Le Béret
We’re adding a continental touch to what’s on your needles… Le Béret, designed by Tayler Harris, is a fun Fiddlehead twist on the traditional wool-felt hat!
For this quick-as-a-wink knit, you work a ribbed brim, then a round of simple increases to widen the body of your beret. A spiral of basic decreases brings you back to the center, and you’re done… From cast on to voilà in just a few hours!
Our Fiddlehead is “super bulky” weight yarn, which ensures a speedy knit, but it’s also incredibly lofty, so that, even knit on the denser side, it feels as light as a feather.
Fiddlehead’s distinctive structure is similar to bouclé but, instead of loops, the alpaca roving runs in curly waves along central threads. All that loose roving and amazing 100% alpaca fiber mean that Fiddlehead is shockingly soft, as well as très chic.
There are nine colors in Fiddlehead’s palette. Each one is a mix of two shades of alpaca roving, which adds depth to the color and makes every stitch satisfying.
It only takes one skein of Fiddlehead to make a toddler or kids beret and two for an adult, so pick up a skein or a two-skein Fiddlehead Bundle, and vive la knitting!
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 Tayler Harris. Based in Utah, Tayler finds inspiration for her designs from the unique landscapes of her home state. From the beautiful mountains and canyons to the national parks and natural landscapes, she loves to incorporate the colors, textures, and shapes of her favorite places.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!
Materials
- 1 (1, 2, 2) skein(s) of Purl Soho’s Fiddlehead, 100% alpaca yarn. Each skein of this super bulky yarn is 65 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 55, (65, 80, 100) total yards required. We used the colors Pink Sea, River Stone, and Desert Gray.
- US 10 (6 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 11 (8 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- A set of US 10 double pointed needles OR US 10, 32-inch circular needles for Magic Loop
- A set of US 11 double pointed needles OR US 11, 32-inch circular needles for Magic Loop
- Jumbo stitch markers, including one unique
NOTE: Our Fiddlehead Bundle makes one Adult size hat, or two Toddler or Kid sized hats!
GAUGE
9 stitches and 14 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on larger needles
10½ stitches and 16 rounds = 4 inches in 1×1 rib on smaller needles, unstretched
SIZES
Toddler (Kid, Adult Small/Medium, Adult Medium/Large)
- Finished Brim Circumference (at ribbing, unstretched): 15¼ (16¾, 18¼, 19¾) inches, comfortably stretching 1-3 inches
- Finished Diameter: 8½ (9¼, 10, 11) inches
Samples: The Pink Sea hat is the Kid size, and the River Stone and Desert Gray hats are both Adult Small/Medium!
For help choosing a hat size, check out our complete guide on How to Knit the Right Hat Size!
PATTERN
BRIM
Cast 40 (44, 48, 52) stitches onto smaller needles. 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.
Round 1: *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.
Repeat Round 1 until piece measures approximately 1¾ inches from cast-on edge.
BODY
Switch to larger circular needles (or double pointed needles, if working Toddler size).
Increase Round: *Knit front and back, k1, repeat from * to end of round. [60 (66, 72, 78) stitches]
Continue in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures approximately 4½ (4¾, 5, 5¼) inches from cast-on edge.
SHAPE CROWN
NOTE: Change to double pointed needles when necessary.
Set-Up Round: [K10 (11, 12, 13), place marker] 5 times, knit to end of round.
Decrease Round: *Knit to 2 stitches before next marker, knit 2 together, slip marker, repeat from * to end of round. [6 stitches decreased]
Continuing in stockinette stitch, repeat Decrease Round every other round 4 (5, 5, 6) more times, then every round 3 (3, 4, 4) times, removing markers on the last round. [12 stitches remain]
FINISHING
Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Draw twice through remaining stitches, and pull tightly to secure. Bring tail to inside of hat and weave in all ends. Gently wet-block.
LEARN ABOUT FIDDLEHEAD + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Fiddlehead brings joy wherever it goes! Delightfully curly, it is 100% alpaca and as soft as you can imagine. One characteristic of Fiddlehead that’s hard to convey in photos is just how surprisingly light and airy it is, so although it is a super bulky-weight yarn, it practically floats off your needles! Available in lots of gorgeous colors and in 2-skein gift bundles, too, Fiddlehead is as fun as it is beautiful!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Fiddlehead knitting patterns
More Super Bulky-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of super bulky-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 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!
Where can buy Alpaca Fiddlehead near Moncton NB
Hi Penelope,
Thanks for reaching out! We only sell our yarn from our website, and not in other stores, but we do ship nearly everywhere in the world. I’d recommend taking a look at our Shipping page to learn all about our options for shipping. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Dear Purl Soho, What a fun pattern! For the instructions, I’m not sure how often I should do the increase round. Thanks for your help.
Angela
Hi Angela,
You’ll only do the Increase Round once in this pattern! It’s not repeated at all, like the Decrease Round is. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Thanks, that’s what I thought but wanted to make sure. Love your patterns and everything about Purl Soho.
Angela
Hi! This pattern is adorable, but is there ANY way to get access to print it without all the photos and tons of pages? Threatened trees want to know! Many thanks.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for reaching out! Here’s how you can get a printer-friendly copy of any of our free patterns: If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, just click on the “Print” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window!
All the best,
Lili
Could you come up with a stuffed animal project for this yarn- a teddybear, puppy or cat perhaps? Maybe a kit?
Thanks.
Hi Stephanie,
That’s a great idea, and I think that would be really cute! I’ll pass along your suggestion to our design team.
All the best,
Lili
Lili, Susan B. Anderson has an adorable lamb pattern on Ravelry. I’ve made many of the animals from her book, Itty Bitty Toys, and this one is in it as well as on Ravelry. I’m going to order this Fiddlehead yarn to make it myself!
Can you suggest another, similar yarn for this project? The person I want to make it for loves teal.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for writing in! I wanted to let you know that we do have a teal color of Fiddlehead–Northern Spruce. This color is made of a mix of more blue and more green strands of alpaca fiber, which blend together into a beautiful teal!
If you’re not a fan of Northern Spruce though, I’m afraid that we don’t have another yarn that’s very similar to Fiddlehead. However, you could use Super Soft Merino, which will work for the gauge of the pattern. (It’s a completely different texture from Fiddlehead though.)
All the best,
Lili
Could you clarify the needle sizes, please? The instructions say #10 needles for the youth and then #11 for the youth….did you mean the adult? Or am I misunderstanding the directions? It’s an adorable pattern! Thank you!
Hi Mardel,
Thanks for reaching out! You will use two different size needles in this pattern–larger needles for the main body of the hat, and smaller needles for the ribbing. We used size US 11 and US 10 for the larger and smaller needles, respectively, but we recommend knitting up a gauge swatch to determine what two needle sizes will be best for you!
All the best,
Lili
How about specs for using Cashmere Merino Bloom…I tend to prefer using smaller needles. Thank you!
Hi Paula,
Thanks for reaching out. To figure out your cast-on number with a thinner yarn, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern (if this is daunting, we have a wonderful tutorial called All About Gauge). Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the finished circumference of the size you’re making and cast on the nearest multiple of 4. Then you can follow the pattern essentially as written!
The only thing you’ll need to change is the Set-Up Round for the crown of the hat. Here’s how to work that round with any multiple of 4 stitch count:
Set-Up Round: [K(cast-on / 4), place marker] 5 times, knit to end of round.
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
I’m knitting up a gauge swatch in the round. I guess I can keep track of the rounds by counting the strands that form the tube in the back, but I don’t see hoe to keep track of the stitches once the piece is off the needle. Any suggestions? I’m really new at this. Really fun yarn, but confusing.🤪
Hi Stevee,
It certainly is confusing to swatch in a boucle yarn, and I’ve had the exact same question as you in the past! The best way to count the stitches is actually not to. Instead, cast on a set number of stitches and write it down somewhere. Then, knit up your swatch. When you’re done, measure the width of the swatch, and that will be the width of the initial number of stitches you cast on. If this measurement isn’t 4 inches, you can then make a ratio to figure out how many stitches would be in 4 inches. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Loving this pattern, but the boucle yarn is tricky to knit with. I’m finding it hard to count the number of stitches I’ve knitted thus far. Any suggestions?
Hi Lisy,
Boucle yarn definitely makes counting stitches difficult–but not impossible! I’d recommend just going very slowly and making sure to separate each stitch as you count. You can also use extra stitch markers to section all the stitches on your needles into smaller groups. Both those things will make it harder to miss any of the stitches!
All the best,
Lili
I’m using a worsted yarn. My gauge swatch told me to cast on 92 stitches for the 18-1/4 inch brim size. Since the increase round I’ve had 138 stitches. Soon I will start the decrease rounds & need some advice. If I place markers every 23 stitches (92/4=23), it seems like it will take forever to get down to 12 stitches & will produce an enormous béret. Yikes. I think I’m missing some crucial understanding & wonder what to do next!? Thanks!
Hi Deb,
Thanks for writing in! One thing you could do is add more points of decreases. That way your beret decreases faster and avoids making your hat too big. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Thanks very much! I’ll give it a try.
I think I’ll put in a lifeline before I start the decreases in case I choose the wrong number of decrease points & it looks weird. Then I can go back & try again.
That sounds like a great plan! Let us know if you need anything else!
I’m so confused with the decrease. It says: Decrease Round: *Knit to 2 stitches before next marker, knit 2 together, slip marker, repeat from * to end of round. [6 stitches decreased]. What is meant by knit to 2 stitches?
Hi Lisy,
Thanks for writing in. This means you will knit to two stitches before getting to the marker. You will want to knit all the stitches except two of them. This will leave you with two remaining stitches to work your decrease. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I have 66 stitches left, but I’m confused with how to continuing knitting and decreasing from here on:
“Continuing in stockinette stitch, repeat Decrease Round every other round 4 (5, 5, 6) more times, then every round 3 (3, 4, 4) times, removing markers on the last round. [12 stitches remain].” Please advise. Thanks!
Hi Izzy,
Thank you for writing in! You will work the decreases on every other round depending on what size you are making. So if you are making the size 1/toddler, you will knit one round, and then on the next, you will work the decrease round included in the SHAPE CROWN instruction. You will continue doing this 4 more times. After that, you will work the decreases on every round 3 times. I hope this helps but if you need further clarification please let me know and I would be happy to help!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I love my hat, but it’s gotten stretched out and seems more like a shower cap than a beret. Any suggestions about shrinking it a little bit. Thanks for all your help!
Hi Stevee,
Thank you for writing in! One thing you could try is gently re-blocking your project! I also like to add a thin strand of elastic to the inside of my hats and sweater collars to help them bounce back to shape after each wear. I hope this helps but if you have any other questions, please let us know!
Warmly,
Gavriella
I cast on 44 stitches. But on the increase round, if I KFB and then K1, I end up with way way too many stitches, not the 66 I am supposed to have.
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for writing in! For each set of two stitches, you are adding 1 by increasing with the KFB stitch. This means for every 2 stitches, you should end with 3. If you are getting more stitches, you might be missing some of those K1 sts. I would rip back to the beginning of the round and double check that you are knitting a single stitch in between those increases. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I knitted up one of these berets in the fiddlehead yarn and it is adorable, but I find there is no stretch to the ribbed band on the hat knitted in the Fiddlehead and I am worried about the hat fitting. Do you have a solution for this or am I too worried about this?
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for reaching out about this, and I’m happy to help! Have you tried the beret on yet? While Fiddlehead is a very inelastic yarn in itself, the knit fabric should cling a bit. If it’s still feeling too loose when it’s on your head, then I would recommend threading some elastic thread through the cuff of the hat. This will be completely invisible within the fluffiness of Fiddlehead, and it’ll add a significant amount of elasticity!
All the best,
Lili
Hello,
Thank you for providing a free pattern 😊-much appreciated.
I’m knitting an adult size in thinner yarn. Would you be able to let me know what is the length of the beret from cast on to the end of the crown? I need to calculate how often to make the decreases.
Thank you.
Hi Teresa,
Can you please let me know which adult size you’re knitting? Then I can calculate the length based on the number of rounds you knit for that size!
All the best,
Lili
I’m knitting the adult sm/md and I’m just wondering if I complete another knit row after my 5th decrease or continue straight into the 4 decrease rounds (where I’ve indicated the *** below)
Have knit (and LOVE) so many of your patterns. My favourite knitting site and such a luxury knit with Purl Soho yarns!
(Continuing in stockinette stitch, repeat Decrease Round every other round 4 (5, 5, 6) more times***then every round 3 (3, 4, 4) times, removing markers on the last round. [12 stitches remain]
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for writing in! You will work one more round before starting the Decrease Rounds every round!
All the best,
Lili