Buccaneer Hat in Rowan Cocoon - D170 - Downloadable PDF

Buccaneer Hat by Sarah Hatton – Knitting Pattern Summary (Rowan Cocoon, D170)

The Buccaneer Hat is a fun and characterful chunky knitted hat designed by Sarah Hatton and published by Rowan as a downloadable PDF pattern (D170). The design is worked flat on straight needles, seamed at the back, and finished with a generously sized handmade pompom, giving it a playful, adventurous aesthetic perfectly suited to its swashbuckling name. It is an intermediate-level knitting project, making it a great choice for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and ribbing techniques and are ready to move beyond simple beginner projects.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a single knitted hat with a structured ribbed brim and a shaped, decreasing crown. The finished hat is topped with a large pompom approximately 8cm (3 inches) in diameter, which is made separately using the main yarn along with oddments of contrast yarn, adding a burst of texture and colour to the crown. The hat is shown in Shale 804, a warm, earthy colourway from the Rowan Cocoon range.

Yarn and Materials

• Main yarn: Rowan Cocoon – just 1 x 50g ball is required, making this an economical and quick project ideal for using up a single skein.
• Sample colourway: Shale 804
• Additional yarn: Oddments of other yarn are needed for making the pompom, allowing for creative use of yarn scraps and contrast colours.
• Yarn weight: Chunky – Rowan Cocoon is a luxuriously soft chunky-weight yarn, known for its fluffy, cloud-like texture created from a blend of merino wool and kid mohair.

Needles Required

• 1 pair 6mm (US 10) needles – used for the ribbed brim section
• 1 pair 7mm (US 10½) needles – used for the main body of the hat after the brim is complete

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting: The hat is worked back and forth in rows on straight needles rather than in the round, making it accessible to knitters who prefer not to use circular or double-pointed needles.
• Seaming with mattress stitch: Once the knitting is complete, the back seam is joined using mattress stitch, a professional finishing technique that creates a nearly invisible vertical seam on the right side of the fabric.
• Crown shaping and decreasing: The top of the hat is shaped through a series of decrease rows, reducing the stitch count progressively until only 7 stitches remain. The yarn is then broken, threaded through the remaining stitches, and pulled tight to close the crown neatly.
• Pompom making: A pompom of approximately 8cm (3 inches) is constructed from the main yarn and yarn oddments, then attached securely to the top of the hat.
• Needle size change: A deliberate switch from 6mm to 7mm needles after the brim creates a natural transition from a tighter ribbed band to a looser, more relaxed fabric in the body of the hat.

Stitches Used

• Knit 1, Purl 1 Rib (K1, P1 Rib): The brim is worked over 8 rows in a classic single rib, alternating knit and purl stitches to create a stretchy, form-fitting band. The cast-on begins with 73 stitches.
• Knit stitch: The main body of the hat transitions into a knit-based fabric after the ribbed brim.
• Knit 2 Together (K2tog): A standard right-leaning decrease used throughout the crown shaping rows to reduce the stitch count in a controlled and even manner.
• Pattern decrease (pattern 2 together): Used during shaping to maintain stitch pattern consistency while decreasing,