I love stranded colorwork, and I love making the most of my yarn stash. The Undergraduate Hat pattern is based on a graphic design on a thank you note I received, of all things! It’s meant to pair with the Undergraduate Mittens, where the main color is switched. Doing so means you’ll get a coordinating accessories set from just two skeins of fingering yarn, so you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

What testers had to say:

• “This was quick and interesting knit, and the results are pretty spectacular.”
• “I love not trapping floats. Thank you!”
• “I liked the colorwork section, the eight stitch repeat was easy to remember so the rounds were worked quickly.”

Skills:
Knitting in the round, stranded colorwork (provided as both written and charted instructions), M1 increases, K2tog and SSK decreases.

For a tutorial video on knitting stranded colorwork, visit the Kino Knits YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ovQCTmc-PP0.

Color dominance is important in this pattern. The MC should be dominant, meaning it should be carried underneath the CC yarn on the wrong side of the work. For an excellent explanation of color dominance, see https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/colour-dominance.

Yarn:
Two colors high-contrast fingering-weight yarn.
Sample shown in size 3 in Honeycomb Hills Hand-dyed Yarn Sock (75% superwash merino/25% nylon; 462 yards/422 m per 3.5 oz/100 g). Colorways: Limelight (Main Color - MC) and Reali-teal (Contrast Color - CC).

Hat Actual Sizes:
(Stranded colorwork does not have much stretch. Choose a size 1-2”/2.5-5 cm smaller than your head circumference.)

• 1: 8.5”/21.5 cm circumference, 4.5”/11.5 cm height
• 2: 10”/25.5 cm circumference, 5.5”/14 cm height
• 3: 11.75”/30 cm circumference, 5.5”/14 cm height
• 4: 13.5”/34.5 cm circumference, 6”/15 cm height
• 5: 16.75”/42.5 cm circumference, 8”/20.5 cm height
• 6: 18.5”/47 cm circumference, 8.25”/21 cm height
• 7: 20.25”/51.5 cm circumference, 9.25”/23.5 cm height
• 8: 22”/56 cm circumference, 10”/25.5 cm height

Yarn Amounts (includes 15% buffer):

• 1: MC 50 yds/46 m, CC 25 yds/23 m
• 2: MC 65 yds/59 m, CC 45 yds/41 m
• 3: MC 75 yds/69 m, CC 50 yds/46 m
• 4: MC 95 yds/87 m, CC 60 yds/55 m
• 5: MC 145 yds/133 m, CC 105 yds/96 m
• 6: MC 165 yds/151 m, CC 115 yds/105 m
• 7: MC 205 yds/187 m, CC 150 yds/137 m
• 8: MC 255 yds/233 m, CC 170 yds/155 m

Gauge:
38 stitches and 38 rounds per 4”/10 cm in colorwork pattern in the round, blocked.

Tools:

• 1 stitch marker
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors
• Additional stitch markers may be helpful to separate repeats.

Needles:
US 2 (2.75 mm) needles for knitting in the round, or size needed to get gauge

Social Media:
Please post your hat with the hashtags #UndergraduateHat and #kinoknits on social media. Please also tag @kinoknits.

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