This stinky hat was created in collaboration with Dye Mad Yarns in Columbus, Ohio.

They’re green, they’re stinky, and they’re bugs! The Stink Bug Beanie celebrates the green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris), one of Ohio’s most common native insects. The colorwork shows the bug’s life cycle: a juvenile nymph at the crown and adult stink bugs around the brim. Stink bugs grow through hemimetabolous development (no cocoon, just five molts from tiny nymph to adult), so it felt right to show off both stages on one hat.

The hat starts with a few rounds of plain stockinette, then moves into a fully charted design. You fold the brim partway through the chart, using a provisional cast-on so the fold is easy and the result looks polished. The double-layer brim will keep your ears toasty warm. Dye Mad’s Minnie DK is bouncy and squishy with just enough stretch to forgive uneven floats, which makes this a great first colorwork project.

The pattern also includes a short natural history write-up on stink bugs, hemimetabolous development, and some of Ohio’s weirdest insects, plus resources for getting to know the critters in your own backyard. Knit the bug, wear the bug, and tell people about the bug!

Sizes
Adult S/M (M/L, L/XL)
Finished circumference: 18 (20, 22.5)” / 45.5 (51, 57) cm, after blocking
Sample shown in size 2 (20”).

Each size has its own chart, so the stink bugs keep their proportions at every size.

Gauge
20 sts and 26 rows = 4” 10 cm in stranded colorwork and stockinette on 3.5mm needles, after blocking.

Please swatch in the round! Colorwork gauge worked flat can be very different from gauge in the round. This hat is meant to fit a little snug because it has a folded brim instead of ribbing. I’m a very loose knitter, so if you knit tightly, you may need to go up a needle size to get gauge.

Materials

Yarn: Dye Mad Yarns Minnie DK (100% superwash merino; 246 yds / 100 g)
MC (background): Batsquatch
CC (stink bug): Sting

Needles: US 4 3.5mm 16” 40 cm circular, plus your preferred setup for small-circumference knitting at the crown (DPNs, magic loop, or two circulars)
Notions: stitch marker, waste yarn for the provisional cast-on, scissors, tapestry needle

Yardage (includes about 10% extra)

MC: 89 (101, 114) yds / 82 (92, 104) m / 37 (41, 47) g
CC: 48 (55, 62) yds / 44 (50, 57) m / 20 (22, 25) g
Total: 137 (156, 176) yds / 126 (142, 161) m / 57 (63, 72) g

Skeins needed
1 skein of MC and 1 skein of CC for every size. You’ll have plenty left over, enough for a second hat in some sizes!

Techniques
Provisional cast-on, knitting in the round, stranded colorwork from charts, folded brim, and basic decreases (k2tog, ssk).