Spiral Rainbow Hat Knitting Pattern

Spiral Rainbow Hat Knitting Pattern by Plymouth Yarn

Project Overview

The Spiral Rainbow Hat is a downloadable knitting pattern from Plymouth Yarn Company featuring their Encore Colorspun yarn. This free pattern comes with yarn purchase and creates a striking spiral effect through the strategic alternation of stockinette and reverse stockinette stitches. The design produces a dimensional, textured hat with a distinctive rainbow spiral appearance that emerges from the contrasting stitch patterns.

Materials and Gauge

This pattern requires one 100g ball of Plymouth Yarn Encore Colorspun in either color 7021 or 7022. The recommended gauge is 5 stitches per 1 inch when working in stockinette stitch on US 8 needles, or whatever needle size is necessary to achieve the specified gauge. You will also need a yarn needle for finishing techniques and a crochet hook for the pattern.

Core Knitting Techniques and Stitches

The Spiral Rainbow Hat employs two fundamental knitting stitches that work together to create the visual spiral effect:

• Stockinette Stitch: Created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows, this stitch produces a smooth, flat fabric with a characteristic V-pattern appearance on the front.
• Reverse Stockinette Stitch: The inverse of stockinette, created by purling on right-side rows and knitting on wrong-side rows, this stitch displays the bumpy texture typically seen on the back of stockinette fabric.

The pattern uses provisional cast-on to create a temporary edge that will later be grafted closed, and Kitchener stitch (also known as grafting) to seamlessly join the cast-on edge to the final row, forming a tube. This advanced finishing technique creates an invisible seam and is essential for the hat's construction.

Pattern Structure: Version 1

Version 1 begins with a provisional cast-on of 70 stitches. The pattern starts with 2 rows of stockinette stitch, then alternates between 4-row blocks of reverse stockinette and 4-row blocks of stockinette stitch, repeating this sequence 16 times. The pattern concludes with 4 rows of reverse stockinette followed by 2 rows of stockinette stitch.

Throughout construction, shaping occurs simultaneously: one stitch is increased at the beginning of every right-side row while one stitch is decreased at the end of each right-side row. This balanced increase-decrease sequence maintains stitch count while creating subtle shaping. Once the pattern rows are complete, Kitchener stitch grafts the provisional cast-on edge to the final row, forming a seamless tube. The top of the hat is then gathered using a length of yarn and secured tightly to close the crown.

Pattern Structure: Version 2

Version 2 offers an alternative construction with longer stitch blocks. This version begins with a provisional cast-on of 70 stitches and starts with a wrong-side row, followed by 3 rows of stockinette stitch. The main pattern alternates between 6-row blocks of reverse stockinette and 6-row blocks of stockinette stitch, repeating this sequence 10 times. The pattern concludes with 6 rows of reverse stockinette followed by 3 rows of stockinette stitch.

Like Version 1, shaping occurs throughout: one stitch is increased at the beginning of every right-side row and one stitch is decreased at the end of every right-side row. After completing the pattern rows, the provisional cast-on edge is grafted to the final row using Kitchener stitch to form a tube, and the top is sewn closed using the same method as Version 1.

Design and Visual Effect

The alternating blocks of stockinette and reverse stockinette create a bold spiral pattern that wraps around the hat. The contrasting textures—smooth against bumpy—produce visual depth and dimensional interest. The longer stitch blocks in Version 2 create a more pronounced spiral compared to the tighter pattern in Version 1, allowing knitters to choose their preferred aesthetic.