Thimbleby Children's Fair Isle Hat & Mittens in West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester DK - DBP0171 - Downloadable PDF

Thimbleby Children's Fair Isle Hat & Mittens – Knitting Pattern Summary

Designed by Sarah Hatton and published by West Yorkshire Spinners, the Thimbleby Children's Fair Isle Hat & Mittens (pattern code DBP0171) is a charming hand-knitted set for children, featuring a classic Fair Isle colourwork hat and matching mittens. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with colourwork and working in the round.

What Is Being Made

This pattern covers two coordinating accessories designed to be knitted and worn together:

• A children's Fair Isle hat – a snug, colourwork beanie worked in the round with traditional stranded colourwork motifs across the body and crown.
• Children's Fair Isle mittens – matching mittens featuring the same Fair Isle patterning, worked in the round on double pointed needles.

Together, the hat and mittens form a cohesive set that celebrates the timeless tradition of British Fair Isle knitting, updated here for children's sizing with a warm and natural colour palette.

Techniques Used

The Thimbleby set draws on a range of intermediate knitting techniques that make it both a satisfying and educational project:

• Fair Isle colourwork – the defining technique of this pattern, involving stranded two-colour knitting worked in the round. Yarn not in use is carried across the back of the work, creating a double layer of fabric that adds warmth and structure.
• Knitting in the round – both the hat and mittens are worked in the round, producing seamless, tube-shaped fabric ideal for accessories.
• Working with double pointed needles (DPNs) – the mittens and hat crown are worked on DPNs, a technique commonly used for small circumference knitting.
• Shaping – crown decreases on the hat and mitten shaping are worked using techniques referenced in the abbreviations, including passing slipped stitches over (psso) and increasing (inc).
• Placing markers – stitch markers are used to track pattern repeats and shaping points throughout the construction.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs a straightforward but effective combination of stitches suited to colourwork accessories:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P) stitches – the fundamental building blocks of the fabric.
• Rib stitch – typically used at the brim of the hat and the cuffs of the mittens to create a stretchy, fitted edge that keeps the accessories securely in place.
• Stranded colourwork pattern stitches – Fair Isle motifs are worked following a chart or written instructions, alternating between the two yarn colours across each round.
• Decrease stitches – including psso (pass slipped stitch over), used to shape the hat crown and mitten top neatly.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is designed specifically for two yarns from the West Yorkshire Spinners Fleece collection, both spun from carefully hand-selected native British breed fleeces celebrated for their superior stitch definition and natural drape:

• West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester DK – used as the primary yarn. Available colourways referenced in the pattern include Ecru (001), Light Brown (002), and Brown (003). Each ball contains approximately 225 metres / 246 yards per 82 grammes.
• West Yorkshire Spinners Jacob DK – used as the contrasting colourwork yarn. Referenced colourways include Ecru (001), Light Grey (005), Medium Grey (006), and Brown/Black (007).

Both yarns are pure British wool, sourced from specific native breeds – Bluefaced Leicester and Jacob respectively – and are part of West Yorkshire