Foggy Noggin Hat in Spincycle Dyed in the Wool

Spincycle Yarns is a small company producing pretty hand-dyed and hand-spun yarn up in Seattle.  We recently welcomed Dyed in the Wool to our shop, and I knit up a hat for you all.

The yarn has such a great squish and bounce, with a few thick-and-thin spots.  It is millspun in a small mill using fiber from the Spincycle folks.  The resulting yarn has so much hand-spun character, but not the hand-spun price.  I love the look of this yarn in the skein.

But I love the look of it all knit up even more.

I tried to use up as much of the yarn as possible while I was working on this hat, but I ended up with enough to knit maybe another half and inch of stockinette before the decreases.  I love the deep 2x2 rib, but you can do more or less as you please.

I like it slouchy or folded over...it's totally up to you.  The sizing is very generous, thanks to the ribbing, so one size fits pretty much anyone over the age of three.  I used a centered double decrease on the crown.  It sounds scary, but it's not, I promise.  It creates these nice straight seams the run up to the top rather that the spiral you get with the k2tog method.

I really enjoyed working with this yarn, and I love the hat.  Mine is currently living at the shop, so I might need to make another for these foggy mornings.  Enjoy the pattern!

Foggy Noggin Hat

by Leah Bandstra

Yarn: 1 skein Spincycle Dyed in the Wool (Tangled Up in Blue)
Needles: US3 16" circular and US3 dpns
Notions: 8 split ring stitch markers (one of a different color)
Finished Size: one size fits most adults
Gauge: 6 stitches per inch

Instructions:

CO 128 stitches.  Join in the round, being careful not to twist, and place marker.  

Knit 2, purl 2 all around.  Continue this way until piece measures 5.5".

Work in stockinette (knit every round) until piece measures 8.5”.

When you begin the decrease section next, you will need to mark individual stitches, so you will need split-ring stitch markers or several short lengths of yarn that you can wrap around an individual stitch.

Set up: Place a marker on the stitch (not on the needle) every 16 stitches (on stitch 16, 32, 48, etc.).  It helps if your beginning (or end)-of-round marker is a different color from the other three.  Your hat is now divided into eight sections of 16 stitches each.

*Knit to 1 stitch before the next marked stitch.  Remove the marker.  Slip two stitches together from the left to the right needle (as if you were about to knit 2 together), knit the next stitch on the left needle, and pass the 2 slipped stitches over the one you just knit.  Place your split-ring stitch marker back onto the stitch (not on the needle).*

You have just completed a centered double decrease (CDD), which is what creates those nice clean lines running up the crown of the hat.

Repeat between the *s at each marker.  Your last decrease will be at the beginning-of-round marker.

Knit 1 round even with no decreases.

Continue to work this way: work 1 round with CDDs at each marked stitch, work 1 round even with no decreases, until 16 stitches remain. You will need to switch to the double-pointed needles (or magic loop) when the stitches are too stretched out.

As you are working the decreases, they should line up, creating the “seams” on the crown of the hat.  If they aren’t lining up, then you are doing your CDD in the wrong place.  Make sure you are placing your stitch marker in the correct spot.

Break yarn, leaving about a 10” tail.  Thread the tail through the remaining 16 stitches, tighten them up to close the hole, and weave in your ends.  Block it if you'd like, but don't stretch the ribbing out too much.