I knit a lot of hats. Hats are good presents, especially for blokes, but it can be hard to find a pattern for a manly hat that isn’t too slouchy or too fussy or “too much like a tea cosy”. (Yes, I’m still getting over that one). Having churned out many versions of Beanie No 212, I eventually decided that it would be nice to try something a bit different, and so I did and here it is.

Four to One is a traditional beanie, knitted in the round, and featuring a transition from four-stitch rib to one-stitch rib. It should be acceptable for male acquaintances of most ages and views on fashion whilst also being easy to knit, portable, and unlikely to interfere with television watching or fascinating gossip at the knitting group. The forgiving stretchiness of the rib stitches means that you don’t have to be spot-on with sizing, too, which is always helpful for those of us with haphazard approaches to measuring and/or gauge.