Nordic toque

Nordic Toque by Frisian Knitting

Product Overview

The Nordic Toque is an intermediate-level knitted hat featuring traditional Nordic motifs, designed by Frisian Knitting. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a classic winter hat with colorwork detailing, combining bulky yarn with straightforward knitting techniques to produce a finished garment suitable for cold-weather wear.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a fitted knitted toque (winter hat) with a ribbed cuff, stockinette stitch body, and integrated Fair Isle colorwork pattern. The design includes a decorative pompom finish at the crown, adding a traditional Nordic aesthetic to the completed hat.

Techniques Used

• Ribbing: The hat begins with a 1x1 knit-purl rib cuff (rows 1-13) that provides stretch and structure at the brim
• Increases: Strategic increases in row 14 add stitches by creating new loops between existing stitches, expanding from 50 to 54 stitches for the main body
• Fair Isle colorwork: Rows 15-31 incorporate the Nordic motif pattern using multiple yarn colors worked simultaneously
• Decreases: Knit-two-together decreases (rows 33 onwards) shape the crown, progressively reducing stitch count to close the top
• Pompom finishing: A pompom maker creates the decorative topper

Stitches Used

• Knit (kn): Primary stitch for stockinette body sections
• Purl (pu): Used in alternation with knit stitches for the ribbed cuff
• Increase (incr): Loop creation between stitches to expand stitch count
• Knit two together (kn 2 tog): Decrease method for crown shaping

Materials Required

Needles: Circular needles in 7 mm size (US 10.5) for working in the round

Yarn: Bulky weight yarn totaling approximately 100 grams (3.5 oz) with a yardage of roughly 115 meters (126 yards). The colorway breakdown includes:

• Purple: approximately 100 grams (primary color for main body)
• Yellow: approximately 25 grams (accent color for motif)
• White: approximately 25 grams (accent color for motif)
• Blue: approximately 25 grams (accent color for motif)

Additional supplies: Stitch marker, scissors, and pompom maker for finishing

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 12 stitches by 16 rows over 10 x 10 centimeters (4 inches) in stockinette stitch. This gauge measurement is essential for achieving proper fit and should be checked before beginning the project.

Pattern Structure

The Nordic Toque follows a logical progression: a 13-row ribbed cuff establishes the brim, followed by increases in row 14 to transition to the main body. The Fair Isle colorwork pattern dominates rows 15-31, creating the distinctive Nordic motif across the hat's crown. Crown shaping begins in row 33 with strategic decreases that continue through subsequent rows, progressively reducing the stitch count until the opening is closed and ready for the pompom finish.