This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Keepsies noun the act of keeping something, especially something wagered in a game

Sometimes the yarn is the boss. The yarn is the boss, it really wants to be knit in stockinette, and it isn’t going to listen to anything you might have to say to the contrary. I found myself with a yarn like that, and this is the result.

If you’ve fallen for the charms of a bossy yarn (or if you just have some yarn that’s so pretty you need to show it off as much as possible), this could be just what you’ve been looking for!

The main body of the hat is just ribbing and stockinette (meaning if you can work in the round, knit, and knit and purl through the back loop, you can make this). Then, when the hat is tall enough, you do a very clever (and surprisingly easy) bit of finishing to make that adorable business on the crown. It’s not hard at all (no seams, no kitchnering, no extra ends to weave in, it’s all very mellow), and there’s a detailed photo tutorial to walk you through it if you’re feeling a bit intimidated.

It looks absolutely adorable, and it really is one of the most satisfying bits of knitterly magic I’ve ever seen. You’re going to feel ridiculously clever when you make it for yourself!

The hat is written in five sizes (castons of 88, 96, 104, 112, and 120 stitches), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit of the hat. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a fabric you like with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 5, 5.5, 6, or 6.5 stitches per inch, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for your size. With that range of sizes and gauges, the hat will fit a head between 15.5 and 24 inches (with lots of points in between).

This is perfect for you if:

• You have some yarn that wants to be the star of the show
• You love the idea of a reversible hat (you decide at the end if you want the knit side or the purl side showing)
• You’re looking for an easy, meditative project

It’s not for you if:

• You can’t stand stockinette
• You hate swatching (you need to swatch to check your needle size)