Chunky Fair Isle Pom Pom Hat in Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash - C279 - Downloadable PDF

Chunky Fair Isle Pom Pom Hat – Pattern Summary

About This Design

The Chunky Fair Isle Pom Pom Hat is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern designed by Tanis Gray and published by Cascade Yarns. Worked in a rich two-color colorwork tradition, this cozy adult hat combines the timeless appeal of Fair Isle stranded knitting with a chunky weight yarn for a quick, satisfying knit. The finished hat is topped with a classic pom pom, making it a stylish and practical cold-weather accessory. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore colorwork.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a one-size-fits-most adult knit hat with an approximate finished circumference of 22 inches. The hat features a textured ribbed brim, sections of solid-color stockinette, a central Fair Isle colorwork panel worked from a chart, and a shaped crown. A handmade pom pom is added as a finishing detail at the top.

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round – The hat is worked entirely in the round, beginning on a 16-inch circular needle and transitioning to double-pointed needles as stitches decrease during crown shaping.
• Cable cast on – Used to cast on the initial 66 stitches, this method creates a firm, neat edge well-suited to ribbing.
• Corrugated rib – A distinctive two-color ribbing technique where knit stitches are worked in one color and purl stitches in another. This creates a visually striking, elasticated brim with more color definition than standard ribbing.
• Fair Isle colorwork – A traditional stranded knitting technique in which two colors are carried across each round, with the unused yarn floated along the wrong side of the fabric. The colorwork section is worked over 13 rounds from a chart, creating a repeating geometric or motif-based pattern.
• Stockinette stitch in the round – Sections above the ribbing and surrounding the colorwork panel are worked in plain stockinette, providing a clean backdrop that highlights the Fair Isle chart.
• Crown shaping with decreases – The hat is shaped at the top using k2tog (knit two together) decrease rounds, reducing the stitch count from 66 stitches down to 9 stitches in a series of steps before the stitches are gathered and closed.
• Pom pom making – A finishing technique in which yarn is wrapped and tied to create a fluffy decorative sphere attached to the crown of the hat.

Stitches Used

• Corrugated rib – Alternating knit 1 in Color A and purl 1 in Color B, repeated to the end of each round for approximately 1.5 inches.
• Stockinette stitch – Knit every round when working in the round, used both before and after the Fair Isle chart section.
• Fair Isle / stranded colorwork – Worked from a chart over 13 rounds using two colors simultaneously.
• k2tog (knit two together) – A right-leaning decrease used in multiple rounds during crown shaping to reduce the stitch count evenly.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash – 100% Superwash Merino Wool, 100g (3.5 oz) per hank, 128 yards (117 m) per hank. Two hanks are required: 2 hanks in #872 Bitter Chocolate (Color A) and #1961 Camel (Color B). This yarn is a chunky weight and is fully machine washable, making the finished hat easy to care for.
• Needles: US 10 – 16-inch circular knitting needles for the body of the hat, and US 10 double-pointed needles (DPNs) for working the crown decreases.
• Notions: