Rowan Cherub Hat Knitting Pattern

Rowan Cherub Baby Hat

What is Being Made

The Rowan Cherub is a soft, charming baby hat designed by Erika Knight, sized to fit infants from newborn through 12 months. This intermediate-level knitting project features distinctive shaped ears that give the hat its characteristic look, making it both functional and adorable for the youngest knitters' recipients.

Craft and Techniques

This is a knitting project that combines circular knitting and flat knitting techniques. The main body of the hat is worked in the round using circular needles, creating a seamless crown. The construction begins with a ribbed cuff worked in rounds, then transitions to stockinette stitch for the body. The ear shaping is accomplished by switching to flat knitting worked back and forth in rows, employing strategic decreases to create the tapered ear shapes characteristic of this design.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches appropriate for an intermediate skill level:

• Ribbing (K1, P1): Creates the elastic cuff at the base of the hat, worked in rounds for the first four rounds
• Stockinette stitch (st st): Formed by knitting every round in the circular sections, creating a smooth, classic fabric for the hat body
• Knit and purl decreases: K2tog, K2tog tbl, P2tog, and P2tog tbl decreases are used extensively to shape the ears, reducing stitches systematically across five rows to create the tapered ear effect
• Cast-on and cast-off: Standard techniques used to establish the initial stitches and finish the ear edges

Materials and Needles

This pattern requires Baby Cashsoft Merino yarn by Rowan, a luxuriously soft fiber blend ideal for delicate baby garments. The pattern calls for 1 x 50gm ball of yarn (photographed in colorways Pickles 123 and Nutkin 121). Knitters will need a 3¼mm (US 3) circular needle no longer than 40 cm for working the body in rounds, plus a set of four double-pointed 3¼mm (US 3) needles for any sections requiring smaller circumferences. The recommended tension is 25 stitches and 34 rounds/rows to 10 cm measured over stockinette stitch using 3¼mm needles, ensuring proper fit across the four size options.

Sizing and Finishing

The Cherub hat is available in four sizes to accommodate growth: 0–3 months, 3–6 months, 6–9 months, and 9–12 months. The cast-on ranges from 82 to 94 stitches depending on size, and the body length varies from 7.5 to 10.5 cm. Finishing involves pressing the completed pieces, joining the inner ears, and seaming the crown, following standard finishing instructions provided in the pattern documentation.