If you have built castles in the air your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundation under them.
Henry David Thoreau

Spain (Barcelona) is my second home and although I’m based in the amazing region of Catalunya (Catalonia), I spent a lot of time in Castille and studied in the golden city of Salamanca. Castille is well named because there are castles all over the place! So in honor of this region and a Thoreau quote that I selected for my nursing school yearbook 45 years ago, I’ve created my Two Color Castilian Hat.

Although you are welcome to knit it up in the traditional “knit every row” circular technique, I’ve designed the hat to be worked in the Peruvian/Andean/Portugese style of knitting. If you’ve never tried this style, I encourage you to try it now!

This type of knitting involves tensioning the yarn around your neck or on a knitting pin and working inside the hat by purling every round. Creating the purl stitch is a ridiculously simple matter of JUST flicking your thumb AND the colored yarns pretty much strand themselves!

I am a great fan of Andrea Wong, an amazing knitting designer and instructor who is an expert in this style of knitting. If you’d like to learn more about it, you’ll find her at: www.andreawongknits.com and you can also check out her videos on You Tube. My pattern also includes these references. If you’re like me, once you’ve tried this, you’re going to want to do all your in-the-round color work this way!

However, as I’ve indicated, feel free to knit up the design using whatever style you’re happy with. If you want to knit every round, KNIT EVERY ROUND! I’ve included instructions if this is the method you’d like to use.

As with all my designs, if you have any questions as you work up the hat, feel free to contact me at the Email address listed in the pattern. I’m always available to help my buyers because I want you to have fun and end up with a spectacular result.