Colorblock Timeless Hat
Like a stone-covered beach, with waves combing over piles of smooth pebbles, our Colorblock Timeless Hat displays a subtle play of browns and grays glinting in the sun.
This pattern knits up simply, showing off the crisp line of the color change. And like the white stripe around a wishing stone, the circle of purls around the brim is a lovely nod to small gestures.
The Colorblock Timeless Hat features our dreamy Cygnet yarn, which combines undyed white cashmere with natural-color baby alpaca, creating five delicate shades of gray-brown. Pick your favorite two for your own subtle contrast.
The soft glow of Cygnet’s color is matched by the incredible softness of its feel. Both light and warm, the Colorblock Timeless Hat will take you right from the cold of winter into the thaw of spring!
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 by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoColorblockTimelessHat and #PurlSohoCygnet. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Purl Soho’s Cygnet, 70% undyed white cashmere and 30% natural-color baby alpaca. Each skein is of this fingering weight yarn 164 yards/ 50 grams.
- Color A: 1 (1, 1, 1, 2) skein(s); approximately 80 (113, 150, 164, 200) yards required.
- Color B: 1 skein; approximately 36 (45, 55, 60, 70) yards required.
- US 2 (3 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- A set of US 2 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers, including one unique
We made our samples in the following colors and sizes…
Baby size (above, left): Color A: Silver Stone and Color B: Weathered Gray
Adult Small size (above, right): Color A: Ash Bark and Color B: Rock Salt
Gauge
31 stitches and 40 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
NOTE: To avoid running out of yarn for the Kid and Adult Small sizes, make your gauge swatch with Color B.
Sizes
Baby (Toddler, Kid, Adult Small, Adult Large)
- Finished Circumference: 15½ (17, 18½, 20, 21¾) inches
- Finished Height: 7 (8½, 10, 10½, 11½) inches
Pattern
With Color A, cast on 120 (132, 144, 156, 168) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Place unique marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Rounds 1–3: Knit to end of round.
Round 4: Purl to end of round.
Continue in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures 4 (5¼, 6½, 6¾, 7½) inches from cast-on edge.
Cut Color A.
Join Color B and continue in stockinette for 3 more rounds.
CROWN
NOTE: Change to double pointed needles when necessary.
Set-Up Round: *K20 (22, 24, 26, 28), place marker, repeat from * to end of round.
Round 1: *Knit to 2 stitches before marker, knit 2 together, slip marker, repeat from * to end of round. [6 stitches decreased]
Round 2: Knit to end of round, slipping markers as you come to them.
Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 six (7, 8, 9, 10) more times. [78 (84, 90, 96, 102) stitches remain]
Repeat Round 1 twelve (13, 14, 15, 16) more times. [6 stitches remain]
Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Thread tail through remaining stitches, pull taut, and bring tail to inside of hat to weave in.
FINISHING
Weave in remaining ends and gently wet block.
LEARN ABOUT CYGNET + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Our Cygnet yarn makes this project extra special. A fingering-weight yarn in an exquisite blend of 70% undyed white cashmere and 30% natural-color baby alpaca, Cygnet’s five straight-from-nature shades span a range of soft gray-browns, like a bevy of baby swans! You will love the warmth, the softness, and the drape, but most of all, you will love the natural beauty.
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of free Cygnet knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarn
- 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 cashmere yarn (What makes cashmere so special? Learn all about this amazing fiber in our guide to cashmere yarn!)
- Shop alpaca 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!
Hi to all – I love this pattern. I still have enough of your Line Weight yarn to knit this hat. What adjustments should I make? Would it work, or is it a bad idea? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Thanks for writing in! Line Weight is actually a pretty similar gauge to Cygnet, so you should be able to work the pattern as written! However, I would recommend working a gauge swatch prior to beginning to ensure you are consistent or if you need to make any adjustments to your needle size.
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hi Gianna – Right, I should make a swatch and figure it out from there, so that’s what I’ll do. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
Love this hat. If I want to use one color only, will 1 Skein of Cygnet be sufficient?
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for reaching out. What size hat are you planning on making? The yardage varies based on the size, so you’ll be able to use 1 skein of Cygnet to make the Baby and Toddler sizes, but you’ll need 2 or 3 to make any of the other sizes. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
What is the weight of the suggested yarn?
Hi Bj,
Thanks for reaching out. Cygnet is a fingering weight yarn!
All the best,
Lili
Hi there, i would like to (try!) to make this beautiful hat. I noticed in the messages that there was a question about using a different yarn, would a cotton yarn work?
Thanks
Karin
Hi Karin,
Thanks for reaching out! You could certainly use a different yarn for this pattern, I would suggest sticking to a fingering weight yarn as we used here so that you don’t need to make any changes to the pattern! Our lovely 100% organically grown cotton yarn, Buttercup Cotton, would be a perfect option for this hat! Just be sure to double-check your gauge prior to beginning!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
The pattern says Continue in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures 4 (5¼, 6½, 6¾, 7½) inches from cast-on edge.– is it knit one row purl and then the next row knit or is it knit all rows?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out. All of the rounds are just knit stitches! Hope this clears things up.
All the best,
Lili
I’ve started this hat in baby alpaca fingering weight in the baby size. Just wondering if anyone else has had the dreaded curling up for which stockinette is notorious. I thought the row of purling might preclude it but I’m at the point where I should be changing color and the whole thing so far looks like a big bagel. Anyone else run into this?
Hi Cath,
Thanks for reaching out! Stockinette always has a tendency to curl, so that is completely natural. Luckily Blocking your finished hat will alieve most of the curling!
I hope this helps!
Gianna
Hi, wonder if I can use this yarn for the tiny striped hat?
Hi Emily,
Thanks for reaching out! Cygnet would be a perfect option for the Tiny Stripes Hat! I would suggest checking your gauge prior to beginning, but the gauge should be similar!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Will the camel yarn work for this hat? How many skeins would I need for an adult size? I’m looking for a soft yarn for a friend who is undergoing chemo.
Hi Francie,
Thanks for reaching out. This pattern was actually originally designed in Simply Camel! You can find the original pattern right here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2021/03/06/timeless-hat-hand-warmers/. You can find the number of skeins for each size under the MATERIALS section.
If you want to make the two-color version though, then I wanted to let you know that Cygnet is just as soft (if not softer!) than Simply Camel. Some other soft yarns of ours that would work for this pattern are Quartz and Line Weight. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
What adjustments in hat pattern needed to use size US 3 needles (instead of size US 2)?
Thank you.
Hi Lori,
We would recommend starting with a gauge swatch to see if you are able to get the same gauge as the pattern. From there you can decide which size you would like to make if your gauge is the same or you can adjust if your gauge is larger. The easiest way to do this would be to just choose a different size that works with the new, larger, gauge.
Once you know how many stitches you’re getting per inch, multiply that number by the finished circumference for your original size. Then, compare the resulting number to the stitch counts of each size 120 (132, 144, 156, 168) stitches). The size that comes closest is the one you should make! I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Hello. My head size is 22 inches. Should I knit the large size hat.
Thank you.
Hi Kathy!
Great question and Yes that is correct! I’d recommend knitting the size large but if you’d like more of a snug fit, you could knit the adult small for a more fitted look!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella