Twisted Rib Hat + Mittens
Bringing to mind the braids of my schoolgirl days and the rugged Aran sweaters my grandmother knit and my grandfather wore, twisted rib is definitely one of my favorite stitch patterns. A fabric in twisted rib is tidy, sturdy, elastic, and wonderfully handsome!
With just the knit stitches twisted, these Hats + Mittens are nice and smooth on the wrong side, while rich ridges on the right side face both the world and those chilly months ahead. With the slightest twist (pun intended) on a standard 1 x 1 rib, these classic accessories take on a distinctive dimension.
We knit our Twisted Rib Hats + Mittens in soft and squishy Flax Down, a pretty blend of baby alpaca, extra fine merino, and linen. From an Heirloom White bottom to a colorful top, Flax Down glows with warmth and subtlety.
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!
Our Twisted Rib Hat + Mittens Pattern is sized from small babies to large adults, so everyone gets a little something. And whether you’re wearing the Hat over braids or the Mittens with an Aran sweater, these knits will bring your winter a touch of color, plenty of warmth, and a ton of beauty! -Laura
PS: As in love with Twisted Rib as I am? Check out my sweater, the Twisted Rib Pullover.
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoTwistedRibHatAndMittens, and #PurlSohoFlaxDown. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
In addition to the free Twisted Rib Hat + Mittens Pattern, you’ll need…
Hat
- Main Color (MC): 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Flax Down, 43% baby alpaca, 42% extra fine merino, and 15% linen. Each skein is 250 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 64 (96, 128, 154) total yards required. We used Heirloom White.
- Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Flax Down. Approximately 26 (41, 47, 64) total yards required. We made a Hat using every color in our Flax Down palette!
- US 6 (4mm), 16-inch circular needles
- A set of US 6 double pointed needles
- One ring stitch marker + four removable stitch markers
Mittens
- Main Color (MC): 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Flax Down, 43% baby alpaca, 42% extra fine merino, and 15% linen. Each skein is 250 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 77 (122, 191) total yards required. We used Heirloom White.
- Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Flax Down. Approximately 19 (31, 43) total yards required. We used every color of Flax Down!
- A set of US 5 (3.75mm) double pointed needles
- A set of US 6 double pointed needles
- One ring stitch marker + four removable stitch markers
Gauge
29 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in Twisted Rib Stitch, using larger needles
Sizes
Hat
Baby/Toddler (Kid, Adult Small, Adult Large)
- Finished Circumference: 13¼ (15½, 17¾, 20) inches unstretched, comfortably stretching to 15½ (18¼, 21, 23) inches
- Finished Height: 7¾ (8¾, 10, 11) inches, with instructions to modify
Mittens
Toddler/Kid (Junior/Adult Small, Adult Large)
- Finished Circumference at Palm: 4½ (6½, 8½) inches, comfortably stretching to 5½ (7¾, 9) inches
- Finished Length from Cuff to Tip: 8¾ (10½, 12¼) inches, with instructions to modify
Pattern
The Twisted Rib Hat + Mittens Pattern is now available as a free pattern here!
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 45 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 1000’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Simply stunning!! These hats are so beautiful. I am seriously considering making these for Christmas! I was also wondering if Lion Brand’s Hometown USA yarn would be right for this pattern? Thanks!
Hi Coletta,
Thanks for writing in and for your kind words! We used our Flax Down for these hats and mittens and it comes in at about 5-5.5 stitches per inch. It looks like Hometown USA comes in at 2.25 stitches per inch, which is quite a bit thicker than the yarn we used. If you want to use a yarn other than Flax Down, I would suggest looking for a yarn in the DK/Sport range with roughly 5 stitches per inch!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Would love to knit hat and gloves for teenage grandchildren. Neither Heirloom white nor Flax Down are practical. White will get dirty quickly and mothers will not hand wash or dry flat. Any suggestions in keeping with exceptional Purl style?
Hello, Babette!
Thank you so much for writing in! We hear you, sometimes hand washing items that will get a lot of use (like mittens!) is out of the question! Tosh Merino DK is a great machine washable alternative to the Flax Down. The color Paper would be a lovely substitute for Heirloom White and you could pair it with Well Water, Calligraphy or even Tart for a look similar to ours. Or if you’re feeling a bit more bold Pop Rocks, Oceana, and Neon Orange would look great paired with Paper. As with any yarn substitution we highly recommend making a gauge swatch before jumping into the project, just to make sure you don’t end up with mittens that are too small or a hat that’s too big!
Again, thank you for writing in and if you have further questions please let us know!
Best,
Kumeko
Simples et pourtant si beaux BRAVO
It’s a question. Do I need 4 total skeins if I’m knitting the hat and mittens for an adult? Two skeins of Heirloom white and 2 skeins of the accent color? Thanks in advance for your input. 🙂
Hi, Mary!
Thank you for your question! If you were to make the largest sizes for each you would use 64 yards of the contrast color for the hat and 43 yards for the mittens you can get away with getting one skein of the contrast color since each skein of the Flax Down is about 219 yards. I do recommend getting at least 2 skeins of the Heirloom White. I personally would purchase 3 of the Heirloom White just in case because running out of yarn is real bummer. If you keep that 3rd skein in it’s original condition (un-wound) you can always send it back to us for store credit or exchange within 6 months of purchase if you don’t end up needing it.
Again, thank you for writing in and please let us know if you have further questions.
Best,
Kumeko
Hi,
I’m a little confused by this pattern. Should I be making regular purl stitches or p1 tbl? This pattern says regular p1, but your free pattern for the Giant Twisted Rib Hat says p1 tbl. Why the difference? Are there different ways of knitting the twisted rib stitch?
Thank you!
Hi Allie,
Thanks for writing in! Twisted rib can be achieved either way. You can knit and purl into the back loop or just knit into the back loop and do a standard purl. They create slightly different looks but overall similar effects. The choice between the two was a personal one for the designers on these different projects and were, ultimately, what they thought worked best for each individual project. In the case of these lovely mittens and hats, you should follow the pattern as written to get the same effect as our samples.
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy
Thank you so much for the quick response… It was very helpful!
Hi! Just started knitting the hat and have some q. I did a long tail tubular cast on and made my first two rows. Now I wonder if I – when joining them into the circle – shall continue with K1tbl and slip one w yarn in front or if I should do then K1tbl and then p1… Will it not look nice to do the slip thing when I have joined then into the circle, or? It seems to make the rib tighter, so I have continued. But am not sure!
Thanks a lot! Mia
Hi Mia,
Thanks for writing in to us! I don’t think it’s necessary to keep slipping with yarn in back for the purls when joined in the round. The foundation rows are just for the tubular cast on and not for the stitch pattern. Best of luck!
-Adam
I can’t make sense of the gusset instructions. At the end of Round 1, where there is a special marker, it says to place marker, then m1R. Place a marker? What of the end-of-round marker? Then Round 2 just gets worse. I’ve knit gussets before, but I can’t figure this out at all. Is there someone I can talk to?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing in! I think that I can help. At the end of round 1, you will place a marker and then m1R before the end/beginning of round marker. This will create a stitch between this new stitch marker and the end/beginning of round marker. So you will have a stitch marker for end/beginning of round marker and 1 on either side this marker 1 stitch away. You will be increasing into these two single stitch sections to create the gusset.
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
Do you have a yarn I could use that doesn’t have alpaca? I am allergic. Thanks!
Hi Christine,
Great question! We are always happy to recommend alternate yarns! Cashmere Merino Bloom would work spot for this pattern and be quite soft and squishy! Mulberry Merino could also work here, although I would suggest knitting up a gauge swatch as it is slightly thinner.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Fairly new knitter here…Haven’t even started these, but am confused about the gauge…”29 stitches and 28 rows=4 inches in TRS, using larger needles. ” What size needles? Also should I use the long tail tubular cast on, with the two foundation rows, for the swatch?
Hi Stefanie,
Thanks for reaching out! That gauge is in reference to using the US 6 needle! It is not necessary to use the Long Tail Tubular cast on for the swatch, regular Long Tail Cast on should be just fine!
All the best,
Gianna
Hi! Quick question. When doing the twisted rib stitch, I knit one through the back loop and then do a regular purl stitch – or a purl stitch through the back loop? back?
Hi Ann,
Thanks for writing in! That is correct, you knit 1 through the back loop and then purl 1 like normal!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
I’m knitting the largest size in the hat. The top portion doesn’t come out right . I have 128 sets. When dividing them it doesn’t come out correctly. Is there a revision to this pattern?
That should have been stitches not sets in my comment. Thanks for any help you can give. Hate to have to stop and redo when I’m all the way to the top section!
Hi Chiquieta,
Thanks for reaching out! I am sorry to hear that you are having troubles with the crown of the hat! The pattern is correct, and there are no revisions. It looks like the problem to me is that you have actually cast on the number of stitches for the Adult Small (128 stitches), not the Adult Large! For the Adult Large you should have cast on 144 stitches. Unfortunately, unless you don’t mind making the Adult Small size instead you will need to start over and cast on the correct 144 stitch for the Adult Large.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Gianna
Hello! When doing the s2kp for the hat, should both the slipped stitches and the knit that gets a stitch marker be done with a normal knit (rather than knitting to the back like the rest of the knit stitches in this pattern)?
Hi Louise,
Thanks for your question! For the s2kp in this pattern, I would suggest to knit it as written and just like a regular knit stitch. Since you will be passing stitches over the knit stitch, it will not be super visible anyway within the overall fabric!
I hope this was helpful! Have a wonderful rest of your day!
All the best,
Cat
Can “good wool” or “knitting yarn” be used for this pattern?
Hi Emily,
Knitting Yarn will be a better fit for this pattern! Good Wool is on the thinner side, since it’s more of a sportweight yarn.
All the best,
Lili