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.

Knitting and travel are two hobbies that are highly compatible. Travel often involves waiting or time spent on planes, trains, boats, etc., time that can easily be filled by knitting, a portable and productive craft you can do most anywhere (and yes, you can take your knitting on a plane most of the time).

Krista Ann combines knitting and traveling regularly and ended up visiting every continent in 2022 with her knitting needles along for the ride. The Wandering Knitter explores travel, knitting and learning new knitting skills no matter where you are.

This isn’t a book for beginners, but if you’ve wanted to learn techniques like brioche, cables, lace, colorwork, mitered squares and short rows, there’s a set of more beginner level patterns followed by ones that are bigger, more detailed or required a little more skill. For example a brioche washcloth is the beginner pattern, while a brioche sweater (with unexplained exceptionally long sleeves) is the stepped up project. A basic mesh lace scarf becomes a more complex lace kerchief. A giant mitered square cowl graduates to a mitered square tote bag.

Interspersed among the patterns are essays about traveling to different continents and what she saw there. There are also tips for traveling with your knitting and tips for reading charts, but no tutorials for knitting skills (other than a written explanation of how mosaic knitting works).

Some of the projects would be useful to have when traveling, such as fingerless gloves, a warm headband or a colorwork hat. The travel angle is an interesting hook for a book, but I would have enjoyed essays more about specific incidents or shopping for yarn in a different country or something more than the general essays about things she’s liked and places she’d like to go back to.

Still, if you’re looking for a skill building book that doesn’t focus on the basics but gives you some wearable, attractive accessories, this book is a good one to check out. Just maybe make the sleeves shorter if you knit the sweater.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 20 patterns. Published 2026 by Quarry Books. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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