Larrabee

Larrabee Hat Pattern by IsolaHandmade

What Is Being Made

Larrabee is a knitted hat designed for teen to adult head sizes (20-22 inch circumference). Named after Larrabee State Park on the Northern coast of Western Washington, this hat combines softness and warmth with a lightweight, airy construction. The design uses two contrasting yarn weights held together to create visual interest and texture.

Craft and Technique Overview

This is a knitting project suitable for beginners. The hat is constructed in the round using circular needles and double-pointed needles (DPNs), which is a fundamental technique in hat knitting. Working in the round eliminates the need for seaming and creates a seamless, professional finish. The pattern demonstrates how holding two different yarn weights together can produce unique fabric characteristics while remaining accessible to newer knitters.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques Used

• Seed Stitch: The primary stitch pattern, created by alternating knit and purl stitches (K1, P1) across rows. This creates a textured, bumpy fabric that is reversible and lies flat, making it ideal for hat brims and cuffs.
• Knit Two Together (K2tog): A basic decrease stitch used to shape the crown of the hat as you progress from the wider body to the narrower top.
• Cast On: The pattern uses a long tail cast on method to create the initial 97 stitches, a foundational technique that creates a neat, elastic edge suitable for hat openings.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Larrabee hat requires approximately 200 yards each of fingering weight and lace weight yarn, held together double throughout the project. This means you will be working with two strands simultaneously—one from each yarn weight—to create the final fabric. The pictured example uses Knit Picks Palette in Spruce (fingering weight) and Aloft Lace in Kenai (lace weight), though any fingering and lace weight yarns may be substituted. Using standard commercial skeins will leave you with leftover yarn from each.

Needles and Notions

• Circular Needles: US 4 and US 6 in 16-inch length for working the body of the hat in the round
• Double-Pointed Needles (DPNs): US 6 in a set of 4 or 5 for the crown decreases when stitches become too few for circular needles
• Additional Notions: Measuring tape, darning needle for weaving in ends, scissors, and stitch marker for tracking rounds

Pattern Structure

The pattern begins with a long tail cast on of 97 stitches (an odd number, which is essential for maintaining proper seed stitch patterning). Work begins immediately in seed stitch for 2.5 inches, establishing the textured brim. The continuous round construction means you will work in spirals rather than flat rows, creating a seamless hat. As the pattern progresses, decreases shape the crown, and the transition from circular needles to DPNs allows you to complete the top shaping smoothly.