Slipt Stitch Hat And Cowl Knitting Pattern

Slip Stitch Hat and Cowl in Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet

What Is Being Made

This advanced knitting pattern produces two coordinated accessories: a women's hat with an 18-inch brim and 24-inch circumference, and a matching cowl measuring 11 inches in length with a 32-inch circumference. Both pieces feature the same distinctive stitch pattern and can be made from a single set of yarn colors, creating a cohesive accessory set.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several intermediate to advanced knitting techniques that require careful attention and prior experience. Slip stitch colorwork is the primary technique, creating visual texture through strategic slipping of stitches in contrasting colors rather than traditional stranded colorwork. The pattern uses cable techniques, specifically the C3B (cable 3 back) maneuver, which twists stitches to create raised ridge details. Decreasing techniques are essential for shaping the hat crown, including ssk (slip, slip, knit) and k2tog (knit 2 together) decreases, as well as the more complex sl 1-k2tog-psso (slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over) decrease. The pattern is worked in the round using circular needles and double-pointed needles, requiring the knitter to transition from circular needles to DPNs as stitches decrease during crown shaping. Blocking is specified as necessary for achieving proper gauge.

Stitches Used

The pattern incorporates the following stitches and stitch patterns:

• 1x1 Ribbing: Used for the hat brim, alternating knit and purl stitches for elastic edge definition
• Knot Ridges and Twists: The signature stitch pattern worked over a multiple of 8 stitches, combining knit stitches, slip stitches (both wyib—with yarn in back—and wyif—with yarn in front), and cable 3 back twists to create textured ridges
• Stockinette Stitch: Worked in solid rounds between pattern rows for contrast and structure
• Cable 3 Back (C3B): A cable technique that twists three stitches to create raised diagonal lines
• Decreases: Ssk, k2tog, and sl 1-k2tog-psso used strategically for crown shaping
• Make 1 (m1): Increases used in the hat body to expand stitch count before pattern work begins

Materials

Both the hat and cowl are constructed using Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet 100, a yarn with 100-gram skeins. Each project requires one 100-gram skein each of color 16 (main color) and color 500 (contrasting color). The pattern specifies US Size 4 (3.75mm) circular needles measuring 24 inches for ribbing and initial setup, and US Size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles, also 24 inches, for the main pattern work. For the hat, US Size 5 (3.75mm) double-pointed needles are required for crown decreasing when stitches no longer fit comfortably on the circular needle. Additional notions include a stitch marker and a cable needle for executing the cable twists. The gauge is 28 stitches and 48 rows over 4 inches in the Knot Ridges and Twists stitch on US Size 5 needles after blocking, and 27 stitches over 4 inches in 1x1 ribbing on US Size 4 needles when slightly stretched.