Helmet Liner in Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool - 90383AD

Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool Helmet Liner – Free Knitting Pattern (90383AD)

This free downloadable knitting pattern from Lion Brand Yarn provides complete instructions for crafting a warm, functional helmet liner designed primarily for men who work outdoors or for military use. The pattern is rated Easy+ in skill level, making it accessible to confident beginners and intermediate knitters alike. Because the finished liner stretches to fit a range of head sizes, a single set of instructions covers virtually all adult wearers.

An important note included in the pattern: helmet liners intended for donation to American troops must be knitted in 100% wool and worked in approved colors — black, charcoal, brown, tan, or olive drab. The pattern encourages knitters to use Lion Brand's Charity Connection to locate organizations that collect and distribute finished helmet liners to soldiers, making this a meaningful charitable knitting project.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a close-fitting knitted helmet liner with an approximate circumference of 19 inches (48.5 cm) at its widest point. The liner is designed to be worn under a helmet, providing an insulating layer of warmth. Its stretchy construction allows it to accommodate a range of adult head sizes from a single pattern.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool (Article #150-126) in Nature's Brown — 1 ball required. This yarn is 100% wool, making it ideal for warmth, durability, and compliance with military donation guidelines.
• Needles: Two circular knitting needles, both 16 inches (40.5 cm) long — one size 5 (3.75 mm) and one size 7 (4.5 mm). A set of 6 large-eye blunt needles is also required for finishing.
• Accessories: Lion Brand Stitch Holders and Lion Brand Stitch Markers are used during construction to manage live stitches and mark key points in the round.

Gauge

Achieving accurate gauge is essential for this pattern. The specified gauge is 20 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in Stockinette stitch, worked back and forth in rows on the larger size 7 needle. Knitters are strongly encouraged to swatch and adjust needle size as needed before beginning the liner.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Circular knitting (knitting in the round): The helmet liner is worked primarily in the round on 16-inch circular needles, creating a seamless tube that conforms closely to the head.
• Ribbing: A K3, P2 rib pattern stitch is used, which creates a stretchy, textured fabric well-suited to a close-fitting accessory. This combination of knit and purl columns gives the liner its elasticity and helps it hug the head securely.
• Stockinette stitch: Standard Stockinette (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) is referenced for gauge purposes and used in portions of the construction.
• Shaping and increases: The M1 (Make 1) increase technique is employed, worked by lifting the horizontal bar between stitches onto the left needle and knitting through the back loop to avoid a hole — a clean, nearly invisible increase method.
• Decreases: The ssk (slip, slip, knit) decrease is used for shaping. This left-leaning decrease is worked by slipping two stitches knitwise one at a time, then knitting them together through the front loops, reducing the stitch count by one.
• Two-needle sizing: The pattern uses both a smaller (size 5) and a larger (size 7) circular needle, a common technique for adjusting fabric density in different sections of a hat or liner — typically a tighter needle for the brim ribbing and a larger needle for the body.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (k)
• Purl stitch (p)
• K3, P2 Rib