My early years were spent in Northland, where the people are tough and unpretentious. We lived on a large dairy farm, and getting up early to milk a herd of 300 dairy cows required a good warm potae! Most mornings while travelling to the cowshed we would come across wee possums (an introduced pest in NZ) whom had met their fate under the wheels of vehicles the previous night, and were very much flat….no longer round!

Possum Potae is a simply styled hat pattern, written in 8 sizes (to cover all heads from little tiny babies up to the biggest strongest volunteer firefighter!), and 5 yarn weights. Also included are directions on creating a custom sized potae to your own measurements. It differs from the Potae pattern in that just like the possums we encountered upon the road, the hat is constructed ‘flat’ (ie not knit in the round)

Potae is the Maori word for hat…..a word commonly used by English speaking New Zealander’s, particularly those whom have spent time living in rural NZ, or predominantly Maori communities.

The pattern is an excellent opportunity to use up partial skeins of yarn!

Possum Potae is the companion pattern to Potae - a pattern exclusively available to Matariki pattern club members until October 2012