Explore Houndstooth Knitting with this Fun Hat Pattern

I don’t know why this hat pattern reminds me of Wednesday Addams. I guess it’s because of the black and white motif, which is commonly seen in a lot of her wardrobe, including her iconic checkerboard vest.

Of course you can knit houndstooth in any colors you like, but the high contrast of black and white makes it easy to see the pattern, both while you’re knitting and when you are wearing the hat. And if you’re a fan of SEC football, black and white houndstooth will always evoke Bear Bryant.

In any case, this pattern uses charts to show you how to do the colorwork, but they are easy to read and follow even if you’ve never read a chart before. You’ll quickly get the pattern repeat and be able to complete this cozy hat.

The pattern from Yarnspirations is rated for intermediate knitters because of the colorwork and needing to read the chart, but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it. The only potential issue is if you haven’t worked a lot of stranded colorwork before, you need to make sure that your floats are loose enough that the hat will still be stretchy enough to fit a head when you are done.

Because some of the floats and lengthy, too, you might want to catch the floats on the back as you go so the strands don’t get too long on the inside of the hat.

If you need help with the basics of stranded colorwork, this post from Tin Can Knits covers all the basics, including how to read a chart, how to deal with two colors on the same round, dealing with floats and trapping the color you’re not working with across the back, among other things. It’s a great overview of everything you need to know to knit this hat or any other simple stranded colorwork knitting pattern!

[Photo: Yarnspirations.]

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If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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