Berroco Semillon Hat Knitting Pattern

Berroco Semillon Lace Knit Hat

What is Being Made

The Semillon is a seamless knit hat designed by Alison Green, featuring an intermediate skill level construction. This hat is worked in the round from the bottom up, creating a finished garment measuring approximately 21 inches around with a height of 8½ inches. The design combines a ribbed cuff with an elegant lace pattern that forms the main body of the hat, culminating in a shaped crown.

Techniques Used

This hat employs several key knitting techniques that make it an ideal intermediate project. The seamless, worked-in-the-round construction eliminates the need for seaming, as the entire hat is knitted continuously using circular needles and double-pointed needles. The lace technique is central to the design, incorporating yarn overs and decreases that create an open, decorative pattern throughout the hat body. The pattern includes a Left Twist (LT) stitch, which is created by skipping one stitch, knitting the next stitch through the back loop, then knitting the skipped stitch. Crown shaping is accomplished through strategic decreases worked on double-pointed needles when the stitch count becomes too small for the circular needle.

Stitches Used

• Knit through the back loop (k1tbl) — used in the ribbed cuff and throughout the pattern for textural variation
• Purl (p1) — creates the ribbed sections that frame the lace pattern
• Yarn over (yo) — creates the openwork characteristic of lace knitting
• Knit 2 together (k2tog) — a right-leaning decrease used in the lace pattern and crown shaping
• Knit 2 together through the back loop (k2tog-tbl) — a left-leaning decrease used for crown decreases
• Left Twist (LT) — a specialty stitch that adds visual interest to the charted pattern

Pattern Construction Details

The hat begins with 90 stitches cast on using size 3 (3.25 mm) circular needles, which are then worked in a knit-one-through-the-back-loop, purl-one ribbed setup for 1¾ inches. The needle size is then increased to size 7 (4.50 mm) circular needles, and two increase rounds are worked to bring the stitch count to 135 stitches. The main lace pattern is worked from a chart, repeated twice, then partially repeated a third time. Crown shaping begins with decrease rounds that reduce the stitches significantly, transitioning to double-pointed needles when necessary, until only 8 stitches remain to be finished.

Materials and Gauge

The Semillon is designed to be knitted with Berroco Summer Silk yarn, a lightweight summer yarn requiring only 1 ball (50 grams) in colorway #4003 Market. The pattern calls for two sizes of circular needles — size 3 (3.25 mm) for the ribbed cuff and size 7 (4.50 mm) for the main lace body — along with one set of four double-pointed needles in size 7 (4.50 mm) for crown shaping. Additional notions include a stitch marker and a tapestry needle for finishing. The recommended gauge is 23 stitches and 36 rounds over 4 inches in the charted pattern on the larger needle, making this an ideal lightweight hat for warm weather wear.