Lang PTO28-17 Hat Knitting Pattern

Lang PTO28-17 Knitted Hat

What is Being Made

The Lang PTO28-17 is a classic knitted hat designed to fit a head circumference of approximately 52 cm (20½ inches). This downloadable PDF pattern produces a finished hat featuring a ribbed cuff, stockinette stitch body, and a decorative pompom crown. The design is suitable for intermediate knitters and works up relatively quickly using worsted-weight merino yarn.

Knitting Techniques Used

This hat is constructed using bottom-up construction, meaning you begin at the cast-on edge and work upward toward the crown. The pattern is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, which means the finished pieces require seaming to close the side seam. The seaming technique includes a distinctive finishing detail where the first 4 cm (1½ inches) of the seam is left visible on the outside of the hat for decorative effect. After seaming, the ribbed border is folded up to create the finished cuff.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The hat uses two primary stitch patterns worked on different needle sizes:

• Pattern I (Ribbed Cuff): Knit 1, purl 1 (k1, p1) ribbing worked on 3.5mm needles. This elastic ribbing creates the stretchy cuff that hugs the head and prevents the hat from slipping.
• Pattern II (Hat Body): Stockinette stitch (RS knit, WS purl) worked on 4mm needles. This smooth, classic stitch creates the main body of the hat.

Crown shaping is achieved through strategic decreases: knit 2 together (k2tog) and purl 2 together (p2tog) reductions worked in two consecutive rows to taper the crown smoothly. The remaining stitches are drawn together with the yarn end to close the top of the hat.

Materials and Gauge

The pattern calls for 100 grams of yarn, which equals 2 balls of either LANGYARNS MERINO 150 DÉGRADÉ in the green-bordeaux-salmon colorway (40.0003) or LANGYARNS MERINO 150 in kiwi (197.0116). Both options are extra fine merino or fine merino respectively, and are noted as mulesing-free. The yarn is worked on ADDI knitting needles in sizes 3.5mm (US 4) and 4mm (US 6, UK 8).

The gauge for Pattern II using 4mm needles is 23 stitches = 10 cm (4 inches) wide and 32 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) long. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for the hat to fit properly at the specified head circumference.

Construction Overview

You begin by casting on 124 stitches using the 3.5mm needles and working the k1, p1 ribbed cuff for 8 cm (3¼ inches). At this point, you switch to the 4mm needles and continue in stockinette stitch for the main body of the hat. When the piece measures approximately 22 cm (8¾ inches) from the cast-on edge, you begin the crown decreases using k2tog and p2tog reductions. After drawing the remaining stitches together, you seam the side edges, leaving the first 4 cm of the seam visible as a design detail, and fold up the ribbed border to create the finished cuff. Finally, a 6 cm (2¼ inch) diameter pompom is created using a pompom card and sewn to the top of the hat for a classic, playful finish.