Blue Sky Fibers Glidden Hat Knitting Pattern

Blue Sky Fibers Glidden Hat by Sara Cookson

What is Being Made

The Glidden Hat is a stylish slouch hat designed for year-round wear, created as part of The Traveler Series by designer Sara Cookson. This downloadable knitting pattern produces a finished hat with a circumference of 19 inches and a height of 10½ inches, suitable for one size. The design features optional decorative X accents that are stitched into place after the main hat construction is complete, adding a personalized touch to this versatile headwear.

Craft and Techniques

This is a knitting project classified as Advanced Beginner level difficulty. The hat is worked in the round using circular needles, which is a fundamental technique for creating seamless, tubular garments. A distinctive construction method involves holding two strands of yarn together throughout most of the pattern, until the final three rows are worked with a single strand. This creates interesting texture and structure variations in the finished piece.

The pattern includes a special technique for managing stitches: using a tapestry needle and circular needle held together, the knitter alternates slipping stitches between needles in a specific sequence. This method is detailed in the pattern's special methods section and requires careful attention to stitch placement.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch pattern throughout the Glidden Hat is 1x1 Rib stitch, worked in the round. This stitch is created by alternating knit and purl stitches in every round (k1, p1 repeat), which produces the characteristic vertical ridges and elasticity that make ribbed fabric ideal for fitted hats. The 1x1 rib provides both structure and stretch, ensuring the hat maintains its shape while conforming comfortably to the wearer's head.

Materials and Tools

The Glidden Hat pattern calls for Blue Sky Fibers Organic Cotton (Worsted), a 100% Certified Organic Cotton yarn. The pattern requires 2 hanks of the main color, with an additional 6 yards of accent color available for the optional X decoration. Each hank contains 100 grams and yields 150 yards of yarn.

Needles required include:

• Size US 10 (6.0 mm) 16-inch circular needles for the main fabric
• Size US 9 (5.5 mm) 16-inch circular needle for ribbed sections or gauge adjustments

Additional tools needed are a stitch marker for tracking round beginnings and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends and stitching the optional X accents into place. The pattern specifies working to a gauge of 14 stitches and 18 rows over 4 inches in 1x1 rib stitch using the largest needles.

Care and Finishing

The Glidden Hat finished with hand washing or dry cleaning instructions. The care process involves washing in tepid water with mild soap without twisting the fabric, then shaping and drying flat on a towel. The pattern notes suggest storing the finished hat neatly folded, with a poetic reference to its potential as a family heirloom. Finishing includes weaving in all ends and optional blocking to shape the hat as desired.