Chess Hat

Chess Hat by Evvash

Project Overview

The Chess Hat is an intermediate-level knitting pattern featuring stranded colorwork design. This downloadable PDF pattern from independent designer Evvash creates a finished hat using the classic technique of working with two colors simultaneously to produce an interlocking chess-inspired motif across the crown.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a finished knit hat suitable for everyday wear. The design incorporates stranded colorwork throughout, creating a visually striking chess pattern. The hat is worked in the round using circular needles or double-pointed needles, making it a seamless construction ideal for a polished final garment.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Stranded Colorwork: The primary technique featured in this pattern, where two colors of yarn are carried and worked simultaneously to create the chess design. This method involves holding both yarn colors while knitting, dropping and picking up colors as the pattern dictates.
• Circular Knitting: The hat is constructed in the round, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a seamless, professional finish.
• Stockinette Stitch: The base stitch used throughout the pattern, providing a smooth, classic fabric surface that showcases the colorwork design.

Stitches and Construction

The pattern is primarily worked in Stockinette stitch, which creates the smooth, flat surface characteristic of traditional knit hats. The stranded colorwork technique requires careful attention to tension and color changes to maintain even stitches and prevent loose floats on the inside of the hat. The gauge is 20 stitches by 28 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) when worked in Stockinette stitch after blocking, ensuring proper fit and drape.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Drops Nepal yarn, a blend of 65% wool and 35% alpaca. This fiber combination provides warmth, softness, and elasticity ideal for a fitted hat. The yarn weight is aran, a medium-weight yarn that works at a comfortable gauge.

• Color 1101 White: 2 skeins (approximately 164 yards / 150 meters total)
• Color c8912 Blush: 2 skeins (approximately 164 yards / 150 meters total)
• Each skein contains 1.75 ounces (50 grams) and approximately 82 yards (75 meters)

Yarn substitution is permitted provided the replacement yarn matches the yardage and weight proportions of approximately 82 yards (75 meters) per 1.75 ounces (50 grams).

Needles and Tools

• Circular Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm), 16 inches (40 centimeters) in length, or
• Double-Pointed Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) as an alternative to circular needles
• Tapestry Needle: For weaving in ends and finishing
• Scissors: For cutting yarn
• Recommended but not required: Row counter for tracking progress and stitch markers for marking the beginning of rounds

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate, making it suitable for knitters with prior experience. The stranded colorwork technique requires familiarity with managing multiple yarn colors and maintaining consistent tension, skills typically developed through foundational knitting projects. The pattern designer, Evvash, emphasizes precision and thoughtful construction, with customer support available at pattern@evvash.com for questions or pattern clarification.