Scandinavian Hat in Two Colorways

This week I’m excited to share two finishes with you. I knit two hats from the same pattern in different color ways. Originally, each was going to have its own post. But the timing worked out, and the color differences are so dramatic that they really need to be seen together.

The pattern is #03 Scandinavian Hat by Deborah Newton. I’m still on my quest to use up leftover sock yarn, and this pattern calls for light fingering weight — perfect! I also like that the motifs are set up in separate sections. It gives me visual breaks where I can change the colors if necessary as I’m working through these smaller quantities of yarn.

The Red Hat

The red version was first. In this beanie, I used three red yarns:

• madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the colorway Tart
• Ella Rae Lace Merino in colorway 209
• Handspun in a blend of angelina, bamboo, Blue Faced Leicester wool, firestar, Merino, sari silk, and silk

And two beige yarns:

• Lana Gatto VIP in colorway 2135
• A wool yarn which no longer has its label, pulled from a project that was accidentally run through the dryer

The reds are similar enough to each other that the yarn changes aren’t obvious at a glance, and the same goes for the beige yarns. But some of the yarns are very soft while others are less so. I started with the madelinetosh and Lana Gatto so the softest yarns would be against the wearer’s forehead. After the first few inches of knitting, I made an effort to pair a soft yarn with a less-soft yarn so no single section of the hat would feel rougher than the rest.

The knitting pattern calls for US-4 (3.5 mm) and US-6 (4.0 mm) needles. I tend to knit stranded colorwork loosely, so I opted for US-3 (3.25 mm) and US-5 (3.75 mm) needles.

Even after vigorous agitation in hot water, the hat circumference is a little over 23 inches (58.5 cm), which puts it solidly in the “large adult” size category. From the brim to the top of the pompom, it measures 17.5 inches (44.5 cm). The hat is a bit big but it’s so pretty, especially when the light catches the sparkles in the handspun.

The Purple Hat

I enjoyed knitting this pattern so much that I jumped right into starting a second hat. For the dark colors, I used:

• Cascade Yarns® Cascade 220® Fingering in 8885 Dark Plum
• Regia Blitz Color in colorway 02527
• Malabrigo Yarn Sock in 808 Violeta Africana
• Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in the colorway Notebook

The light colors are:

• Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 Fingering in 8505 White
• Lana Gatto VIP in the colorway 2135
• An unidentified ivory yarn

For this version, I took the needle size down further. My first choice was to use US-2.5 (3.0 mm) and US-4 (3.5 mm) needles, but I somehow don’t own any US-2.5 needles. I wanted to cast on right away so I used US-2 (2.75 mm) and US-3 (3.25 mm) instead.

Because there is more variety in the colors I chose for this beanie, I was mindful of changing the colors with each motif. One notable color choice is that the narrow strips between the wider motifs are all in Malabrigo, with the ivory yarn in the lower two rows and the Lana Gatto in the upper three rows. When the knitting was complete, the beige in the upper rows stood out as darker than the rest of the light colors. But when I soaked the hat, one of the purples bled and the color soaked into the other yarns. By happy accident, the ivory yarn in the lower rows soaked up the most dye, so now the color difference is more balanced.

This hat’s circumference is about 20.5 inches (52 cm), putting it in the range of a “small adult” or “large teen” size. The length is 14.5 inches (37 cm) from the brim to the top of the pompom, but a good part of the difference in length between this version and the red version is because I accidentally missed one repeat of the first wide motif. That extra repeat would have added another 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) to the length of the purple hat, but it’s still long enough to be a slouchy hat as intended.

Between the two hats, I used up seven yarns! I have recipients in mind for both hats. And I’ve had a request for a third version in yet another color family, so look for that post in the coming weeks.

I’m amazed by how the different colors changed the look of the Scandinavian Hat so drastically. I’m excited to see how the next selection of colors comes together.