Corday In Rowan Alpaca Sparkle - Downloadable PDF

Corday Hat Knitting Pattern in Rowan Alpaca Sparkle — Full Pattern Summary

The Corday pattern, designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan, is a beautifully simple yet elegant knitted hat worked entirely in the round. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated advanced beginner, making it an ideal next step for knitters who have mastered the basics and are ready to tackle in-the-round knitting and straightforward crown shaping. The finished hat features a generous folded brim and a neatly tapered crown, giving it a classic, polished look with a subtle luxurious sparkle.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a single knitted hat with a deep ribbed brim that folds back on itself to create a double-layered cuff approximately 12 cm deep. The body of the hat is worked in smooth stockinette stitch, and the crown is shaped using a series of decorative double decreases that create four elegant decrease lines, drawing the hat to a neat gathered finish at the top. The pattern offers two colourway options:

• One colour version — worked entirely in a single shade throughout, photographed in Onyx 10025
• Two colour version — the ribbed brim section is worked in yarn A (Camel 10021) and the stockinette body is worked in yarn B (Almond 10020), creating a subtle tonal contrast between brim and crown

Materials Used

Yarn

The pattern calls for Rowan Alpaca Sparkle, a DK weight yarn sold in 50g balls. As the name suggests, this yarn blends the soft, lightweight warmth of alpaca fibre with a delicate sparkle, giving the finished hat a refined, eye-catching texture without being overly showy. The two colour version requires 2 balls of yarn A (Camel 10021) and 1 ball of yarn B (Almond 10020).

Needles

The hat is knitted using a set of four double-pointed 6mm (UK no. 4 / US 10) needles. Double-pointed needles are the traditional tool for knitting small circumferences in the round, such as hats, socks, and mittens. Stitches are distributed evenly across three of the four needles, with the fourth needle used as the working needle. This method allows seamless, continuous rounds without any seaming.

Tension

The stated tension is 13 stitches and 20 rounds to 10 cm, measured over stockinette stitch using 6mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is important for ensuring the hat fits as intended, so knitters are encouraged to work a tension swatch before beginning.

Techniques Used

Knitting in the Round

The entire hat is worked in the round on double-pointed needles, meaning there is no purling on the right side to achieve stockinette stitch — every round is simply knitted. This is a fundamental technique in hat knitting and one of the key skills this pattern helps beginner-to-intermediate knitters develop.

Ribbing

The hat begins with a deep ribbed brim worked in 2×2 rib (K2, P2 repeat). This rib section continues for 25 cm, after which the first 12 cm is folded to the right side to form the visible turned-back brim. Ribbing is a classic, stretchy stitch pattern that helps the hat grip the head comfortably while adding visual texture.

Stockinette Stitch in the Round

After the ribbed section, the hat transitions to stockinette stitch (knit every round) and continues straight until the work measures 30 cm from the cast-on edge. In flat knitting, stockinette requires alternating knit and purl rows, but when worked in the round, every round is knitted, producing the smooth, classic V-stitch fabric.

Crown Shaping with Double Decreases

The crown is shaped using a series of evenly spaced double decreases worked over eight decrease rounds, reducing the stitch count from