Knit and Tonic The Honeycomber Hat Knitting Pattern

Knit and Tonic The Honeycomber: Seamless Two-Color Knit Hat

What Is Being Made

The Honeycomber is a seamless knit hat designed in Youth/Women's Small and Average Adult sizes, with finished circumferences of 18 inches (21.25 inches) and optional sport weight sizing at 18.75 inches (21.25 inches). The hat stands approximately 8.75 to 9 inches tall and features a distinctive two-color honeycomb stitch pattern as its focal design element.

Knitting Techniques

This pattern employs bottom-up construction, beginning with a cast-on at the brim and working upward toward the crown. The hat is worked seamless in the round using circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, continuous fabric. The design incorporates stranded colorwork techniques, using two colors throughout the pattern to create visual depth and texture.

Stitch Patterns and Construction

The Honeycomber combines multiple stitch patterns in a structured sequence:

• 2 x 2 Rib: A foundational rib pattern worked over a multiple of 4 stitches with a 1-round repeat, alternating knit 2 and purl 2. This elastic ribbing forms the initial 2 rounds of the hat and reappears later for 2 additional rounds, providing stretch and structure at the brim.
• Corrugated Rib: A two-color rib pattern worked over a multiple of 4 stitches, alternating knit 2 in color B and purl 2 in color A for a single-round repeat. This creates a textured transition between the plain rib and the main pattern.
• Honeycomb Stitch: The signature pattern element, worked over a multiple of 8 stitches with a 20-round repeat. The honeycomb is created through a combination of slipped stitches and knit stitches in two colors. Specific rounds include slipped stitches (sl2, k6 repeat) alternating with knit and purl rows in color A, and additional slipped stitch sequences (k3, sl2, k3 repeat) to build the dimensional honeycomb texture. This 20-round pattern repeat is worked three complete times, followed by a partial repeat of rounds 1 through 12.

When slipping stitches throughout the pattern, stitches are slipped purlwise with yarn held in back of work, a technique that maintains stitch tension and creates clean edges for the colorwork sections.

Yarn and Materials

The Honeycomber is available in two yarn weight options. The fingering weight version requires two hanks of fingering yarn totaling approximately 574 yards (based on the sample yarn specifications), divided into 1 skein of color A and 1 skein of color B. The sport weight version uses two hanks of sport weight yarn, similarly divided into 1 skein each of colors A and B. The sample shown was knit in Rohrspats & Wollmeise 100% merino superwash fingering yarn. Circular needles appropriate to the chosen yarn weight are required for seamless in-the-round construction. Pattern notes indicate that the cast-on stitch count can be adjusted by multiples of 8 to customize the finished circumference.

Pattern Format

The Honeycomber is provided as a downloadable PDF pattern, making it convenient for digital access and printing.