New Moon Hat

Like an endless inky sky, our elegant New Moon Hat pattern holds the hushed stillness of our new Simply Alpaca yarn. Spun from 100% undyed black alpaca, this rare fiber beautifully captures nature’s deepest tones.

This classic hat immerses you in Simply Alpaca’s midnight depth and singular natural beauty. Because alpaca is a straight fiber rather than crimped, with a softer drape than wool, we refined every detail to give the hat the elasticity and structure it needs to hold its shape through years of daily wear.

You knit your New Moon Hat holding the yarn double in 2×2 ribbing, which gives the fabric a gentle spring for a close, comfortable fit. After working a few inches, you knit two rounds through the back loop, creating a tidy turning edge for the cuff. You then reverse the ribbing so that the columns align when you fold the cuff—knits with knits and purls with purls. Finally, you work converging decreases to shape a beautiful tapered crown.

From rare black alpacas that make their home high in the Peruvian Andes, Simply Alpaca‘s undyed superfine alpaca fiber has a soft hand that still retains some of the fiber’s fascinating natural texture. This supple, 4-ply fingering-weight yarn is wonderfully soft next to your skin and a pleasure on your needles, with a lush halo hovering above its surface.

Beautiful black alpacas, who grow the fiber for our new Simply Alpaca yarn | Photo courtesy of our mill in Peru

Black alpacas make up less than 1% of the global alpaca population and are a lovely warm ebony color, from their fleece and faces to their hooves and eyelashes. Simply Alpaca‘s rich natural color comes straight from these magnificent animals, a warm onyx that drinks in the light almost completely, creating bottomless depths with a subtle luster.

You’ll need three 50-gram balls of Simply Alpaca for an adult-size New Moon Hat or just two for a baby or kid. Cast on for a handknit treasure, shaped by the quiet gravity of this remarkable yarn.

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!

Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Gaby Bush.

Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.

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

• 2 (2, 3, 3) balls of Purl Soho’s Simply Alpaca, 100% undyed black alpaca yarn. Each ball of this fingering-weight yarn is 164 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 180 (250, 360, 445) yards required.
• US 4 (3.5 mm), 12- or 16-inch circular knitting needles, depending on size you are making
• A set of US 4 double pointed needles OR US 4, 32-inch circular needles for Magic Loop
• Stitch markers, including one unique

GAUGE

37 stitches and 31 rounds = 4 inches in 2×2 rib, unstretched, holding yarn double

SIZES

For help choosing a hat size, check out our complete guide on How to Knit the Right Hat Size!

Baby (Toddler/Kid, Adult Small, Adult Large)

• Finished Circumference: 8¾ (10½, 12, 13¾) inches circumference, comfortably stretching to approximately 14–16 (16–19, 19–22, 22–25) inches
• Finished Height, Cuffed: 6 (7, 8¾, 9¾) inches tall

SAMPLE: We knit the Adult Small size.

NOTE

YARN DOUBLED

You will double the yarn throughout this pattern, pulling two strands together. To do this, pull one strand from the outside of two balls of yarn. If making an Adult size hat using Simply Alpaca, we recommend winding your third ball into two smaller balls and pulling one strand from the outside of each one.

STITCH MULTIPLE

This pattern works over a multiple of 16 stitches.

PATTERN

CUFF

With yarn held double, cast 80 (96, 112, 128) stitches onto circular needles. We used the following cast on (but your favorite method would also work fine)…

Make slipknot on right needle, cast on 1 stitch using Long Tail Cast On Purlwise, *cast on 2 stitches using basic Long Tail Cast On, cast on 2 stitches using Long Tail Cast On Purlwise, repeat from * until all but 2 required number of stitches have been cast on, cast on 2 stitches using basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place a unique stitch marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Round 1: *P2, k2, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Round 1 until piece measures 2 (2½, 3, 3¼) inches from cast-on edge.

Next 2 Rounds: Knit through the back loop to end of round. (NOTE: When you’re done, you will fold the Cuff along the last two rounds.)

BODY

Round 1: *K2, p2, repeat from * to end of round. (Note: The ribbing shifts for the Body so that it will align when you fold the Cuff.)

Continuing in 2×2 rib, repeat Round 1 for 5 (5¾, 7, 7½) inches, or until entire piece measures 1 (1¼, 1¾, 2¼) inch(es) less than desired cuffed height. (NOTE: If you’re making the Toddler/Kid size for a Kid as opposed to a Toddler, work the Body for 6¼ inches.)

CROWN

Decrease Round 1: *Knit 2 together, purl 2 together, repeat from * to end of round. [40 (48, 56, 64) stitches remain]

Next 2 (3, 5, 7) Rounds: *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.

Decrease Round 2: *Slip slip knit (ssk), return stitch to left needle, pass second stitch on left needle over first, slip resulting stitch to right needle, p1, repeat from * to end of round. [20 (24, 28, 32) stitches remain]

Next 1 (2, 3, 4) Round(s): *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Decrease Round 2. [10 (12, 14, 16) stitches remain]

Next 0 (0, 1, 2) Round(s): *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.

Last Round: Ssk to end of round. [5 (6, 7, 8) stitches remain]

Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Sew tail through remaining stitches two times. Pull taut and bring tail to inside of hat to weave in.

Weave in ends, and gently wet block.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of 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!