When you’re faced with weather reports that include words like icy, arctic, freezing, and blustery, it’s time to take your hat game to the next level. You can’t just go big; you have to go giant!

Giant Twisted Rib Hat | Purl Soho

For our Giant Twisted Rib Hat, we combined the powers of a springy twisted rib with our incredibly sumptuous Gentle Giant merino. Together they hug your head with a giant squishy, soft, and snuggly embrace.

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Giant Twisted Rib Hat | Purl Soho

On these cold and windy days, while some may say, “Go big or go home,” I say, “Go giant or stay home!” Ride out the rest of this winter with a Giant Twisted Rib Hat!. -Laura

Giant Twisted Rib Hat | Purl Soho

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoGiantTwistedRibHat, and #PurlSohoGentleGiant. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

  • Main Color (MC): 1 (2) skein(s) of Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant, 100% merino wool yarn. Each skein of this super bulky yarn is 48 yards/ 125 grams; approximately 43 (59) yards required.
  • Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant, 100% merino wool. Approximately 12 (21) yards required.
  • US 17 (12mm), 16-inch circular needles
  • A set of US 17 double pointed needles
  • 4 stitch markers, including 1 unique marker of a different color or shape

NOTE: If you’d like to make this hat in one color, you will need 2 total skeins for both the sizes.

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KID HAT IN PINKS

  • MC: Calico Pink
  • CC: Pink Sky
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KID HAT IN NEUTRALS

  • MC: White Peppercorn
  • CC: Wolf Brown
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ADULT HAT

  • MC: Winter Bark
  • CC: White Peppercorn

Gauge

8 stitches and 10 rows = 4 inches in Twisted Rib, unstretched

To make a flat swatch of Twisted Rib…

Cast on an even number of stitches.

Row 1: *K1 through the back loop (tbl), p1 tbl, repeat from * to end of row.

Repeat Row 1.

Sizes

Toddler/Small Kid (Adult)

  • Finished Circumference: 16 (20) inches, unstretched, comfortably stretches to 19 (23) inches
  • Finished Height: 12 (14) inches

Notes

Typically for an ssk we slip the first stitch knitwise and the second purlwise, as demonstrated in our video tutorial. For this pattern, however, we slip both stitches purlwise so that the top stitch is also twisted. This way the ssk blends beautifully with the Twisted Rib fabric. So…

Ssk (slip slip knit): Slip two stitches together purlwise, insert left needle into front of both slipped stitches, k2tog.

Pattern

With MC, cast 32 (40) stitches onto the circular needles.

NOTE: I used a Long Tail Tubular Cast On because it’s nice and stretchy, but a basic Long Tail Cast On would also do! If you do a Long Tail Tubular Cast On, be aware that, because this rib is twisted, the Foundation Rows are slightly different than in our tutorial.

IF YOU DID A LONG TAIL TUBULAR CAST ON…

Foundation Row 1: *Knit 1, slip one with yarn in front, repeat from * to end of row.

Foundation Row 2: *Knit 1 through the back loop (tbl), slip 1 with yarn in front, repeat from * to end of row.

IF YOU DID A LONG TAIL CAST ON OR SIMILAR…

Continue on to the next section, Continue in Twisted Rib.

Continue in Twisted Rib

Place unique marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.

Round 1: *K1 through the back loop (tbl), p1 tbl, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Round 1 until piece measures 8 (8 3/4) inches from cast-on edge.

Cut MC yarn.

Change Colors + Shape Crown

NOTE: Change to double pointed needles when necessary.

Join CC…

Set-Up Round: [(K1 tbl, p1 tbl) four (five) times, place marker] three times, *k1 tbl, p1 tbl, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 1: [Ssk (see NOTES above), *k1 tbl, p1 tbl, repeat from * to next marker, slip marker] four times. [28 (36) stitches]

Round 2: [K2 tbl, *p1 tbl, k1 tbl, repeat from * to one stitch before next marker, p1 tbl, slip marker] four times.

Round 3: [Ssk, *p1 tbl, k1 tbl, repeat from *  to one stitch before next marker, p1 tbl] four times. [24 (32) stitches]

Round 4: *K1 tbl, p1 tbl, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Round 1 and then Round 3 one (two) more times. [16 stitches]

Repeat Round 1. [12 stitches]

Next Round: [Ssk, p1 tbl] four times. [8 stitches]

Next Round: Ssk four times. [4 stitches]

Cut CC and thread the tail onto a tapestry needle. Draw the needle through the remaining stitches, pull taut, and bring the tail to the inside of the hat.

Finish

Weave in the ends and block as desired.

Giant Twisted Rib Hat | Purl Soho

LEARN ABOUT GENTLE GIANT + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS

You can’t get more gentle or more giant than Gentle Giant! A single ply of 100% merino wool, Gentle Giant has a loose and lofty spin that puts the fiber’s softness up front and also keeps this jumbo-weight yarn from weighing you down. You knit Gentle Giant up on mega US 17 or 19 (12-15 mm) knitting needles, making it a very smart choice for last-minute gifts that don’t sacrifice a lick of beauty!

More Free Knitting Patterns

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More Yarns With Similar Fibers

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!