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The Pennyroyal Hat by Magpie Fibers is the first hat I knit! After feeling happy with my Wheat Infinity Scarf, I decided to move on to a slightly more complex pattern.
I used one skein of HiKoo by Skacel in Simplinatural, a gift from a friend visiting from Switzerland (although he bought it in Vancouver). It is a worsted weight yarn that is 40% Merino, 40% Alpaca, 20% Silk, and simply beautiful to knit with! The silk gives the yarn a bit of a shine so that it isn’t just a plain boring white. Both the alpaca and silk lend a lovely drape to the knit fabric.
I used 3.75 mm / US 5 16″ circular needles for the ribbing, and a 5.00 mm / US 8 16″ circular needle for the body. This is a large hat (which is fine for me, since I have a big head!). However, I think I could have sized down the needles to make it fit other heads a bit better. Since starting to knit, I have found that I have a rather loose gauge. That’s funny, since in crochet it’s the opposite and I have a very tight gauge! If I were to knit this again, I would make the ribbing portion larger so that I could have a fold-over brim. Fold-over brims are warmer around the ears and give a snug fit, due to the second layer of fabric.
I love the lace chevrons, and I think this hat would also look great in a tonal yarn. I have enough yarn to make a big squishy pompom to top it all off.
The Pennyroyal Hat uses YOs, k2togs, and sl1, k1, and PSSOs to form the double chevron lace pattern. The crown decreases are just k2togs. Overall, the pattern was easy to follow and makes a beautiful hat!
The free pattern for the Pennyroyal Hat is available on Ravelry here.
