A Simple Hat with a Handful of Purls

I am not generally a person who minds doing a bit of ribbing at the beginning of a project. Whether it’s a cuff up hat or top down socks, a little bit of ribbing sets the stage and often plays an important role in ensuring a project fits right and stays where it’s supposed to.

But not all ribbing is essential, and sometimes a curled hem on a stockinette stitch project is a wanted touch, not a frustration.

Still, a little bit of purling can give a project a bit more personality, as it does in the Purl Joy Hat from Kamaca Champion. With just six purl stitches per round, this hat gets a fun wedge shape that continues into the decreases at the top of the hat.

It’s a cool effect that works well if you wear the hat with the stockinette side or the reverse side out.

The hat is worked in worsted weight yarn, and as shown uses only about 50-80 grams of yarn, or 108-135 yards, 99 to 123 meters. You could definitely make it with some leftovers from another project, or throw in stripes or color blocking if you want to use more of your leftovers.

If you check out the project gallery on Ravelry you’ll see that it looks pretty great in a multicolored yarn, too. You might even grab a couple of lighter weight yarns to hold together for a totally different look. So many options!

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

If you’re looking for more hat patterns to knit for that colder weather that you know is going to be here before we know it, I actually did a whole roundup of hat knitting patterns using worsted weight yarn leftovers (though of course you can start them with a fresh ball, too, if you’ve got one handy).

[Photo: Kamaca Champion]

Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

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Hat Knitting Patterns Using Sock Yarn

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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