Berroco Potrillo Hat Knitting Pattern

Berroco Potrillo Knit Hat

What is Being Made

The Berroco Potrillo is an easy-skill-level knit hat from Berroco Booklet #339. This seamless, round-top hat features a finished circumference of approximately 22 inches (after elastic) and a height of 10 inches (after gathering). The design incorporates a unique gathering cord detail that creates visual interest and allows for adjustable fit.

Techniques Used

This hat is constructed using bottom-up construction, meaning knitting begins at the lower edge and progresses upward. The hat is worked in the round on a circular needle, creating a seamless garment with no side seams to sew. The pattern includes a turning ridge created with a purl round, which allows the lower edge to fold up neatly. Four decorative gathering cords made using the I-Cord technique are added during finishing to cinch and gather the hat.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout the main body of the hat, worked in the round for a smooth, classic knit fabric
• Purl Stitch: Used for a single round to create the turning ridge that marks where the lower edge folds
• I-Cord: A tubular cord technique created on double-pointed needles by repeatedly knitting and sliding stitches to the beginning of the needle without turning, used for the four gathering cords

Materials and Tools

This pattern calls for 3 balls of Berroco Cirrus yarn in colorway #2533 Adirondack (25 grams per ball). The yarn is worked at a gauge of 15 stitches and 22 rounds per 4 inches in stockinette stitch on the larger needles.

Required knitting needles include a 16-inch circular knitting needle in size 10 (6.00 mm) for the main hat body and 2 double-pointed knitting needles in size 7 (4.50 mm) for creating the I-Cord gathering cords. Additional finishing supplies include a stitch marker to track the beginning of rounds, a tapestry needle for weaving in ends, and 1 yard of 1-inch-wide no-roll elastic for securing the gathered lower edge.

Construction Overview

The hat begins with casting on 74 stitches on the circular needle, joined carefully to avoid twisting. The knitter works in stockinette stitch for 1¼ inches, then creates a turning ridge with one purl round. Stockinette stitch continues until the piece measures 21¼ inches from the cast-on edge, at which point all stitches are bound off. During finishing, four I-Cord gathering cords are created, each measuring 18 inches long. The lower edge is then turned up along the turning ridge and gathered using these cords to create the final hat shape.