Wholesale cutting of forests has had a devastating effect on the world’s climate. Here is a pattern of trees circling a beanie designed for the Science March, to try to bring awareness of the ways in which we are destroying life as we know it on this earth.

You can knit the beanie in the round, or knit it flat and seam it at the end, if you are not ready to tackle knitting in the round on double point needles. Instructions are given for both methods. Done this way, the pattern is beginner level. It is best to use a solid color. The tree stitch pattern gets lost in the color changes when using gradient yarns.

Instructions are also given for an intarsia version, which really makes the trees ‘pop’. It is not difficult intarsia, but it does bump the knitting up to intermediate level. The intarsia version is knitted flat and seamed at the end.

The beanie is knitted with sport weight yarn. You may use any sport weight yarn, but the yarn used in the hat pictured is Ice Yarns Primadonna, 50% wool/50% acrylic, 300 m (328 yds)/100 g.

This pattern was free until April 22nd, 2017