Vinegar Hill Hat

Vinegar Hill Hat by Studio Avenue Six

What is Being Made

The Vinegar Hill Hat is a decorative stranded knit hat available in two distinct styles: a close-fitting beanie or a longer slouchy hat. This versatile design features bands of complementary stranded colorwork patterns and comes in five sizes ranging from Child Small/Medium through Adult Large, making it suitable for the entire family.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key techniques. Stranded colorwork is the primary decorative method, with the pattern featuring bands of multi-color designs worked in the round. The hat begins with a stretchy cast-on to ensure a comfortable edge, and stitches are joined in the round using circular needles for seamless construction. Blocking and washing are part of the finishing process to achieve the specified gauge and final dimensions.

Stitches Used

The ribbing foundation uses 2x2 rib (knit 2, purl 2) worked on a smaller needle size to create elasticity at the hat's edge. The main body is worked in stockinette stitch in the round, which provides a smooth canvas for the stranded colorwork patterns. The pattern includes charted stranded designs specific to either the beanie or slouchy style.

Materials and Yarn

The recommended yarn is Studio Avenue Six Bellwether Sock Yarn, a 3-ply weight at 190 yards per 50-gram skein. The pattern requires three 50-gram skeins total, providing sufficient yardage for any color choice as the main color, with two contrast colors requiring less yardage. Needles should be sized to achieve a gauge of 26 stitches over 4 inches in washed and blocked stockinette. The pattern recommends size 3 needles for the main fabric, with one size smaller needle reserved for the ribbed cuff.

Pattern Details

The beanie style begins with casting on between 112 and 176 stitches depending on size, using a stretchy cast-on method. The ribbed cuff is worked in Color A using 2x2 rib for 3/4 inch to 1.5 inches depending on size. Following the cuff, knitters work the stranded colorwork chart appropriate to their chosen style (beanie or slouchy), creating the decorative banded patterns that define this hat's visual appeal.