Cherry Plum Hat

Cherry Plum Hat by Fitzhenry Knits

What Is Being Made

The Cherry Plum Hat is a knitted hat inspired by the cherry plum tree, designed with a finished circumference of 22 inches (56 cm) and a depth from brim to crown of 9½ inches (24 cm). This intermediate-level knitting project creates a fitted, wearable hat suitable for a range of head sizes through careful gauge work.

Construction Method and Shaping Technique

This hat is worked sideways, meaning the knitting proceeds horizontally rather than in traditional top-down or bottom-up construction. The crown shaping is achieved through short row shaping, a technique that creates gradual increases or decreases in height without casting off stitches. Short rows allow the designer to add dimension and contour to the crown area, resulting in a hat that fits smoothly over the head. This sideways construction method combined with short row shaping requires careful attention to row gauge, which the pattern emphasizes as the most critical measurement for achieving proper fit.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns Used

The Cherry Plum Hat incorporates several stitch techniques:

• Stockinette stitch as the primary fabric base, worked flat on straight needles
• Eyelet Pattern, a decorative openwork stitch that adds visual interest and texture to the hat
• Slip stitch (abbreviated Sl1), used at the beginning of rows for a finished edge
• Purl stitch for creating the wrong-side foundation rows

The pattern begins with a Long Tail cast-on of 48 stitches, providing a secure and elastic foundation edge suitable for a hat brim.

Materials and Tools Required

The Cherry Plum Hat is designed to use worsted weight yarn, specifically one skein of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted, which is 100% wool and yields 110 yards per 50-gram ball. Knitting needles required are 4.0 mm US #6 needles for working flat (straight needles), along with a cable needle for any cable techniques that may appear in the full pattern. A yarn needle is needed for weaving in ends, and stitch markers are essential for tracking pattern sections and separating the brim from the main body of the hat.

Gauge and Blocking

The required gauge is 20 stitches and 29 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch on 4.0 mm needles, measured after blocking. The pattern instructions specifically recommend working the first section as a gauge swatch and making adjustments to needle size if needed to achieve this gauge. Blocking is essential for obtaining accurate finished measurements, as the gauge measurement is taken from the blocked swatch.

Skill Level and Pattern Difficulty

While listed as intermediate skill level, this pattern involves advanced techniques including sideways construction and short row shaping. Knitters should be comfortable with reading pattern instructions, managing stitch markers, and understanding how short rows create three-dimensional shaping. The emphasis on gauge accuracy and the need to adjust needle size based on swatch results makes this project best suited for knitters with prior experience in garment construction.