Kingsey Hat & Cowl Knitting Pattern

Kingsey Hat & Cowl in Berroco Mochi

What is Being Made

The Kingsey pattern is a two-piece knit set designed by Amy Christoffers, featuring a coordinating hat and cowl that can be made individually or as a complete accessory set. The hat is a close-fitting, crown-shaping design measuring approximately 18 inches around and 8½ inches high. The cowl is a longer, textured neck piece that measures approximately 31 inches around the bottom edge, 24 inches around the top edge, and 11 inches in length, creating a draped, dimensional fit.

Techniques Used

Both projects are worked in the round using circular needles, which creates seamless, tubular construction. The hat begins with a ribbed cuff worked on smaller needles, then transitions to larger needles for the main pattern body. An increase round is incorporated to expand the stitch count before the pattern stitch begins. Crown shaping is achieved through strategic decreases, and the pattern notes that when stitches become too numerous for the circular needle, crafters transition to double-pointed needles divided across three needles for the final shaping rounds. The cowl similarly uses circular needles throughout, maintaining consistent in-the-round construction.

Stitches Used

The Kingsey pattern employs a combination of fundamental and intermediate stitches. The ribbing uses alternating knit and purl stitches in a K1, P2, K1 repeat pattern to create the textured cuff. The main pattern stitch incorporates slip stitches worked with yarn in back (wyib), which create subtle texture and visual interest without adding bulk. The pattern alternates between purl rounds and slip stitch pattern rounds, with specific sequences: three rounds of purl followed by seven rounds of slip stitch patterns, repeated throughout the body. The slip stitch sections vary between slip 2 stitches, knit 11, slip 1 stitch and knit 6, slip 3 stitches, knit 5 repeats, creating a sophisticated textured fabric. Crown decreases are used to shape the hat's top, though the provided excerpt does not detail the complete decrease sequence.

Materials: Yarn, Needles, and Notions

The pattern calls for Berroco Mochi yarn in the colorway #3204 Cookies & Cream. Berroco Mochi is a specialty yarn made from 50-gram balls. The hat requires 1 ball of yarn, while the cowl requires 2 balls, making this an economical project for creating a coordinated set. The recommended needle sizes are US 6 (4 mm) and US 8 (5 mm) circular needles. For the hat specifically, a 16-inch circular needle is used for both sizes, along with one set of double-pointed needles in size 8 (5 mm) for crown shaping. The cowl uses a 24-inch circular needle in both sizes. Additional notions include stitch markers for tracking round beginnings and a tapestry needle for finishing. The pattern specifies a gauge of 22 stitches and 32 rounds equal 4 inches in the pattern stitch on larger needles, emphasizing the importance of gauge checking before beginning to ensure accurate finished measurements.

Difficulty Level

Designed as an intermediate skill level project, the Kingsey pattern combines basic circular knitting techniques with slip stitch patterning and crown shaping, making it suitable for knitters with foundational experience in in-the-round construction.