Cinnabar Hat

The rich detail and color of carved cinnabar were the inspiration for this hat (for the coordinating scarf, see the [December 2006 issue of MagKnits][2]), which showcases a modified version of the “Double Ribbed Mock Cable” (DRMC) from Barbara Walker’s 4th Treasury of Knitting Patterns. In the pictured hat, the stitch pattern is used both horizontally, for a wide band which wraps around the head, and vertically, from band to crown, but directions are also included for a hat without the horizontal band, which omits the somewhat time-consuming step of picking up stitches along the band.

Difficulty Intermediate; skills include provisional cast-on and grafting (both optional); picking up stitches (for pictured version); increases, decreases and reading chart.

Materials Yarn: Sundara Yarns hand-dyed DK Silky Merino (50% silk/50% merino wool; 250 yds/229 m per 100 gm skein); #012; 1 skein. Needles: 1 set US #5 / 3.75 mm double-pointed (dp) needles OR SIZE TO OBTAIN GAUG