Blackfold Hat

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The Blackfold beanie is a unisex classic that you’ll reach for again and again. Grab a skein of your favourite heavy 4-ply or sport weight and enjoy relaxing ribbing in the round. Two crown options offer a choice between simplicity and knitterly perfection: go for the finesse of paired rib decreases for full reversibility, or regular decreases for a faster finish.

One size really does fit all (from child to large adult), thanks to super elastic fabric, while a deep fold keeps ears warm and the fit snug. This is the hat your family members will be fighting over so make one for everyone!

Sizes

Sizes: One size

Finished Circumference: 40 cm / 16 in (un-stretched)
To fit head size: 48 – 60 cm / 19 – 24 in

Shown on a head circumference of 55 cm / 21.5 in. The fabric of the hat is extremely stretchy so will fit a range of head sizes.

Yarn

280 m / 310 yards heavy 4-ply or sport weight yarn. You could use a wide variety of yarns from luxury silk cashmere blend to wool sock yarn.
Samples are made using:

Black Isle Yarns Auchen; 40% Bluefaced Leicester, 30% Cheviot, 30% Shetland; 410 m / 448 yds per 110g skein.
Posh Yarn Lei; 65% super wash merino, 20% bamboo, 15% silk; 320 m / 350 yds per 100g skein
Fyberspates Echo Self Striping Sock; 100% Bluefaced Leicester; 384 m / 420 yds per 100g skein.
Posh Yarn Eva Sock; 55% silk, 45% cashmere; 183 m / 200 yds per 55g skein.

Tension

40 sts (un-stretched) and 36 rows over 10 cm / 4 in, in 1×1 rib using larger needles. Row gauge is not critical. It should be possible to stretch the 10 cm / 4 in swatch to 15 cm / 6 in wide.

Needles

2.25 mm 30 cm circular needles
2.5 mm 30 cm circular needles and DPNs (if preferred for small circumference knitting)

Details

Two options are given for finishing this simple hat. The first is a little more work, but produces a perfectly reversible hat, with all the details polished. Use a Tubular Cast On for 1×1 rib to give a seamless edge, and work Crown Version 1. The Paired Rib Decrease (prd) is perfectly reversible and gives a really even neat appearance to the decrease round, but involves several steps.

To work a simpler hat, substitute the tubular cast on for another method with good stretch, such as the Alternate Cable Cast On and work Crown Version 2.

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