Fox Isle

Fox Isle Knitted Hat by Kate Heppell

What is Being Made

Fox Isle is an advanced knitted hat designed by Kate Heppell featuring colorwork patterning inspired by traditional Fair Isle techniques. The hat is worked in the round from the bottom up, beginning with a ribbed brim and progressing through multiple decorative stitch pattern sections before shaping the crown. Three finished circumference options are provided: 43cm, 47.5cm, and 52cm, with a consistent height of 23cm, making this design suitable for various head sizes from children to adults.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs stranded colorwork knitting, a technique where multiple yarn colors are carried across the back of the work to create intricate Fair Isle-style motifs. The hat is constructed using the magic loop method or double-pointed needles for working small circumferences in the round. Advanced shaping techniques are incorporated, including central double decreases for crown reduction and slip-stitch decreases to create a tailored fit. The pattern requires proficiency in reading colorwork charts and managing multiple colors simultaneously while maintaining consistent tension throughout the piece.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary base stitch worked in the round, creating a smooth fabric surface ideal for displaying colorwork patterns
• Central Double Decrease (Cdd): A centered decrease used during crown shaping to maintain pattern symmetry as stitches are reduced
• Slip, Slip, Knit (Ssk): A left-leaning decrease worked by slipping two stitches individually, then knitting them together, used for additional crown shaping
• Ribbing: Likely knit and purl combinations forming the brim for elasticity and finished appearance

Colorwork Patterns

The hat features five distinct Fair Isle-inspired pattern sections worked from provided charts: Brim, Windows, Flower, Wave, and Fox motifs, followed by the Crown chart. These patterns are worked in four colors selected from Jamieson's Double Knitting yarn: Oxford 123 (Black), Steel 320 (Grey), Pebble 127 (White), and Ginger 462 (Orange). The colorwork sections create a narrative design element, with the fox motif serving as the design's focal point.

Materials

Yarn: Jamieson's Double Knitting (DK weight), 100% Shetland wool. One 25g ball (75 meters) each of four colors is required. The DK weight provides a lightweight yet durable fabric suitable for a hat that will drape elegantly while maintaining structure.

Needles: 4mm circular needle in 40cm length is the primary needle, with the option to use 4mm double-pointed needles (DPNs) of the same size if not using the magic loop technique. The circular needle accommodates the larger cast-on stitches, while magic loop or DPNs manage the decreasing stitches as the crown is shaped.

Tension and Finished Dimensions

The pattern specifies a tension of 18 stitches by 26 rows over 10cm measured in stockinette stitch colorwork. Achieving this tension is essential for the hat to meet the intended finished measurements. The cast-on varies by size: 80 stitches for the smallest size (43cm circumference), 88 stitches for the medium size (47.5cm circumference), and 96 stitches for the largest size (52cm circumference).

Finishing

After completing all pattern sections and crown shaping, the remaining stitches are gathered by threading yarn through them and pulling tight to fasten the crown securely. The final steps involve weaving in all yarn ends and washing and blocking the finished hat to set the stitches and allow the Shetland wool to bloom, enhancing the definition of the colorwork patterns and ensuring proper dimensions.