Cabled Hat Knitting Patterns

For some reason cabled hats remind me of deep winter, like they’re the warmest possible kind of hat you could have. That isn’t necessarily true, but these cable knit hat patterns would be great if you’re getting ready for winter or need a cozy hat for any time of year.

The easiest cables are little braids, and you’ll get lots of practice working them with this basic cable hat pattern from LSGCrafts. The pattern includes options to make it slouchy or more of a beanie, and I think it uses bulky yarn.

If you want a more subtle cable pattern you can try the Elle hat from Yelena Chen. This one is a mostly ribbed hat with a bit of diagonal cables that almost look like hearts. The hat is worked from the bottom up and includes a chart for the cables. One size is available and it uses worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

I love the color of the Chestertown Hat from Donna Estin Designs, probably because it just looks like fall. It also looks like a great project to try if knitting an Aran sweater is in your plans, because it features a couple of classic cable configurations you’ll do well to practice before taking on a bigger project. The pattern has a foldover brim for extra warmth, and is worked in worsted weight yarn with one size available.

Another pretty pairing of classic braids is found on the Campfire Beanie from Woolfield. This one also comes in one size and uses worsted weight yarn, and has a folded brim. It’s considered intermediate, as probably all of these are because of the cables and shaping that happens in them.

Go bolder with your cable choices with the Jar of Hearts Hat by Christy Houghton. This pretty twisted heart cable hat is worked in DK weight yarn and includes one size. The cable pattern is charted but this is a pretty easy one even if you’re new to cables and charts. Grab a copy from Ravelry.

I also like the Amberleigh hat and cowl duo pattern from Felicia Kulp (Ravelry). These patterns are sold in one download so you can make either or both with this fun round cable with textured stitches inside. The patterns call for worsted weight yarn and there’s one size of each in the pattern.

Sometimes when I’m scrolling through Ravelry a pattern will catch my eye as much because of the name as the look of the design (which is a little hard to see in those little thumbnails sometimes, anyway).

So it was with the Stellify shawl by Paola Albergamo. Stellify means to turn into a star, and the name and the story behind the shawl come from the story of Ariadne. The better known part of her story is that she helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur, but he then abandoned her. What comes after in many stories is that Dionysus found her, fell in love with her and later married her.

When he threw her jeweled crown into the sky, the Corona Borealis constellation was formed.

What does all this have to do with shawl knitting?

The shawl itself looks like it has a scattering of stars on it, as if it, too, has been stellified. The shawl begins with an I-cord tap and is shaped into a triangular shawl with both lateral and central increases. I-cord edging is incorporated into the sides, and the colorwork is done with mosaic knitting, which means this shawl is easier than it looks.

Mosaic knitting has you working with just one color per row, slipping stitches that appear in the other color to make the colorwork visible. Even better for people new to this kind of colorwork, the pattern includes written and charted instructions throughout so it should be easy to follow along.

The pattern comes in two sizes (the larger one is shown here) and calls for two colors of fingering weight yarn. It looks great in black and yellow, but don’t miss the other projects on Ravelry to see other fun and beautiful color options.

You can find the pattern in English and Italian on Ravelry.

[Photo: Paola Albergamo]

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