Hengpai - A Drop Stitch Slouch

Part of the Malabrigo Quickies [program][1]. Many thanks to Malabrigo Yarn for their support!

*As I was knitting Hengpai and [Zongpai][2], I was thinking about how both of the hats are very similar in their stitch pattern but yet a little different as one is knit vertically and one is knit horitontally.

*In Chinese writing, one can write horizontally which is known as hengpai and one can write vertically which is known as zongpai. After reading about hengpai and zongpai, I knew my hats had their namesake.

Hengpai is knit sideways in stocking stitch using short rows to create the round shaping for the crown. Once all the short row sections are worked, the hat is cast off and the stitches are dropped to create the dropped stitch openwork pattern. Once the seam is sewn, stitches are then picked up and knit for the brim. I used a grafting technique to sew the seam for the back of the hat.

Here are the details:

• Malabrigo Worsted -1 S