1011 Blake - Hat Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Monadnock Bulky

1011 Blake - Women's Cashmere Hat Knitting Pattern

Project Overview

The 1011 Blake is a stylish women's hat designed by Petra Marcelle and crafted using Valley Yarns Monadnock Bulky, a luxurious 100% cashmere yarn. This quick-to-knit hat showcases the softness and drape of premium cashmere while remaining accessible to advanced beginner knitters. The finished hat features a circumference of 20 inches and a height of 8 inches, making it a one-size design suitable for most adult women.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a fitted women's hat with a distinctive cable-knit brim detail. The hat is designed to be worn as a classic, close-fitting style that highlights the natural beauty and luxurious feel of cashmere yarn. The optional pompom adds a playful finishing touch for those who prefer a more decorative look.

Techniques and Construction Methods

Seamless Construction: The hat is worked seamlessly in the round using circular needles and double-pointed needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, professional finish. This method is particularly well-suited to cashmere, as it minimizes handling and potential pilling.

Cable Knitting: The defining feature of this hat is its cable brim, which adds visual interest and texture. The cable border is worked first, measuring 20 inches in circumference before transitioning to the crown. Cable stitches create raised, twisted columns of knit stitches that add depth and dimension to the design.

Worked in the Round: By working continuously in the round rather than in flat pieces, this construction method ensures consistent gauge and eliminates the need for seaming, which is especially important when working with delicate cashmere yarn.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch used in the main body of the hat, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric with a flat appearance on the right side
• Cable Stitches: Twisted stitches created using a cable needle to cross groups of stitches over one another, forming the decorative cable brim pattern
• Knit and Purl Stitches: The foundational stitches that form all knitted fabric, with knit stitches creating the smooth stockinette sections and purl stitches contributing to the cable pattern definition

Yarn and Materials

Yarn: Valley Yarns Monadnock Bulky is a chunky-weight yarn composed of 100% cashmere. The pattern requires 2 balls of this yarn, with each ball weighing 50 grams and containing 71 yards. The specific colorway used in the pattern is Color 1716 Silver, a neutral shade that complements any complexion and coordinates easily with other wardrobe pieces. The bulky weight ensures the hat knits up quickly despite the advanced beginner skill level.

Needles: The pattern calls for US 10 (6mm) needles in two formats: a 16-inch circular needle for the main body and a set of double-pointed needles (dpns) for working the crown decreases. The circular needle accommodates the full circumference of the hat while maintaining even tension, and the dpns allow for seamless decreasing as the crown narrows.

Additional Materials: A stitch marker helps track the beginning of each round, a yarn needle is used for weaving in ends and securing the optional pompom, and the pompom itself is an optional decorative finishing element that can be attached to the crown.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 14 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, measured after blocking. Achieving proper gauge is essential for ensuring the hat fits correctly and drapes as intended. The one-size design with a 20-inch circumference is suitable for average adult women's head sizes.

Skill Level

Rated as advanced beginner, this pattern assumes knitters have mastered basic knit and purl stitches, can work comfortably in the round, and have some experience with cable stitches. The quick-to-knit nature of the design, combined with the bulky yarn weight, makes it an excellent project for knitters looking to develop their cable-working skills without committing to a lengthy project.