Bloomlings

Early in the Spring, before most of the things that bloom woke up and began showing their faces, I had the idea for a hat. One adorned with little flowers — not yet in their fully-developed state, but clearly getting there. 

And a hat with little flowers on it should of course be a hat for little humans. So the first hat I knit up in this pattern was a baby hat. But... it was so adorable that I wanted one for myself, so an adult version followed. And then how could I possibly leave out the rest of the family? So in the end, Bloomlings is a hat for everyone — from the newly-sprouted to the fully mature.

I purposefully created this hat without heed to limiting the number of stitches between motifs, because my favorite colorwork trick is ladderback jacquard. I encourage you to try it if you've never given it a shot. It'll make the stretches between motifs much easier to manage and much less visible. A complete tutorial on ladderback jacquard is included in the Appendix to the pattern.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Skills/Techniques: Stranded colorwork, knitting in the round, reading colorwork charts. Optional but strongly recommended: ladderback jacquard (photo tutorial provided)

Yarn: Modern Daily Knitting Atlas (100% Rambouillet; 145 yd/50g) or a similar yarn, in the following amounts: 

Main Color: 60 (90, 120, 145, 175) yds

Contrast Color if using only one: 30 (45, 60, 75, 90) yds

OR if using two contrast colors:

Contrast Color 1: 20 (30, 40, 50, 60)

Contrast Color 2: 10 (15, 20, 25, 30)

Atlas is a heavy worsted to Aran-weight, lightly plied, non-superwash wool yarn. Samples shown use Natural, Seaglass, and Tutu (baby hat) Mallard and Leek (adult hat). 

Needles: US size 7 (4.5 mm) 16" circular needle, or size to obtain gauge; US size 6 (4.0 mm) 16" circular needle, or one size smaller than that used to obtain gauge; US size 7 (4.5 mm) dpns

Notions: tapestry needle, scissors, stitch marker

Gauge: 20 sts and 24 rows = 4" in stockinette st in the round, after blocking

Sizes: Baby (Child, Child L/Adult S, Adult L, Adult XL)

Measurements: 

Circumference: 12" (15", 18", 21", 24") 

Intended to be worn with 0-2" negative ease at brim. 

Please note that you are purchasing a knitting pattern, not a completed product.