challenge.

A Good Beginner Hat Pattern

The Colorado Chic hat is nothing more than knits and purls and K2tog to decrease at the top. I think it’s a great beginner hat pattern. If you can cast-on, do knit and purl stitches, and manage double-pointed needles for the crown area, you can knit this hat.

The easy version is to knit a 1×1 rib as I did and not make it double. The pattern explains how to do a double-thickness cuff, but I did not bother. I don’t think you need it when using heavy weight yarn. The double cuff is the only part that might be tricky for a beginner.

I used the Old Norwegian cast on. By alternating knit and purl rows, texture is added as the hat progresses. If you look at the works of previous knitters of this pattern, you can see that some changed colors along the way. A self-striping yarn would work too, but one skein of 140-200 yards is all that is needed.

The pattern changes from a size 8 down to a size 7 needle. Often a brim will be knit smaller than the hat itself, so you’d go up a needle size, not down. The reason could be because of doubling up the cuff. Next time I would choose to switch those needle sizes.