Nine-Note Hats
Our super-giftable, mix-and-match Nine-Note Hats are like a chorus of bells chiming together, some small, some large, and each making their own unique music! Cast on for this free pattern with our newest Nine-Note Bundle palette, Juniper… Ranging from deepest pine to lightest laurel, it’s the perfect carol for the holiday season.
The hat pattern itself is easy as can be, all stockinette with easy centered double decreases to shape the crown and a fun pom pom to top it off. It’s a simple canvas that lets beautiful yarn and gorgeous colors sing!
The yarn in our Nine-Note Bundles is truly something special. An incredibly bouncy, plush light worsted/DK-weight yarn, it is made with a mix of 80% the softest extra fine merino in the world (really!) and 20% baby alpaca for some long-fiber softness. Start knitting with it, and you’ll never want to stop!
Our gorgeous new Juniper palette joins a chorus of 12 other colors: bright and soft ones, delicate and dramatic ones, each one incredibly deep and complex. Whichever Nine-Note Bundle you pick, you’ll use it to knit a bevy of solid, colorblocked, and striped hats… You already know that all the colors are in harmony, so improvise with abandon!
With one bundle of nine 50-gram skeins, you could make 9 different solid color hats in the Baby, Kid, or Toddler sizes. The two adult sizes require more than 1 skein, so get ready to play! You could even combine two different Nine-Note Bundles or add a skein of Note, the same beautiful yarn in a 100-gram skein, to make a surprising new chord.
Knit a whole choir of Nine-Note Hats and give them to the entire family… We can’t wait to see those holiday photos!
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, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoNineNoteHats, and #PurlSohoNineNoteBundle. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 1 of Purl Soho’s Nine-Note Bundle, 9 skeins of 80% extra fine merino wool and 20% baby alpaca. Each skein of this light worsted/dk-weight yarn is 100 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 65 (80, 100, 115, 135) yards required per hat. We used the Juniper palette.
- NOTE: These gradient colors are only available in Nine-Note Bundles, but you can buy individual skeins of Note, the same yarn but in 100-gram skeins and a different palette.
- US 7 (4.5 mm), 12- or 16-inch circular knitting needles
- A set of US 7 double pointed needles
- Removable stitch markers, including one unique
- Optional: Purl Soho’s Pom Pom Maker Set, Small + Large size
- NOTE: Pom poms take an additional 15–40 yards of Nine-Note Bundle or another light worsted/dk-weight yarn. We made our pom poms with the Begonia palette of a Nine-Note Bundle.
One Nine-Note Bundle makes at least 9 solid color hats in Baby, Kid, or Toddler sizes. Adult hats require more than 1 skein, so you’ll have to get creative. Use the leftover yarn from smaller hats to make colorblocks, or pick up 2 or more skeins to make a striped hat. Play with the nine beautiful shades in your bundle!
Here’s what we made with just one Nine-Note Bundle (the darkest color in each bundle is number 1, and the lightest color is number 9)…
- BABY: Solid hats in colors 1, 5, and 9
- TODDLER: Color-blocked hat using color 2 for body and 7 for crown; striped hat using color 8 for the thick stripes and alternating colors 1 and 4 for the thin stripes
- KID: Solid hat in color 3; color-blocked hat with equal blocks of colors 2, 5, and 7
- ADULT SMALL: Solid hat in color 6 with a contrast-edge in color 9; color-blocked hat using color 4 for body and 8 for crown
GAUGE
20 stitches and 26 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round
SIZES
Baby (Toddler, Kid, Adult Small, Adult Large)
- Finished Circumference: 13½ (15¼, 16¾, 18½, 20) inches
- Finished Height: 6¾ (7¼, 8¼, 9, 9¾) inches, with edge unrolled
NOTE
S2KP (SLIP 2, KNIT 1, PSSO)
Slip 2 stitches together knitwise with yarn in back (wyib), knit 1, pass slipped stitches over knit stitch and off right needle. [2 stitches decreased]
Visit our S2KP Tutorial for a video of this technique!
PATTERN
Cast 68 (76, 84, 92, 100) stitches onto circular knitting needles. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Place unique removable marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Knit every round until piece measures 4¼ (4½, 5, 5½, 6) inches from cast-on edge, unrolled.
CROWN
NOTE: Change to double pointed needles when necessary.
Set-Up Round: [K17 (19, 21, 23, 25), place removable stitch marker on previous stitch] 3 times, knit to end of round, remove unique marker and place it on previous stitch for new end of round.
Round 1: [Knit to 1 stitch before next marked stitch, remove stitch marker, s2kp (see Note), place stitch marker on s2kp stitch] 4 times. [8 stitches decreased]
Round 2: [Knit to next marked stitch, remove stitch marker, k1, replace stitch marker on stitch you just knit] 4 times.
Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 six (7, 8, 9, 10) more times. [12 stitches remain]
Repeat Round 1 one more time. [4 stitches remain]
FINISHING
Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Sew tail through remaining stitches.
Pull taut and bring tail to inside of hat to weave in.
Weave in any remaining ends and gently wet block before attaching pom pom.
OPTIONAL: POM POM
With yarn from a Nine-Note Bundle (or another light worsted/dk-weight yarn), make a bunch of pom poms for your hats. If you’re using Purl Soho’s Pom Pom Maker Set, follow along with our Pom Pom Tutorial for all the how-tos, and here are the sizes we made for our hats…
- BABY: 1¼-, 1¾-, and 2-inch pom poms
- TODDLER: 1¾-inch pom poms
- KID: 1¾- and 2-inch pom poms
- ADULT SMALL: 2-inch pom poms
ATTACH POM POM
Thread each pom pom tail separately through the top of the Crown to the inside of the hat. Tie the tails into a knot, then thread the tails up through the pom pom and trim them flush with the pom pom. All done!
LEARN ABOUT NINE-NOTE BUNDLES + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
The gorgeous gradient of our Nine-Note Bundle makes this project sing! A carefully calibrated scale of nine skeins ranging from very pale to very saturated, there is beautiful complexity in every harmonious color. A light worsted/DK-weight yarn, our Nine-Note Bundles are a mix of 80% of the softest extra fine merino wool in the world and 20% incredibly soft baby alpaca… It must be experienced to be believed! For a coordinating color, pick up some Note, the same yarn with double the size per skein and its own unique palette of painterly heathered colors.
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our growing collection of Nine-Note Bundle knitting patterns and cast on!
More Worsted/Aran-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of light worsted/DK-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
- 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,
Lots of info regarding amounts of yarn, colors, etc. I want to make sure I have it right. Can I get 2 large adult hats from two skeins, provided I vary what yarn goes where? I have additional yarn for the pompom if necessary. Thank you!
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for writing in! Since one of the large adult hats requires 135 yards of yarn, you would need 3 of the Nine-Note Bundle skeins to make 2 adult large hats as each of these 50g skeins is 100 yards. We hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Cat
Good morning!
Would you please tell me the number of yards of yarn needed for each size hat and Pom Pom.
Thank you!
Hi Stevee,
You will need approximately 65 (80, 100, 115, 135) yards per hat. If you add pom poms, just add 15 – 40 more yards per hat, depending on how large you make them!
All the best,
Lili
I want to make the stripe hat … where are instructions for when/how to add the stripe?
thanks
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for writing in! For the pinstripe hat, it looks like you’d just need to knit a one-round stripe every 8th row.
All the best,
Lili
I would like to make the hat with the flaps for a baby boy (so blue tones). What should I order re: yarn. I have all the tools. I don’t need 9 skeins!
Hi Nancy,
I’d recommend using Note! This yarn is the same as the yarn in the Nine-Note Bundles, but it comes in individual skeins1
All the best,
Lili
I’m having trouble with the Nine note hat pattern. I’ve knit to 4 1/2 ” (toddler size) and then not sure about putting the marker on the previous stitch. What does that mean? I’ve gotten messed up with the markers so after repeating the rounds 7 times, the decreases do not line up.
I’m a fairly experienced knitter but don’t understand these directions and have pulled out my knitting back to 4 1/2″ to begin again.
Would love to have help talking me through the directions so I can get busy on these Christmas hats! Thanks!!
Hi Janet,
Thanks for writing in! Putting the marker on the previous stitch means that you put it on the stitch you just worked. That would be the very first stitch on your right needle!
All the best,
Lili
For an adult large hat with the 3 color block pattern, I started the crown and final color change after the unrolled hat measured 6 1/4 inches. The hat ended up too short to cover my whole head and the 3rd color block section was much shorter than the other 2 blocks. Is there a better way to make the pattern work? Knit longer in 3rd color before starting the decrease? Thank you!
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for writing in! You could absolutely knit more rounds before working the crown decreases if you want a longer hat!
All the best,
Lili
How many juniper bundles would be needed to knit 6 adult sized hats?
Hi Tish,
Can you let me know which adult size you’re planning to make? We offer two in this pattern–Small and Large. It would also be helpful for me to know if you plan on adding pom poms to these hats!
All the best,
Lili
Hi,
On the Nine notes hats could you please explain when shaping the crown what does place a stitch marker on the set up row 3 times mean. Is it every 15 stitches that that is done. I’m a bit confused. Thank you Jen
Hi Jen,
Thanks for writing in! “Place removable stitch marker on previous stitch” means to attach a removable stitch marker directly into the stitch you just knit. This stitch is the first one on your right needle at this point! Just place the marker into one of the legs of the stitch, and then you can keep knitting. You knit 17 (19, 21, 23, 25) stitches (depending on the size you’re making), place the removable marker, then knit another 17 (19, 21, 23, 25) stitches, place another marker, etc. until you’ve done that 3 times.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Lili
Can you go over the decreases. As I read the directions, it says 12 stitches remain but obviously it’s 8 stitches per round one and two, so for example, 8×7 for a toddler (as you repeat the decreases 7 times) you end up with 20 stitches, not 12. Appreciate the reply thank you.
Hi Abbe,
For sure! The original cast-on numbers for each size are 68 (76, 84, 92, 100) stitches. Decreasing 8 stitches on each Round 1 a total of 7 (8, 9, 10, 11) times (the original Round 1, plus the 6 (7, 8, 9, 10) more times you repeat it) means there’s a total of 56 (64, 72, 80, 88) stitches decreased. Subtracting those numbers from the original stitch counts results in 12 stitches remaining for each size!
Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili