Noro Leaf Band Hat Knitting Pattern

Noro Leaf Band Hat

What is Being Made

The Noro Leaf Band Hat is an intermediate-level knitted hat designed to fit an adult woman. This downloadable knitting pattern produces a finished hat with a head circumference of 18 inches (45.5 centimeters) and a length of 11 inches (28 centimeters). The hat features a distinctive leaf band design that wraps around the crown, creating a decorative and textured element characteristic of Noro's design aesthetic.

Knitting Techniques Used

This pattern employs several intermediate knitting techniques that add visual interest and structure to the finished garment:

• Pick up and knit/purl: Stitches are picked up and worked along an edge, a technique used to create the crown section of the hat after the band is complete.
• Slip, slip, knit/purl decreases: Two stitches are slipped knitwise individually to the right-hand needle, then inserted together through the front loops to decrease by one stitch, creating neat, directional decreases.
• Yarn overs: New stitches are created by placing yarn over the right-hand needle, contributing to the lace or textured elements within the leaf pattern.
• Slip stitches: Stitches are passed from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle without being worked, often used at selvage edges to create neat seaming edges.
• Working in back loops: The pattern specifies working into the back loops of slip stitches when picking up stitches for the crown, a technique that creates a polished finish.
• Tubular construction: The band is knitted flat, then the cast-on edge is sewn to the bound-off edge to form a seamless tube before crown stitches are picked up.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The hat is constructed using stockinette stitch as the base fabric, which provides a smooth, classic knit surface. The defining feature of this hat is the leaf chart pattern, which is repeated eight times across the band. This charted pattern creates the decorative leaf motif that gives the hat its distinctive appearance. The pattern includes selvage stitches at the edges, which are edge stitches designed to make seaming easier and create a professional finish where the band is joined into a tube.

Materials and Gauge

The Noro Leaf Band Hat is knitted using Noro Silk Garden yarn in colorway #373, with two 50-gram skeins required to complete the project. The yarn is worked on size US 7 (4.5 millimeter) needles, with the pattern requiring one pair of straight needles for the band and one set of five double-pointed needles for working the crown in the round. Stitch markers are also needed to track pattern repeats and round beginnings.

The recommended gauge is 20 stitches and 24 rounds to 4 inches (10 centimeters) over stockinette stitch using size US 7 (4.5 millimeter) needles. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the finished hat achieves the correct finished measurements. The pattern notes that LYKKE® hat needles and hooks are recommended for best results.