Saturday, January 22, 2022

Niefling

The Niefling hat is now live on Ravelry and Payhip!


Plain double knitting transitions effortlessly into basic brioche ribbing in this versatile, reversible hat design. How will you style yours? Light side or dark side? Slouchy or cuffed?

As the name may imply, this design was inspired by my own niece and nephews. It was born of a desire to cater to the whims of a fickle 5-year-old, a sullen 17-year-old, and all tastes in between. With 4 different ways to wear the same hat, everyone should be able to find a style that suits. Plus it’s sized for the entire family!


Video tutorials are included for the two-color Italian cast on, double knitting, and brioche, making this an excellent skill building project for the adventurous beginner!

The original samples were made with Merinolux DK from Barker Wool (formerly Chasing Rabbits Fiber Co.) in the Austin and Empower colorways, but if purple's not your thing, I have it on good authority that Austin's vibrant streaks of color would also pair well with other tonal colorways, such as Velvet, Clara, Crabapple, Tiger Lily, Staghorn, Olivine, Indigo, Gentle...


SIZES
1 [2, 3, 4, 5]
To fit, approximately:
preemie [baby, toddler, child, teen/adult]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Circumference, unstretched:
10 [12, 14, 16, 18] inches
25 [30, 36, 41, 46] cm
To fit head circumference:
11-13 [13-16, 15-19, 17-21, 19-24] inches
28-33 [33-41, 38-48, 43-53, 48-61] cm
Shown in:
Size 5 on a 23 in/58 cm wooden hat form
Size 4 on an 18 in/46 cm upturned yarn bowl

Height, uncuffed:
5 [6.5, 8.25, 9.25, 10.5] inches
13 [17, 21, 23, 27] cm
You are welcome to adjust the height to suit your preferences, but keep in mind that may alter the amount of yarn required.

GAUGE (after blocking)
16 sts/24 rounds = 4 in/10 cm in brioche rib
16 sts/29 rounds = 4 in/10 cm in double knitting
Each pair of double-knitted stitches counts as a single stitch.

MATERIALS
DK weight yarn in two contrasting colors:
35 [55, 80, 100, 125] yds of each color, or
32 [50, 73, 91, 115] m of each color
Shown in: Barker Wool (formerly Chasing Rabbits Fiber Co) Merinolux DK [100% merino; 219 yds/200 m per 100g skein] in Austin (A) and Empower (B)
Since this hat is reversible, it does not matter which color you call A and which you call B.

US #5/3.75mm needles (your choice of short circular, two circulars, long circular for magic loop, and/or double-pointed needles)
US #4/3.5mm needles (optional, for cast on)
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker

Buy the pattern now on Ravelry or Payhip!