Autumn Tundra Hat in Valley Yarns Huntington - 872 - Downloadable PDF

Autumn Tundra Hat – Fair Isle Colorwork Knitting Pattern by Julie Turjoman

The Autumn Tundra Hat is a beautifully designed colorwork knitting pattern by Julie Turjoman, published as pattern #872 and available as a downloadable PDF. This intermediate-level hat pattern brings together the timeless appeal of Fair Isle colorwork with a practical, wearable design that works up quickly enough to serve as a satisfying weekend project or a thoughtful handmade gift. The pattern is sized to fit a range of adult head circumferences, making it a versatile addition to any knitter's project queue.

What You Will Make

This pattern produces a cozy, colorful knitted hat featuring a Fair Isle patterned rise and a solid color crown. The Fair Isle band that wraps around the body of the hat creates visual depth and textural interest through the interplay of multiple saturated colors, while the solid crown keeps the construction straightforward and allows the colorwork section to remain the true focal point of the design. The hat is worked in three sizes to accommodate a range of wearers:

• Small: fits head circumference 18–19 inches
• Medium: fits head circumference 20–21 inches
• Large: fits head circumference 22–23 inches

Construction and Techniques

The Autumn Tundra Hat is constructed bottom-up and worked in the round, which are two hallmark techniques for seamless hat knitting. Working in the round eliminates the need for seaming and allows the knitter to always work on the right side of the fabric — a significant advantage when executing Fair Isle colorwork, as the pattern floats and color changes are much easier to manage and read from the public-facing side.

Bottom-Up Construction

Beginning at the brim and working upward toward the crown is the traditional and most intuitive approach to hat knitting. This method allows the knitter to try the hat on as they go, checking fit before committing to the crown decreases. It also means the colorwork section is worked early in the project, while energy and enthusiasm are high.

Hem with Slip-Stitched Finish

A notable finishing detail in this pattern is the slip-stitched hem. Rather than a simple ribbed brim, the hat features a folded hem that is secured with a slip stitch technique. This creates a clean, polished interior edge and adds a layer of warmth and structure to the brim — a refined touch that elevates the finished hat beyond a basic beginner project. Executing a slip-stitched hem requires careful attention and a degree of finishing skill, which contributes to the pattern's intermediate difficulty rating.

Fair Isle Colorwork

The rise of the hat is worked in Fair Isle, a traditional stranded colorwork technique originating from the Fair Isle in Scotland. In Fair Isle knitting, two or more colors are used across a single row or round, with the unused color carried loosely across the back of the work as a "float." The result is a fabric with beautiful patterned motifs on the outside and a warm, double-layered feel on the inside due to the carried strands. Julie Turjoman has designed the colorwork section to take full advantage of the rich, saturated palette available in Valley Yarns Huntington, using multiple colors to create a motif that evokes the deep, earthy tones of an autumn tundra landscape.

Stitches Used

While the full stitch list is contained within the downloadable PDF, the construction of the Autumn Tundra Hat draws on the following techniques and stitch types:

• Stranded colorwork (Fair Isle): working with multiple yarn colors in a single round, carrying floats across the wrong side of the fabric
• Knitting in the round: using circular or double-pointed needles to produce seamless, tubular fabric
• Slip stitch: used in the hem finishing to create a neat, folded brim edge
• Crown decreases: shaping stitches worked toward the top of the hat to close the crown smoothly

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is specifically written for Valley Yarns Huntington, a 4-ply weight yarn with a fiber composition of