For those sunny-then-gray days, a warm layer that’s small enough to stash in a pocket is always welcome. Our Foggy Day Hat pattern is just the thing, lightweight, effortless, and made with just one skein of our stunning hand-dyed Estuary yarn!

Nearly every stitch of the Foggy Day Hat is a knit stitch, leaving your attention free to admire the shifting colors of this beautiful yarn. You’ll knit the generous cuff in the round starting with a relaxed rolled edge, then turn your work inside out and continue the body in stockinette (still all knit stitches!), shaping the crown with spiraling decreases. Fold the cuff up to show its stockinette side, and don your finished hat. So full of easygoing elegance, it’s sure to earn a place in your pocket!

A luminous, fingering-weight single ply of merino wool, mulberry silk, and linen, Estuary knits up into a soft, fine fabric rich with movement and life. Its eye-catching silken luster is balanced by a touch of wildness from the linen that sprouts from the yarn, all anchored by merino’s gentle resilience. Hand-dyed colors roll like fog banks across the warm white ground, drifting gently in and out of view.

Pick up a skein of Estuary in your favorite hand-dyed color, including 4 brand-new ones. We picked newcomer Spider Web and longtime favorite Violet Hellebore for our Foggy Day Hats… What color will you be wearing on the next misty morning?

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 55 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, Whitney Van Nes.

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 skein of Purl Soho’s Estuary, 65% fine merino wool, 20% mulberry silk, and 15% linen. Each skein of this fingering-weight yarn is 384 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 140 (165, 215, 270, 315) total yards required. We used the colors Violet Hellebore and Spider Web.
US 4 (3.5 mm), 12- or 16-inch circular knitting needles
A set of US 4 double pointed needles OR US 4, 32-inch circular needles for Magic Loop
Stitch markers, including one unique

GAUGE

29 stitches and 42 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

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)

To fit actual head circumference of 15–17 (16–18½, 18–19¾, 20–22, 22–24½) inches

Finished Circumference: 15½ (16½, 17¾, 19¾, 22) inches
Finished Height: 9 (10, 11¾, 13¼, 14¼) inches tall, uncuffed

SAMPLES: We knit the Adult Small size.

PATTERN

CUFF

Cast 112 (120, 128, 144, 160) stitches onto circular 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.

Knit every round until piece measures 3½ (4, 4¾, 5¼, 5½) inches from unrolled cast-on edge.

BODY

Flip piece inside out so reverse stockinette side is facing you and working yarn is on left needle. This side is now the right side.

Remove end of round marker, slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front from left needle to right needle, bring yarn to back of work, and re-place unique stitch marker on right needle for new end of round.

Knit every round until Body measures 2½ (2½, 3½, 4, 4¼) inches.

CROWN

Set-Up Round: [K14 (15, 16, 18, 20), place marker] 7 times, knit to end of round. [8 total stitch markers, including one unique]

Decrease Round: [Knit to 2 stitches before next marker, knit 2 together, slip marker] 8 times. [8 stitches decreased]

Next 2 Rounds: Knit to end of round.

Repeat last 3 rounds 6 (7, 7, 8, 9) more times. [56 (56, 64, 72, 80) stitches remain]

Repeat Decrease Round every other round 5 (5, 6, 7, 8) more times. [16 stitches remain]

Final Decrease Round: [K2tog] 8 times, removing markers as you come to them. [8 stitches remain]

FINISHING

Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Draw the tail through remaining stitches, pull taut and bring tail to inside of hat.

Weave in all ends and gently wet block.

Cuff your hat before wearing.

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

Learn About Estuary + All Our Beautiful Yarns

This project beautifully showcases Estuary, our artful and exquisite hand-dyed yarn, in all its untamed beauty. A luminous single ply of fine merino wool, mulberry silk, and linen, this fingering-weight yarn is soft and lustrous, with just a little bit of wildness. Pick from a palette of earthy variegated colors, each one made by hand-dyeing 2 or 3 colors onto a warm white base… Knit swirling eddies of dark and light that catch the eye like light on water!

More Free Knitting Patterns

Be sure to explore our free Estuary knitting patterns and cast on!

More Fingering-Weight Yarns

Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns (What does fingering-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to fingering-weight yarn will answer your questions and more!)
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, our Yarn Substitution article, and our Complete Guide To Yarn for lots of helpful information.

More Yarns With Similar Fiber

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 55 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!

Foggy Day Hat