Alba beanie is a colourwork beanie written for advanced beginners and worked in the round.

The beanie is sized to fit small to medium teen / adult heads. By adjusting the length of the ribbing, you can make it fit close to the skull, or looser with some ‘flop’ at the crown, like in the image.

It can be finished with either a pom pom or a tassel.

It is worked in a DK / 8 ply yarn with a gauge of 22 sts and 30 rows per 10 cm. A wide range of options are available and different yarn characteristics will give different looks. A typical thick, spongey New Zealand DK yarn will make a thick fabric with clear, solid colourwork. It’s a great option for beanies fitting closer to the crown or to support a heavier pom pom. Alpaca blends will create more drape and ‘flop’ but will need a lighter pom pom or tassel.

Approximate yardage of each yarn:
Colour 1 <110 yards)
Colour 2 20 m (22 yards)
Colour 3 15 m (16 yards)
Colour 4 15 m (16 yards)
Extra for Pom Pom 25 m (27 yards)

The example in the images is worked in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK, shade ‘Charcoal’ for the main colour’ (colour 1), Broadway Yarns Merino Alpaca DK shade ‘Ecru’ (colour 4) and other ‘stash’ yarns.