Reversible Hat + Cowl In New Colors
A beautiful hat whose color can suit your mood and whose double-layer fabric feels as soft and cozy as a lamb… And a cowl that does the same? Now we’re talking!
Our Reversible Hat + Cowl are fun and surprising little knits. You start by knitting an entire hat (or cowl) in the round in one color, work a purl turning round, and then knit the whole thing again in a second color. For the hat, you tuck one color inside the other and join them with a tassel, and for the cowl, you graft the beginning to the end with Kitchener Stitch.
While our Reversible Cowl pattern has always been free, we’re happy to say that the Reversible Hat pattern is now zero dollars as well. With instructions for sizes baby to adult large, that’s a bargain!
Both the Hat and Cowl are still knit up in our absolutely gorgeous Line Weight. An elegant single ply of 100% merino wool, it is very lightweight and exceedingly soft, with a lovely downy halo. Two layers of it are just right for keeping you warm but unladen.
But the best part of all? We think it’s the opportunity to play with color! We just added five pretty new colors to the Line Weight collection (and used newbies Clear Sky and Lilac Fog here), making the entire palette is a playground filled with fun choices and unexpected combinations!
Do a little color dance, and cast on for some double trouble!
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!
Designed for Purl Soho by Whitney Van Nes.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoReversibleHat, #PurlSohoReversibleCowl and #PurlSohoLineWeight. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
Hat
- Color A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Line Weight, 100% merino wool yarn. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 494 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 110 (130, 165, 200, 240) yards required. We used Heirloom White for one hat and Clear Sky for the other.
- Color B: 1 skein of Line Weight; approximately 110 (125, 160, 195, 235) yards required. We used River Rock with Heirloom White and Super Pink with Clear Sky.
- A set of US 3 (3.25mm) double pointed needles (all sizes)
- A US 3, 16-inch circular needles (Adult S/M and M/L sizes only)
- Stitch markers, including one unique
Cowl
- Color A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Line Weight; 100% merino wool. Each skein is 494 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 173 (235) yards required. We used Lilac Fog for one cowl and Kiln Red for the other.
- Color B: 1 skein of Line Weight; approximately 182 (247) yards required. We used Peony Pink with Lilac Fog and Bright Flamingo with Kiln Red.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16- or 20-inch circular needles
- Stitch markers
For the Provisional Cast On you will also need…
- A few yards of smooth scrap yarn
- A crochet hook to fit the size of the scrap yarn
- Spare circular needles, US 3 (3.25 mm) or smaller, 16 inches or longer
NOTE: To make a Hat and Cowl set of any size, using the same colors, you’ll need just one skein of each color.
GAUGE
Hat
31 stitches and 40 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Cowl
28 stitches and 38 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
SIZES
Hat
Baby (Toddler, Kid, Adult S/M, Adult M/L)
- Finished Circumference: 12¾ (14, 16¼, 18½, 21) inches
- Finished Height: 7 (7¾, 8½, 9¼, 10) inches
Samples: We knit both of our samples in the Adult S/M size.
Cowl
Toddler/Kid (Adult)
- Finished Circumference at Top: 17¾ (20) inches
- Finished Circumference at Bottom: 20 (22¼) inches
- Finished Height: 11 (12½) inches
Samples: We knit both of our samples in the Adult size.
Patterns
Hat
Color A Hat
With Color A and using a Long Tail Cast On, loosely cast 9 stitches evenly onto three double pointed needles, leaving a 3-foot tail.
Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Round 1: Knit into front and back (kfb) 9 times. [18 stitches]
NOTE: In Round 2, when you place the first marker, use a unique one to indicate the first needle (see above).
Round 2: *[K1, kfb, place marker (pm)] 2 times, k1, kfb, repeat from * to end of round. [27 stitches]
Round 3 (Increase Round): *[Knit to 1 stitch before next marker, kfb] 2 times, knit to last stitch on needle, kfb, repeat from * to end of round. [9 stitches increased]
Round 4: Knit to end of round.
Repeat Rounds 3 and 4 four more times. [72 stitches]
Next Round: Repeat Round 3.
Knit 2 rounds.
Repeat last three rounds 2 (3, 5, 5, 5) more times. [99 (108, 126, 126, 126) stitches]
Sizes Adult S/M + Adult M/L Only
NOTE: In the following round, replace the old unique marker with one that’s the same as the others.
Next Round: Changing to 16-inch circular needles, *[knit to 1 stitch before next marker, kfb] 2 times, knit to last stitch on needle, kfb, pm, repeat from * to end of round, place unique marker to indicate beginning of round. [– (–, –, 135, 135) stitches]
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: *Knit to one stitch before next marker, kfb, repeat from * to end of round. [[– (–, –, 144, 144) stitches]
Adult M/L Only
Repeat last three rounds 2 more times. [162 stitches]
All Sizes
Removing all but the beginning-of-round marker, knit every round until piece measures 7 (7¾, 8½, 9¼, 10) inches from the cast-on edge.
Cut Color A and join Color B.
Color B Hat
With Color B, knit 1 round.
Purl 1 round.
Continue even in stockinette stitch until the Color B piece measures the same as from the end of the Color A increases to the Color B purl round; or until point A to B equals point B to C. (See above, and please note that we used these colors for our original version of this hat. They are Heirloom White and Super Pink.)
Sizes Baby, Toddler, + Kid Only
Next Round: *[K9 (10, 12, –, –), knit 2 together (k2tog), pm] 2 times, knit to last two stitches on needle, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [90 (99, 117, –, –) stitches remain]
Sizes Adult S/M + Adult M/L Only
Next Round: *K – (–, –, 14, 16), k2tog, pm, repeat from * to end of round. [– (–, –, 135, 153) stitches remain]
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: *Knit to 2 stitches before next marker, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [9 stitches decreased]
Repeat last three rounds – (–, –, 0, 2) more times. [– (–, –, 126, 126) stitches remain]
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: Changing to double pointed needles, *[knit to 2 stitches before next marker, k2tog] 3 times, remove last marker, starting with next double pointed needle, repeat from * to end of round. [– (–, –, 117, 117) stitches remain; 39 stitches on each needle]
All Sizes
Turn the entire piece inside out and weave in just the ends where you changed colors. Turn the piece back to right side out.
Knit 2 rounds.
Decrease Round: *Knit to 2 stitches before next marker (or end of needle), k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [9 stitches decreased]
Repeat last three rounds 0 (1, 3, 3, 3) more time(s). [81 stitches remain]
Knit 1 round.
Next Round: Repeat Decrease Round.
Repeat last two rounds 4 more times. [36 stitches remain]
Knit 2 rounds.
Next Round: Repeat Decrease Round.
Repeat last three rounds 2 more times. [9 stitches remain]
Cut a 3-foot tail and thread it onto a tapestry needle. Sew the tail through the remaining stitches and pull taut.
Finishing
With the Color B tail still on the tapestry needle, insert the needle through the top of the Color B hat and out the top of the Color A, pulling the Color B hat inside of Color A hat.
Using the Color B tail, make a tassel at the top of the Color A hat. Our Tiny Attached Tassel tutorial explains how.
Repeat for the other side of the hat: Thread the Color A tail onto a yarn needle and insert the needle through the top of the Color A hat, and flipping so Color B hat is on the outside, bring the needle out the top of the Color B hat. Make a tassel and the two hats are securely in place!
Weave in any remaining ends. Since only the right sides are accessible at this point, sew tails diagonally under the knit stitches, come back the other way, and trim.
Gently wet block and enjoy your hat (hats?)!
Cowl
Begin At Bottom
With Color B, use a Provisional Cast On to cast 140 (156) stitches onto circular needles.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Work in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures ¼ (½) inch from cast-on edge.
Purl 1 round.
Knit 1 round.
Cut Color B and join Color A.
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 2¼ (2½) inches from purl round.
Decrease To Top
Decrease Round 1: [K33 (37), knit 2 together (k2tog)] 4 times. [136 (152) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 4½ (5) inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 2: [K32 (36), k2tog] 4 times. [132 (148) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 6¾ (7½) inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 3: [K31 (35), k2tog] 4 times. [128 (144) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 9 (10) inches from purl round.
Decrease Round 4: [K30 (34), k2tog] 4 times. [124 (140) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 11 (12½) inches from purl round.
Cut Color A and join Color B.
Knit 1 round.
Purl 1 round.
Increase Back To Bottom
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 2 (2½) inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 1: [K31 (35), make 1 right (m1R)] 4 times. [128 (144) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 4¼ (5) inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 2: [K32 (36), m1R] 4 times. [132 (148) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 6½ (7½) inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 3: [K33 (37), m1R] 4 times. [136 (152) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 8¾ (10) inches from second purl round.
Increase Round 4: [K34 (38), m1R] 4 times. [140 (156) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 10¾ (12) inches from second purl round.
Cut Color B, leaving a 42-inch tail.
Finish
Weave in all the ends, except the 42-inch tail.
Removing the scrap yarn, slip the live stitches of the Provisional Cast On onto the spare needles.
Bring the Color B section inside the Color A tube, wrong (purl) sides facing each other. (See above, and please note that we used these colors for our original version of this cowl quite a few years ago. Unfortunately, they are no longer available.)
Thread the 42-inch tail onto a tapestry needle and holding the working and spare needles parallel, use the Kitchener Stitch to graft the edges together.
Weave in the remaining end. Since only the right side is accessible at this point, sew the tail diagonally under the knit stitches, come back the other way and trim.
Block your cowl and when it’s dry, enjoy it!
LEARN ABOUT LINE WEIGHT + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Line Weight is a lovely choice for this project because it is sumptuously soft with a subtle luster. A lithe single ply of 100% merino wool, this fingering-weight yarn knits up into a smooth fabric that blooms beautifully when you hand wash it. Enjoy 494 yards of beautiful knitting with every 100-gram skein and choose from over 20 riveting colors!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Line Weight patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop merino wool yarn
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!
I like when you show older patterns in new colors, because it breathes new life in the patterns 🙂 are there any color combos using the line weight that you recommend?
Hi Carly,
Thanks for reaching out! I am so glad to hear that, I feel the same way! I would be happy to suggest some color combinations for you, do you have any colors you particularly enjoy?
Looking forward to your response!
Gianna
Is it possible to omit the tassel?
Hi Taylor,
Thanks for writing in! You could certainly omit the tassels from these hats!
Warmly,
Gianna
I’ll be starting chemo sooner than I can focus on knitting this hat for myself. Is it possible to purchase the yarn and pay someone at PurlSoho to knit it for me?
Not sure if this was even an option.
Hi BA,
Thanks for reaching out! Some of our staff members do take commissions, so if you would like you can email our customer service team at [email protected] with some information about what you are looking for and they can pass this along to see if anyone is interested in taking on the project!
Warmly,
Gianna
Heirloom white and River rock in adult would be my choice.
Please advise.
Thanks.
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for your response! I think River Rock and Heirloom White would be a lovely combination!
Warmly,
Gianna
If there are any takers who might wish to knit this hat for me, I’d be so happy. Chemo will begin shortly and I don’t know what to expect.
Thanks
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
If you send us a message at [email protected], we’d be happy to put the word out to our team to see if anyone is available for a commission!
Warmly,
Kelsey
Not sure how to begin. I can purchase the yarn by use of credit card and add on the cost of knitting to the knitter. If there is a better or more customary way of doing this, please advise.
Thanks,
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
The best way to begin would be to first reach out to customer service to see if anyone is available for the commission! Any payment to a knitter would not be part of your Purl Soho order, and you would need to discuss pricing and payment options with that person directly. I hope this helps!
Best,
Kelsey
Thanks for your help Kelsey but no response tells me there is no interest in knitting this hat. Thanks for offering me a chance to reach out. Thanks.
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for reaching out again! We have actually made a task for this and are currently looking for someone to knit this up for you! We will follow up via email as soon as we find an available knitter with more details.
Warmly,
Gianna
Gianna,
Oh thank you!🤗💖
have you done the pattern in double knitting? Do you think it would look great with a stripe or two to anchor the double knitting? how thick would you make the stripes? I am thinking of doing this for baby hats. thanks
Hi Catherine,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful idea. We have not tried these patterns in double knitting, but I say go for it! I think stripes would look really nice, and you could make them any width you like (maybe a few stripes in uneven widths would look nice?). If you end up trying this out, definitely let us know how it goes!
All the best,
Lili
I am looking for a super soft purple yarn for a 2 year old toddler girl sweater. I would like it to be machine wash and wear to save my busy daughter the extra work of hand washing a garment. Any suggestions for a yarn and pattern?
Thank you.
Hi Roni,
Thanks for reaching out. I would recommend taking a look at our Bobble Yoke Sweater! Since this pattern is for a fingering weight yarn, I would recommend using Posy, which comes in a beautiful purple color called Mountain Lupine. For this pattern, you would need to pair it with a contrast color as well, so I’d suggest using Lilac Mist, or perhaps a neutral color like Drizzle Gray or Heirloom White for that. I hope this gives you some inspiration!
All the best,
Lili
Just to clarify, does the different-colored stitch marker mark the actual beginning of the round, or just the end of the first repeat on the first needle?
Hi Katie,
Thanks for writing in! Assuming you’re starting with the hat, the first marker will not indicate the beginning of the round since that would just slide off on double pointed needles. There is an instruction further down when you have more stitches on your needle when you will be called to switch the unique markers, depending on the size you’re working off of, and will place a new marker to indicate the beginning of the round properly.
I hope that helps clear things up but please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Zha Zha
I’d like to knit the cowl in Line Weight for one side (color) and use cotton yarn for other side (color).
What cotton yarn of the same weight could you recommend for this? And also how much would I need for a kid size?
Thank you
Hi Olga,
Thanks for reaching out. I would definitely suggest using Buttercup Cotton for the second side of the cowl! However, since Line Weight and Buttercup Cotton have slightly different gauges, I would highly recommend knitting up gauge swatches in both yarns to make sure you use the correct needles. I think there’s a very good chance you will need to use different sized needles for each yarn to achieve a consistent gauge across the entire cowl!
And to make one cowl, you will need just one skein of Buttercup Cotton. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Could the cowl be finished with a three-needle bind off?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing in. You can definitely finish the cowl with a three-needle bind off! However, using the kitchener stitch will match the other end of the cowl a lot better.
All the best,
Lili
Hi, I wonder how I would have adjust the instructions for hat if I were to use Coorie.
Also, how much yarn would I need for an adult hat and cowl. Thank you!
Hi Dagmar,
Thanks for writing in. You can certainly use Coorie for these patterns, and you would only need to adjust a few things in terms of the stitch count! To do so, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width that you would like (the finished circumference of whichever size you’re making), and round the resulting number to the nearest multiple of 9. Keep this number in mind, because this is the number of stitches you will want to increase to in the increase portion of the Color A section.
To make either the hat or cowl in any of the adult sizes, you would need 2 skeins of Coorie in each color. So if you’re making both a hat and a cowl, you would need to purchase 4 skeins of Coorie in each color!
All the best,
Lili
Si può avere la traduzione in italiano di questo cappello reversible hat.
Hi Floriana,
Thanks for reaching out. I’m afraid that we are only offering this pattern in English at the moment! While we would love to offer translations of patterns in the future, we currently do not have the time and resources to create those. I hope you can understand!
All the best,
Lili
I am confused about the provisional cast on. Once you have cast on the provisional stitches do you then knit into these stitches with your first color yarn?
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for reaching out. Yes, you’re correct, once you work the provisional cast-on for the cowl, you’ll begin knitting with Color B! I hope this clarifies things.
All the best,
Lili
I am confused about how to begin knitting on the provisional cast on. Once you have your provisional stitches on the needle do you begin by knitting into those stitches?
Hi Peggy,
Thanks so much for writing in!
Once you’ve crocheted a provisional chain using a piece of scrap yarn, you will pick up and knit into each chain stitch using yarn color B! After this set-up round, you will be knitting in the round as you would normally. If you haven’t seen it already, we have a very helpful tutorial on how to do a provisional cast on here!
I hope this helps! Please feel free to reach out again with any questions!
All the best,
Carly
Good morning!
I love this hat/cowl and am wondering if I could make it with LW scraps from the Sidestreet blanket I am currently working on. Do you think I would have enough scrap yarn? Would I have to add colors?
I’m about halfway finished with Sidestreet, and I need an “in-between-er” project.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out! Depending on the size hat you want to make, you will need about 240 yards of color A and 230 yards of color B, and for the cowl, you will need 173 (235) yards of color A and 182 (247) yards of color B. There will likely not be enough yardage left of the Heirloom White, but if you are done working in any of the other contrasting colors in the blanket, you should have enough to make either a hat or cowl in those colors!
Please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Carly
Hi, I would like to knit this hat with left over yarn but I’m having trouble casting on just 6 stitches to double points. I end up with a confusing mess. The same happens trying to magic loop as well. Could I start in the middle of the pattern and somehow use a provisional cast on (or some other trick) to knit the two hats both from middle to end? Since one hat will not really be seen because its inside the other I’m hoping there might be some wiggle room there?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Joy
Hi Joy,
It is very difficult indeed to cast a small number of stitches onto DPNs! But you can absolutely use a provisional cast-on and start in the middle. That’s a great solution! Let us know how it goes, and if any other questions come up!
All the best,
Lili
Hi. Thank you for this pretty pattern. May I ask if I can knit this using double stranded fingering yarn? Will it result in a larger hat?
Thank you
Sandra
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for writing in! Using two strands of fingering will result in a larger gauge and in turn will lead to a larger hat. If you would like to use a thicker yarn, I’d recommend going no larger than a sport weight and knitting a gauge swatch to make sure you are able to get the same gauge as the pattern. This could result in a denser fabric for your hat which would be lovely!
Warmly,
Gavriella
Hi! If I’m knitting this for someone with a 22.75 circumference head (man, hat size 7 1/4), do you think the Adult M/L will be big enough?
If it was ribbed, I’d be less worried because it could stretch, but I don’t want this to stretch too far.
Thanks!!
Hi JJ,
Thanks for writing in! Yes, I think that the Adult M/L size would be perfect in this case.
All the best,
Lili
Hi!
If I’m not going to do the tassel, do you have any suggestions on how to best finish the hat so it looks tidy?
Thank you!
Hi JJ,
You could definitely finish your hat by just weaving in the ends instead!
Happy making,
Gavriella
Hi! So you’d recommend still feeding through the tail to the other hat and then weaving it in there? Is there a way to side B to side A without the knot used for the tassel?
My cast on has left a tiny hole that I’ll need to close up and I’m still unsure how to tie both hats together at the top without the tassel :/
Hi Jillian,
Since your threads will be on the outside of your hat, I’d recommend weaving them in using duplicate stitch so that those ends are nearly invisible. You can do this on both sides of your hat after using the corresponding color to cinch of the tops of the hat.
Ohhhh, ok thank you! So I don’t need to connect the two tops of A and B together, I’d just cinch the two holes and then weave them. So the hat would be a tube that I’d then shape?
You are very welcome! That is correct, you don’t need to connect the tops.
In the hat pattern, while still on 3 DPN’s, can you please be more specific about which numbered rounds you are referring to when you say “Repeat last three rounds”. I find that instruction so confusing based on how the previous rounds are described…there’s Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Repeat round 3 and 4, repeat round 3, knit 2 rounds, then “repeat last three rounds”. Help please?
Do you mean to repeat round 3 and knit two rounds 2 (3, 5,5,5)times?
Thank you for clarifying!
Hi Krista,
Thanks for writing in! In this case, the 3 previous rounds would be “Next Round: Repeat Round 3” and “Knit 2 rounds.” So you’ll be working Round 3 and knitting 2 rounds after that 2 (3, 5, 5, 5) more times. Hope this helps clear things up!
All the best,
Lili