Freia Fine Handpaints Little Imp Hat Knitting Pattern

Freia Fine Handpaints Little Imp Hat

Project Overview

The Little Imp Hat is a fun, whimsical pixie-style hat designed by Tina Whitmore. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a cozy, fitted hat available in four sizes: Child (18"), Adult Small (20"), Adult Medium (22"), and Adult Large (24"). The design features a playful construction with decorative tassels and pompoms, making it a charming accessory for any age.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a seamless, pixie-inspired hat with a fitted crown and playful embellishments. The hat is topped with two I-cord tassels, each finished with pompoms for added visual interest and texture. The design is worked from the bottom up in a classic hat silhouette that tapers gradually toward the crown.

Techniques Used

• Seamless construction: The hat is worked in the round using circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming along the body of the hat
• Worked in the round: All stitches are worked continuously on circular needles, creating a seamless tube
• Decreasing shaping: Strategic decreases (K2tog and K2togtbl) are worked at marked intervals to gradually reduce stitches and shape the crown
• I-cord construction: The tassels are created using the I-cord technique, a tubular cord formed by knitting three stitches and sliding them back to the opposite end of the needle repeatedly
• Pompom finishing: The ends of the I-cord tassels are finished with pompoms created from remaining yarn

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch: The primary stitch throughout the hat, created by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side, producing a smooth, classic fabric
• K2tog (knit two together): A right-leaning decrease used to reduce stitch count and shape the crown
• K2togtbl (knit two together through the back loop): A left-leaning decrease that creates balanced shaping when paired with K2tog decreases
• Garter stitch: Used in the initial rows (knitting all stitches on wrong-side rows) to create a finished edge

Materials and Yarn Specifications

This pattern requires 1 ball of Freia Handpaint Ombré Super Bulky yarn, weighing 150 grams with 87 yards of yardage. The sample shown is worked in the colorway Cochinilla. The super bulky weight yarn creates a quick-knitting, substantial fabric perfect for a cozy winter hat.

Needles and Notions

• Circular needles: US 17 (12mm) in 20–24" length, or the size required to obtain proper gauge
• Gauge: 2 stitches and approximately 3 rows per inch in Stockinette stitch
• Additional notions: Stitch holder, stitch marker(s), and tapestry needle for finishing

Pattern Details

The Little Imp Hat begins with a cast-on and is worked in Stockinette stitch with strategic marker placements to guide decreases. The pattern uses a series of decrease rows worked on right-side rows only, with wrong-side rows worked in purl to maintain Stockinette stitch texture. Decreases are positioned at marked intervals to create a symmetrical, tapered crown. Once the crown is sufficiently reduced to 8 stitches, stitches are bound off. The back seam is sewn closed, and the remaining yarn is used to create decorative pompoms. Two separate I-cord tassels are constructed by casting on 3 stitches and working 30 rows of I-cord before finishing with pompoms at each end.

Design Credit

Pattern design by Tina Whitmore Design in collaboration with Knitwhits, copyright 2014. This is a non-commercial use pattern for personal knitting projects.