Mistake Rib Stitch Hat in Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande Hand Dye

Mistake Rib Stitch Hat in Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande Hand Dye

What Is Being Made

This is a classic knitted hat designed to fit both children and adults, with finished circumferences of 20 inches for the kids' size and 21½ inches for the adult size. The hat features a comfortable, stretchy construction that works well for various head sizes and is suitable for everyday wear.

Yarn and Materials

The Mistake Rib Stitch Hat is crafted using Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande Hand Dyed yarn in color 144 Autumn. This luxurious fiber blend offers softness and warmth. The pattern requires just one 100-gram skein for either size, making it an efficient project that doesn't require large yardage quantities. The hand-dyed nature of the yarn means each hat will have unique color variations, adding individual character to the finished piece.

Needles and Notions

The hat is worked on US Size 11 (8mm) knitting needles, using both a 16-inch circular needle and double-pointed needles (DPNs). A single stitch marker is required to track the beginning of each round. The transition from circular needles to DPNs occurs during the crown decreases when the stitch count becomes too small for the circular needle.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern is worked at a gauge of 12 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches in the mistake rib stitch. This moderate gauge creates a fabric with good drape and elasticity. The pattern is written for the smallest (kids') size with the larger (adult) size given in parentheses throughout, allowing knitters to easily customize their project.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

Mistake Rib Stitch is the featured stitch pattern for this hat. This textured stitch is created by working a multiple of 4 stitches across two rounds:

• Round 1: Knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches, repeating this sequence around
• Round 2: Knit 1 stitch, then purl 2 stitches and knit 2 stitches, ending with purl 2 and knit 1

These two rounds are repeated to create the pattern stitch. The mistake rib gets its name because the offset knit and purl columns create a subtle visual variation that resembles a "mistake" in traditional ribbing, though it is entirely intentional. This stitch produces a fabric with excellent elasticity and a visually interesting texture.

The hat begins with a long tail cast on of 60 stitches for the kids' size or 64 stitches for the adult size, worked on the circular needle. The body is worked in continuous rounds in the mistake rib stitch for 6 inches (kids') or 7 inches (adult), establishing the main hat height.

The crown is shaped using strategic decreases worked over four rounds, transitioning to double-pointed needles when necessary:

• Decrease Round 1: Knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together (a right-leaning decrease), repeating around to reduce to 45 stitches (kids') or 48 stitches (adult)
• Decrease Round 2: Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together, repeating around to reduce to 30 stitches (kids') or 32 stitches (adult)
• Decrease Round 3: Knit 2 together around, reducing to 15 stitches (kids') or 16 stitches (adult)
• Decrease Round 4: Knit 1 stitch for the kids' size (or knit 0 for the adult size), then knit 2 together around, leaving 8 stitches for both sizes

The yarn is cut and threaded through the remaining stitches to close the crown, and all ends are woven in to finish the hat.

Difficulty Level

This hat is rated as a beginner project, making it an excellent choice for knitters new to circular needle techniques and in-the-round construction. The mistake rib stitch, while textured, uses only basic knit and purl stitches, and the straightforward decreases are fundamental shaping techniques. The pattern