Early in the Spring, before most of the things that bloom woke up and began showing their faces, I had the idea for a hat. One adorned with little flowers — not yet in their fully-developed state, but clearly getting there.

And a hat with little flowers on it should of course be a hat for little humans. So the first hat I knit up in this pattern was a baby hat. But… it was so adorable that I wanted one for myself, so an adult version followed. And then how could I possibly leave out the rest of the family? So in the end, Bloomlings is a hat for everyone — from the newly-sprouted to the fully mature.

I purposefully created this hat without heed to limiting the number of stitches between motifs, because my favorite colorwork trick is ladderback jacquard. I encourage you to try it if you’ve never given it a shot. It’ll make the stretches between motifs much easier to manage and much less visible.

Tutorial
A complete written and photo tutorial on ladderback jacquard is included in the Appendix to the pattern.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Skills/Techniques: Stranded colorwork, knitting in the round, reading colorwork charts. Optional but strongly recommended: ladderback jacquard (photo tutorial provided)

Yarn: Modern Daily Knitting Atlas (100% Rambouillet; 145 yd/50g) or another heavy worsted to Aran-weight yarn, ideally non-superwash wool, in the following amounts:
Main Color: 60 (90, 120, 145, 175) yds
Contrast Color if using only one: 30 (45, 60, 75, 90) yds
OR if using two contrast colors:
Contrast Color 1: 20 (30, 40, 50, 60)
Contrast Color 2: 10 (15, 20, 25, 30)
Samples shown use Natural, Seaglass, and Tutu (baby hat) Mallard and Leek (adult hat)

Needles: US size 7 (4.5 mm) 16” circular needle, or size to obtain gauge; US size 6 (4.0 mm) 16” circular needle, or one size smaller than that used to obtain gauge; US size 7 (4.5 mm) dpns

Notions: tapestry needle, scissors, stitch marker

Gauge: 20 sts and 24 rows = 4” in stockinette st in the round, after blocking

Sizes: Size 1-Baby (Size 2-Child, Size 3-Child L/Adult S, Size 4-Adult L, Size 5-Adult XL)

Measurements:
Circumference: 12” (15”, 18”, 21”, 24”)
Intended to be worn with 0-2” negative ease at brim.