Viviani Beanie

Vincenzio Viviani, a mathematician and disciple of Galileo, dedicated his life to the exploration of geometry and the relationships inherent in everyday shapes. The essence of this pattern, named in his honor, is its unusual parallelogram construction. It explores an unexpected twist in the relationships of this hat’s familiar shape. As I was working on a bias-knit piece, it dawned on me how easy it would be to create a cylinder by simply seaming the two short ends together. Out of this realization came something different: Viviani. The garter ridges and braided cable run diagonally up the hat for a unique look. The piece is first knit flat as a parallelogram. Then the short ends are grafted together into a cylinder and the crown of the hat and ribbed brim are added. To help the cable stand out use a solid or tonal yarn. Yarn with speckles or that is primarily solid will work as well, but any significant variegation in the colorway can muddy or hide the cable. A single 100g skein of DK weight yarn should be enough to complete the whole hat.

Supplies 

• 246 yards (100 grams) Leading Men Fiber Arts Polwarth DK or similar DK weight yarn. Shown in colorways Bend & Snap and Green Gables
• US6 (4mm) 16” circular needle
• Optional spare circular needle for grafting
• US5 (3.75mm) 16” circular 
• US6 (4mm) DPNs 
• 2 stitch markers
• Tapestry needle
• Crochet hook & scrap yarn