Hats and Mitts Knitted in King Cole Comfort DK - 5743 - Downloadable PDF

King Cole Comfort DK Hats and Mitts – Pattern 5743: Detailed Summary

Pattern 5743 from King Cole is a downloadable PDF knitting pattern featuring a collection of hats and mittens worked in King Cole Comfort DK yarn. Designed at an intermediate skill level, this pattern offers multiple size options and introduces classic cable and textured stitch techniques to create warm, well-fitted accessories suitable for a range of ages and head sizes.

What Is Being Made

The pattern includes two distinct accessory designs:

• A Cabled Hat – a structured, close-fitting hat featuring a decorative cable and textured panel design, worked flat and finished in the round at the crown.
• Mitts – a coordinating pair of mittens designed to complement the hat, worked using the same yarn and needle sizes for a matching set.

Both designs are available in five sizes, making the pattern versatile enough to fit children through to adults. The pattern instructs knitters to circle the size they wish to make, with key measurements and stitch counts clearly bracketed throughout.

Yarn and Materials

The specified yarn is King Cole Comfort DK, a double knit (DK) weight yarn. DK weight yarn is a popular medium-light yarn that knits up quickly and produces a soft, neat fabric — ideal for accessories like hats and mittens that need both warmth and stitch definition. The Comfort range from King Cole is known for its soft handle, making it comfortable to wear against the skin.

• Yarn weight: DK (double knit)
• Needles: 3¼ mm needles are used for the ribbed cast-on sections, and 4 mm needles are used for the main pattern body. Knitters are advised to adjust needle size if their tension differs from the stated gauge.

Tension

Achieving the correct tension is emphasised throughout the pattern. The stated tension for the Cabled Hat is 27 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) over pattern when slightly stretched on 4 mm needles. Knitters are instructed to use thinner needles if they achieve fewer stitches than stated, and thicker needles if they achieve more. Working to the correct tension is described as essential to achieving the correct size in both the hat and the mitts.

Cabled Hat – Techniques and Construction

The Cabled Hat is cast on using the thumb method on 3¼ mm needles, with stitch counts ranging from 73 to 91 stitches depending on size. The brim begins with a classic 1×1 rib — alternating knit and purl stitches — which creates a neat, stretchy edge that sits snugly around the head.

Once the ribbed section reaches the required depth (approximately 9 to 12 cm depending on size), the knitter transitions to the main cable and textured pattern on 4 mm needles. This section incorporates a repeating stitch pattern that adds visual interest and structure to the body of the hat.

Stitches Used in the Cabled Hat

• Knit (k) and Purl (p) – the foundation stitches used throughout
• 1×1 Rib – alternating k1, p1 for the brim section
• Yarn Round Needle (yrn) – used within the pattern repeat to create decorative eyelets or cable-related increases
• Slip 1, Knit 2, Pass Slipped Stitch Over (s1, k2, psso) – a double decrease used in the crown shaping, creating a neat, symmetrical reduction
• K3tog (knit 3 together) – another double decrease used during crown shaping to reduce stitches rapidly
• P2tog (purl 2 together) – used extensively in the crown shaping rows to reduce stitch count on wrong-side rows
• K2