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I was given a skein of Skein Queen Opulent Cashmere earlier in the year and let me tell you, it’s divine. However, with 55g to the skein, it likely wasn’t going to make an adult Hat (although the yardage is generous for that weight) and thought instead of making a childs Hat. And being that I was still very much in garter stitch mode having designed all the Hats for Painted Woolly Toppers, I thought I’d try a different approach to the ever popular square top beanie for kids (or Cat Hat, as it’s sometimes known)

I love this shape – it’s bold and quirky and a welcome change from the regular beanie shape. And that square top makes it brilliant for beginners, as there’s no shaping involved. I’ve published a few free patterns in this style of late, and with each one I’ve tried to incorporate a new technique or method, to help push beginning knitters onto new things. And this design is no different – and actually, it’s knit completely flat!

The simplicity of the design means I can post the pattern as a series of photo tutorials, and I thought I’d give sharing it via Instagram a try. The hashtag is #igbeanie – use this to follow along, and use this tag to share your own #igbeanie Hats too!

If you’re not on Instagram worry not as my Instagram feed can be viewed in your browser – simply click the link, then click on the relevant photo and the corresponding text will come up (along with all the comments). You’ll want to check in once a day and see which photos have been added – there isn’t a way to get notifications of new photos being uploaded without joining either Twitter or Instagram.

The pattern is already on the Ravelry database, and the first intro photo talking about yarn and gauge is live. I’ll publish the following photos over the next couple of days, to give everyone a bit of a chance to knit their strip of garter stitch and find out what they need to do next.

Enjoy!

eta/ now that I’ve been able to, I’ve grouped all of the pattern posts into one highlight on Instagram. Click here to see how to make this Hat!

Support

As always, if you have a question about this pattern or need some help with it, leave a comment below! I’m afraid I’m unable to offer help via email or private message, but you’re welcome to post in our forum.