By Koigu
| Brand: | Koigu |
| Yarn Weight: | Fingering |
| Designer: | Marji Lafreniere |
| Craft: | Knitting |
| Format: | Downloadable PDF |
| Techniques and Construction: | Bottom Up, Seamless, Stripes, Worked In The Round |
Koigu Pictor Hat and Fingerless Gloves from Pencil Box Collection 3 are made with a simple design to show off a painterly selection of colors. This fun and colorful set is knit in the round seamlessly from the bottom up. Koigu KPPPM Pencil Box Set - is the mini-hank collection you’ve been waiting for! KPPPM Pencil Box Set is the perfect way to get your gradient on with 10, 25g KPPPM (Painter’s Palette Premium Merino) hanks that are perfect for striping.
The Pictor Hat and Fingerless Gloves are a coordinating set designed by Marji Lafreniere for Koigu Wool Designs. This pattern creates one-size-fits-average-woman pieces that showcase a painterly approach to color work. The hat features a classic silhouette with ribbed cuffs and striped colorwork sections, while the fingerless gloves (referred to as mitts in the pattern) coordinate with matching design elements and button trim details.
Both garments are constructed using seamless, in-the-round knitting, which eliminates the need for seaming and creates a polished, professional finish. The pieces are worked bottom-up, beginning with cast-on edges and progressing toward the top. The hat and mitts feature striped colorwork created by introducing new yarn colors at strategic points throughout the pattern, allowing knitters to arrange their color palette in gradient order or custom arrangements based on personal preference.
The ribbed sections provide stretch and recovery, ensuring the pieces maintain their shape during wear. The alternating knit and purl stitches in the striped sections create visual texture that enhances the colorwork design.
This pattern uses Koigu KPPPM yarn from the Pencil Box collection, with each skein weighing 10 grams and containing 25 yards (87 yards per skein). The yarn is worked on size 2 and size 3 needles – a 16-inch circular needle for the main body and double-pointed needles (dpns) in both sizes for smaller circumference sections. Additional materials include 5 stitch markers to track pattern repeats and beginning-of-round positions, and 2 buttons for trim embellishment on the mitts.
Achieving proper gauge is essential for correct fit. The hat is worked at 28 stitches by 44 rows over 4 inches in the main striped section using size 3 needles. The fingerless mitts are worked at a slightly tighter gauge of 32 stitches by 45 rows over 4 inches on size 2 needles, creating a more fitted fabric for the hand sections.
The hat begins with a cast-on of 132 stitches using size 2 needles and the first color choice. After working approximately 2 inches of K2, P2 ribbing (or desired length), the knitter transitions to size 3 needles and introduces the first accent color. The pattern then progresses through multiple color changes, with each new color typically worked for 9 rows before alternating with the next color in the sequence. This systematic approach allows for creative color arrangement while maintaining consistent pattern structure.
The fingerless mitts follow a similar construction method, incorporating the same color-striping technique and button trim details that coordinate with the hat. The pattern notes emphasize that the design is intentionally simple, allowing the carefully selected Koigu color palette to be the focal point of the finished pieces.
Tell us what you think about it.
I love working with Koigu yarn, and this hat looked like a really fun project. I have a lot of left over Koigu, so my first "hat" was a patchwork of the leftovers. It really worked. The Pattern itself is easy to follow and works up rapidly. The only thing I had trouble with was when I switched to double-points during the decrease. Next time I will use bamboo needles rather than steel point, as the steel point needles had a tendency to slip out of the yarn.
