Hawke Hat in Rowan Island Blend Fine - ZB296-00012-FR - Downloadable PDF

Martin Storey Hawke Hat in Rowan Island Blend Fine – Pattern Summary

The Hawke Hat is a beautifully crafted knitted hat designed by Martin Storey and published by Rowan. This pattern, available as a downloadable PDF (reference ZB296-00012-FR), produces a stylish, close-fitting hat worked in the round using a colourwork chart. It is rated as an intermediate difficulty project, making it an excellent choice for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore stranded colourwork and simple shaping.

What Is Being Made

The pattern creates a single knitted hat worked in the round from the brim upward. The hat features a colourwork chart section incorporating multiple colours, followed by a plain section worked in stocking stitch, and finished with a carefully shaped crown. Two sizes are available:

• S-M: to fit a head circumference of approximately 53.5 cm
• L-XL: to fit a head circumference of approximately 58 cm

The finished hat has a total height of 20 cm before the crown shaping begins, giving it a generous, comfortable depth suitable for everyday wear.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is written specifically for Rowan Island Blend Fine, a 4 ply weight yarn. Three colours are used in this design:

• Colour A – Vellum (shade 101): 1 x 50g ball
• Colour B – Tungsten (shade 110): 1 x 50g ball
• Colour C – Wedgewood (shade 103): 1 x 50g ball

Each colour requires just one 50g ball, making this an economical and stash-friendly project. The use of three distinct tones — a warm neutral in Vellum, a cool mid-tone in Tungsten, and a soft blue in Wedgewood — creates a refined, contemporary colourwork palette.

Needles

The hat is worked using a set of four double-pointed needles (DPNs) in size 3¼ mm. Double-pointed needles are the traditional tool for knitting small circumferences in the round, particularly useful when the stitch count decreases significantly during crown shaping and a circular needle would become impractical. Knitters who prefer magic loop or two-circular-needle methods may adapt accordingly.

Techniques Used

This pattern brings together several key knitting techniques, making it a rewarding intermediate-level project:

• Knitting in the round: The entire hat is worked in the round on double-pointed needles, producing a seamless, tube-shaped fabric.
• Stranded colourwork / Fair Isle-style knitting: A charted colourwork section is worked over 18 rounds, followed by rounds 1 to 9 of the chart once more. This involves carrying two or more yarn colours across the back of the work, creating a double-layered fabric that adds warmth and structure.
• Stocking stitch in the round (jersey endroit): After the colourwork section is complete and the pattern yarns are cut, the hat continues in plain stocking stitch — knitting every round — until the required height is reached.
• Crown shaping with paired decreases: The top of the hat is shaped using a combination of SSK (surjet simple / slip, slip, knit) and k2tog (2 m end ens / knit two together) decreases. These are worked in a regular repeat of six sections, symmetrically reducing the stitch count across multiple decrease rounds separated by plain rounds. This method creates a neat, six-point crown with smooth, even shaping.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (jersey endroit) in the round – knit every round
• Charted colourwork stitches – following a colourwork grid with multiple yarn colours
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used in crown shaping