This hat is more or less a rectangular tube that gets seamed together across the top. It alternates stripes of solid colors with stripes of stranded knitting that blend each color with the next. This pattern can be knitted with size 7 circular needle for a warmer, denser hat; or size 8 circular needle for a looser hat.

Choose eight worsted-weight yarns that can be arranged in a rainbow. You can make this pattern smaller by using only 7 colors, or 6 for a child size (if you do, skip the instructions for one or two of the colors in the middle of the pattern). Decide where your rainbow will start and end (for instance, my purple is the itchiest yarn in my gradient so I put it at the top).