Tanager Bonnet in Berroco Comfort - Downloadable PDF

Tanager Bonnet in Berroco Comfort — Knitting Pattern Summary

The Tanager Bonnet is a charming stranded colorwork baby and toddler hat designed by Amy Christoffers and published by Berroco. Available as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a cozy, decorative bonnet worked in Berroco Comfort yarn. The design is sized for four stages of early childhood — Newborn, Baby, Toddler, and Child — fitting head circumferences of 13, 16, 18, and 19 inches respectively. The sample shown in the pattern photography is knitted in the Toddler (18") size.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a fitted bonnet-style hat with a ribbed brim, a stranded colorwork panel, and a shaped back. The finished piece is a classic infant and toddler accessory that combines functional warmth with decorative detail. The bonnet silhouette makes it particularly well suited for newborns and young children, offering coverage around the sides and back of the head.

Construction and Techniques

The Tanager Bonnet is notable for its clever construction. It is worked in one piece, beginning at the front edge and progressing toward the back. This seamless approach eliminates the need for seaming and results in a neat, professional finish. The back of the bonnet is shaped using short rows, a technique that adds three-dimensional shaping without requiring additional pieces or seams. Short rows involve working only partway across a row before turning, which creates subtle curves and contours — ideal for fitting the rounded back of a young child's head.

A section of the hat is worked flat (back and forth in rows), which is characteristic of bonnet construction and distinguishes it from a traditional knitted-in-the-round hat. The pattern also incorporates stranded colorwork, in which two colors of yarn are carried across the row simultaneously to create a charming repeating motif. When changing colors in the stranded section, the pattern instructs knitters to hold the working yarn to the left and pick up the new color from underneath, twisting the yarns to prevent holes — a standard and important technique in two-color stranded knitting.

Stitches Used

• Ribbing — A combination of knit and purl stitches forms the brim. The specific rib used is a k1, p1 rib with a two-stitch edge, worked over three rows to create a neat, stretchy border.
• Stockinette stitch (St st) — The main body of the hat is worked in stockinette, with gauge measured as 18 stitches and 24 rows to 4 inches on the larger needles.
• Stranded colorwork — A 10-row chart introduces the two-color pattern using Sky (MC, color #9719) and Marigold (CC, color #9799).
• Short rows — Used for back shaping to create the bonnet's fitted form.
• I-Cord — Worked on double-pointed needles to create ties or a decorative finishing element.

Materials — Yarn, Needles, and Notions

The pattern calls for Berroco Comfort, a chunky-weight yarn sold in 100-gram balls. Knitters will need one ball each of #9719 Sky (main color) and #9799 Marigold (contrast color). Berroco Comfort is a blend known for its softness and ease of care, making it a practical choice for children's accessories.

Two needle sizes are required:

• Size 6 (4.00 mm) knitting needles for the ribbed brim
• Size 8 (5.00 mm) knitting needles for the main body — or the size needed to achieve the stated gauge
• Two size 6 (4.00 mm) double-pointed needles for working the I-Cord detail

Additional notions include a piece of cardboard approximately