It's release day for the Snidget Hat and I couldn't be more excited to share this with you! This is inspired by the famous golden snitch. Can you see the wings?
So what makes this design so special, right? Well, it has a lot of features that are new to me, and the best way for me to learn something new is to just do it and design with the technique.
First of all, this is a TOP DOWN hat. This means it is constructed from the crown down to the brim. It starts with a pin-hole cast on done with a crochet hook (or without if that's what you prefer), and then the live stitches are transferred onto either double pointed needles (DPNs) or long circulars for the magic loop to work the increases to the body. The way the increases are done results in something that looks like the knit 2 together decreases in normal bottom-up knits! It's very clean and results in a beautiful spiraled crown that is effortless. No shaping required as the increases are all written out for you! Another unique feature to this design is that you can start with different cast on counts, provided you end up with a correct multiple as stated in the pattern notes. This means it is easily adjustable with a little bit of math.
Now onto the main design itself, which really is just a fun butterfly stitch turned upside down! I couldn't stop seeing little wings when I looked at this pattern, so I felt it needed to be constructed upside down in order to convey what I wanted it to. This 2-toned version of the butterfly stitch makes this hat a stranded colorwork hat, so it is important to be able to try this on as you go. Guess what! You can absolutely do this with a top-down hat if you continue to use DPNs or longer circulars (with the magic loop method). I highly recommend this to ensure proper fit and to adjust length as well.
So you may be wondering how to make the brim a tighter fit around the face if we're making this from the top down, right? Simple - use a smaller needle size! It is essentially the same as making a hat from the brim up, so that's what I did here as well. I also recommend trying this on again before binding off, just in case you need more length or need to take away some length. Then you're ready to finish the hat, making sure to use a stretchy bind off so that this hat will go over your head. I chose to use the Icelandic bind off because it provides a bit of a decorative edge to the hat. You may choose to use any sort of stretchy bind off, but some people have had success just using a regular ribbed bind off, being careful not to make it too tight.
The final step is to block your finished hat. This is especially important to properly shape your hat and relax the wool, given that this is stranded colorwork. (Yes, you can even block acrylic!) Once it's dry, it's ready to be shown off in all of its glory!
Before I forget - there are lots of tutorial links in this pattern to help you with the pin-hole cast on, photo tutorial for the butterfly stitch, and another video link for the Icelandic bind off. This is most definitely an intermediate level pattern, but don't be afraid to give it a try! Once you figure it out, it is super fun and pretty.
Happy knitting!