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The Classic Ribbed Hat is a free pattern by Purl Soho. I recently knit it for an Etsy customer as a custom order.
An Etsy customer requested we knit a hat for them, and they ultimately chose the Classic Ribbed Hat. The customer had three requests: a plain hat; a large hat; and knit in Bluefaced Leicester wool yarn. Thankfully I had just the yarn in my stash! I’ve used 100% Bluefaced Leicester yarn before, in the Simple Baby Pullover and Free Pattern by Erica Kempf Broughton. Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a breed of longwool sheep developed in England in the late 1800s. It is something of a darling in the fibre world. Although I don’t spin (yet), I hear it’s wonderful to spin into yarn. And as I have found out, it’s also great to knit with!
Before knitting the baby sweater, I had never used BFL yarn before. I had read about the wonders of BFL in books and blogs, but had never knit with it. It is soft and has a lovely drape, even though it’s 100% wool. Our customer chose a dark teal yarn, but it shows up much lighter in the photos because of its sheen. BFL is a lustrous longwool breed, meaning that the yarn catches the light and looks almost shiny.
I used almost two whole skeins of West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester DK Solids in a beautiful teal colourway. Unfortunately West Yorkshire Spinners discontinued the yarn, but I have a few more skeins in my stash. I hope to knit some more hats for our Etsy shop soon!
Our customer stated that he had a large head, so I made sure to knit the Adult Large size. Thankfully the Classic Ribbed Hat includes five sizes, from Baby to Large Adult. I used 2.5 mm needles instead of the recommended 3.25 mm ones since my gauge is always loose. Since the hat is 100% ribbing, it will stretch to fit any head but still be elastic enough to not fall off!
You can also easily customize the hat. I knit a long hat with a wide turned up brim to help keep our customer’s ears warm. However, you can also knit it shorter so that there is no foldup brim. You can also wear it as a baggy beanie if you want.
Get the free Classic Ribbed Hat pattern here. Purl Soho has plenty of other free patterns, so check them out!
Contact us if you’d like your own custom knit items! Here are some other custom knits we’ve done recently:
- Lucy Hat by Carina Spencer
- Pink speckled Constellate Hat by Hunter Hammersen
- Braided Brim Hat by Jack Johnson
So wish I could knit- love this hat- one of my favorite colors!
This really is a classic look!
Thank you! I plan on knitting lots more with small balls of yarn from the stash!
What a beautiful hat. I love the colour and the wool used sounds like it is lovely wool to work with and to wear. #MMBC
Thank you! If you ever get the chance, try something with BFL yarn!
That’s a beautiful hat! I love knitting but my skills end at a scarf. Thanks for linking up!
Try hats next, they’re easy too!
Lovely hat!
Have a great week!
Liz
Love the pattern that the crown gives – thanks for sharing with #PoCoLo
[…] Bluefaced Leicester DK Solids in the Sage colourway. I’ve used this yarn for the custom Classic Ribbed Hat for our Etsy shop. Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a breed of longwool sheep developed in […]