The stitch pattern is made up of Pythagorean right triangles, inspired by a stitch pattern in Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury, but modified to work better in hat form. The triangles are inspired by fractal patterns, in which big triangles are made up of smaller triangles, and you can imagine zooming down to smaller triangles yet. The decreases are even ever smaller triangles. Directions make a hat which fits size women’s medium to size men’s medium as a beanie, fitting over the tops of the ears. Size unstretched is 18 1/2 inches diameter, 7 inches deep, but stitch pattern is quite stretchy. For a youth or small women’s hat, worsted weight yarn should give appropriate sizing.

Pattern is written and charted.

8 January 2012: Written directions for an alternate ending are available if you would like to make the hat longer. Please pm the designer. A pattern update will be made soon.