Hat with Intarsia Motifs in Schachenmayr Highland Alpaca - S9364C

Hat with Intarsia Motifs in Schachenmayr Highland Alpaca – Pattern S9364C

This free downloadable knitting pattern (design reference S9364C) guides knitters through creating a beautifully textured beanie-style hat featuring intarsia colorwork motifs. Designed by Schachenmayr and worked in their luxurious Highland Alpaca yarn, this project is rated beginner difficulty, making it an excellent introduction to colorwork knitting for those who are ready to take their first steps beyond solid-color projects.

What Is Being Made

The finished hat is sized to fit a head circumference of 54–56 cm, with a total hat length of 28 cm. It is a classic pull-on winter beanie with a shaped, tapered crown. The intarsia motifs are worked flat in the lower section of the hat before the piece is joined in the round to complete the crown shaping — a clever construction choice that makes the colorwork easier to manage.

Colorwork and Design Technique: Intarsia

Intarsia is a colorwork knitting technique used to create distinct blocks or motifs of color within a fabric. Unlike stranded colorwork (Fair Isle), intarsia uses separate yarn bobbins or small balls for each color section, so the yarn is not carried across the back of the work. This results in a single-thickness fabric with clean, crisp color boundaries — ideal for bold geometric or pictorial motifs. In this pattern, the intarsia section is worked flat (back and forth in rows) following a dedicated stitch chart for the first 22 rows, covering approximately 19 cm of the hat's height.

Construction Method

The hat begins on a circular needle, with 42 stitches cast on. Rows 1 through 22 are worked flat in intarsia colorwork following the provided chart. At row 23 (once the piece measures 19 cm), the work is joined in the round and 2 stitches are decreased evenly, leaving 40 stitches distributed across a set of double-pointed needles (10 stitches per needle). From this point, all stitches are worked in plain stockinette (knit every round) as the crown shaping begins.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Intarsia colorwork – worked flat from a stitch chart for the body of the hat
• Stockinette stitch (knit right-side rows / knit all rounds) – used throughout and for the crown
• Joining in the round – transitioning from flat to circular knitting mid-project
• Central double decrease (slip 2 together, k1, pass slipped stitches over) – used for crown shaping, worked as a 3-stitch decrease repeated every other round
• Even decreases across rounds – systematically reducing stitch count from 40 down through 32, 24, 16 stitches and beyond to close the crown
• Cast on – standard cast-on of 42 stitches to begin

Crown Shaping Detail

The crown is shaped through a series of decrease rounds alternating with plain knit rounds. The decrease sequence reduces the stitch count in a structured pattern:

• Round 24: 40 stitches reduced to 32 stitches
• Round 25: Plain knit round
• Round 26: 32 stitches reduced to 24 stitches
• Round 27: Plain knit round
• Round 28: 24 stitches reduced to 16 stitches
• Round 29: Plain knit round

This rhythmic decrease structure creates a smooth, neatly tapered crown typical of classic beanie hats.

Materials Required

The pattern calls for Schachenmayr Highland Alpaca, a super chunky weight yarn that knits up quickly and produces a wonderfully warm, soft fabric with the natural loft and sheen of