I based this hat design on an earlier design I created that used a “3-strand” Celtic braid cable pattern. I wanted to try some sort of cable/braid patterm using 2 colors and tried different combinations of cabling until I found one that seemed to work well and gave it an organic look.

This particular hat was made for a friend who asked for “earthtone” colors. I had some leftover Malabrigo Applewood and a full skein of the Roanoke brown so I figured those 2 colors would fit the bill nicely. As I was working the solid crown of the hat, I decided to throw in the 2-color effect at the top to give it some more interest. Trying to decide between changing colors as Fair Isle and Intarsia, I settled on the Fair Isle, since Intarsia doesn’t work very well in the round. I consistently twisted the colors every 3 sts. The result was an unexpected and funky rib-like pattern.

I’m very pleased with the end result on this hat that I pretty much made up as I went along, just to see what it would like. It ended up with a little point at the top and with the colors, my wife thought it looked like an acorn. Hence the name.