Windflower Beanie

Windflower Beanie by Lizzy Knits

What is Being Made

The Windflower Beanie is a slouchy knit hat designed by Erin Gates and published by Lizzy Knits. This intermediate-level knitting pattern creates a comfortable, relaxed-fitting beanie that showcases decorative cabled texture throughout the crown and body of the hat.

Design Features and Construction

This beanie is distinguished by its rich cabled texture created using two different sized cable twists that face opposing directions, producing an intriguing and visually dynamic design. A notable design feature is how the cable twists are maintained throughout the decrease rounds as you shape the hat crown. As you progress through the decreases, the cable crosses gradually become smaller, creating a cohesive visual effect that carries the pattern detail all the way to the crown closure.

Knitting Techniques Used

The pattern employs several intermediate knitting techniques essential to creating the Windflower Beanie:

• Cable knitting – The primary decorative technique, using cable twists in two different sizes facing opposite directions
• Circular knitting – Constructed in the round using circular needles and double pointed needles for the crown shaping
• Decreases – Strategic decreases shape the hat while maintaining the cable pattern integrity through the crown
• Ribbing – Provides structure and elasticity to the finished hat

Stitches Used

While the pattern emphasizes cable stitches as the primary decorative element, the construction utilizes fundamental knit and purl stitches to create the stockinette and ribbed backgrounds that support the cable design. The pattern includes both written stitch instructions and charted instructions, allowing knitters to choose their preferred method for following the cable sequences.

Materials and Specifications

The Windflower Beanie requires 116 yards (106 meters) of bulky weight yarn, weighing approximately 76 grams. The designer used The Petite Wool from We Are Knitters for the original sample, with alternative yarn recommendations including We Are Knitters MeriWool or Patons Alpaca Blend.

The pattern calls for two sizes of US needles in 16-inch (40cm) circular format: US 9 (5.5mm) circular needles and US 11 (8.0mm) circular needles, plus US 11 (8.0mm) double pointed needles for closing the crown. Additional notions include a cable needle for executing the cable twists, a place marker for tracking rounds, and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends.

The pattern is worked to a gauge of 13 stitches and 17 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) using the US 11 (8.0mm) needles, establishing the finished dimensions of the slouchy beanie.

Pattern Format

This downloadable PDF pattern from Lizzy Knits provides instructions in both written and charted formats, accommodating different knitter preferences and learning styles. The inclusion of both formats makes the pattern accessible to knitters who prefer following written row-by-row instructions as well as those who work more intuitively from visual stitch charts.