Peachy Hat in Rowan Cotton Wool (FR) - RB001-00007-FRP - Downloadable PDF

Peachy Hat in Rowan Cotton Wool (FR) – Erika Knight Baby Knitting Pattern

The Peachy Hat is a charming knitted baby hat designed by Erika Knight for Rowan, worked in the soft and lightweight Cotton Wool DK yarn. This downloadable PDF pattern is written in French and is rated as intermediate difficulty. It is sized for babies from 0–3, 3–6, 6–9, and 9–12 months, making it a wonderfully versatile pattern for newborns and infants throughout their first year. The hat is photographed in four appealing shades of Cotton Wool: Tiny 203, Giggle 212, Pickles 208, and Piglet 207 — a soft, peachy palette perfectly suited to a design of this name.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a structured, fitted baby hat with a distinctive visible seam at the back, a garter stitch border at the front edge, and two knitted i-cord style ties — one at each front corner — that allow the hat to be fastened securely under a baby's chin. The construction begins at the front brim edge and works through to a shaped back section, giving the hat a neat, tailored appearance. The ties are picked up and worked directly from the corner of the garter stitch border, adding a sweet and practical finishing detail.

Construction and Techniques

• Flat knitting on a standard pair of needles forms the main body of the hat, beginning at the front brim and progressing through the crown shaping.
• A garter stitch border (knit every row) is worked for the first four rows to create a tidy, non-curling front edge.
• The main fabric is worked in a stocking stitch panel with garter stitch selvedge edges — two knit stitches are maintained at each side throughout, keeping the edges neat and stable.
• The back seam is closed using a three-needle cast-off technique worked with the wrong sides together, so that the seam sits visibly on the right side of the hat as a deliberate decorative detail — a hallmark of considered, contemporary knitwear design.
• The ties are each worked by picking up 4 stitches along the selvedge at the front corners using double-pointed needles, then knitting an i-cord — a technique where the stitches are never turned but instead slid to the opposite end of the double-pointed needle and the yarn is carried firmly across the back to create a neat, tubular cord. Each tie is worked to a length of 20 [21: 22: 23] cm depending on the size, then finished with a final row worked as a four-stitch decrease to close the end neatly.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch – used for the front brim border and maintained as a two-stitch selvedge throughout the body.
• Stocking stitch – the primary fabric of the hat body, giving a smooth, classic knitted surface.
• I-cord – worked on double-pointed needles to create the two chin ties at the front corners of the hat.
• Three-needle cast-off – used to join the back seam with a decorative right-side seam finish.

Materials and Gauge

The pattern calls for 1 x 50g ball of Rowan Cotton Wool in a DK weight. Cotton Wool is a blend that combines the softness and breathability of cotton with the gentle elasticity and warmth of wool, making it an ideal choice for baby accessories worn close to delicate skin. Knitters will need one pair of 4mm (UK 8 / US 6) needles for the main body of the hat, plus two double-pointed 4mm needles for working the i-cord ties and for executing the three-needle cast-off at the back seam.

The recommended tension is 20 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm measured over stocking stitch on 4mm needles. As with all knitting patterns, achieving the correct gauge swatch before beginning is especially important for sized garments