Diagonale
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Hat Description
Diagonale is a slouchy structural Hat worked entirely in garter stitch on the bias. The top of the Hat features two corners that are seamed to form two flaps, which are then stitched together so they come to a point at the top of the Hat.
Pattern Availability
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Pattern Support
If you have a question about this pattern, pop it in a comment below. Sorry, but I’m unable to help with my free patterns or tutorials via email or private messages.
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Yarn
100g/361yd/330m
Handdyed 4ply or sport weight yarn
Needles & Notions
Pair 3mm/UK11/US2½ straight needles or size needed to obtain gauge
Stitch marker as necessary
Tapestry needle
Sample Details
Shown in WoolWorxx BFL Fingering [390yd/357m per 100g; 100% Bluefaced Leicester]
Shown in size 23in/58.5cm on model with 21.5in/54.5cm circumference head
Note
This pattern is deceptively simple – it’s simply a length of garter stitch worked flat with the corners stitched together! What makes it special is that it’s worked on the bias. This Hat can be made in any gauge, in any yarn. And it’s perfect for beginners.
Gauge
24 sts x 48 rows to 4in/10cm on 3mm needles over Garter St.
Sizes
To fit sizes: 16 [18, 21, 23] in/ 40.75 [45.75, 53.25, 58.5] cm
Finished size: 14 [16, 18, 20] in/ 35.5 [40.75, 45.75, 50.75] cm
Not sure which size to make? Check my handy size and measuring guide!
Skills Required
Increases and Decreases
Garter Mattress Stitch
Blocking a Hand Knit Hat
Abbreviations
K: knit
st(s): stitch(es)
kfb: knit into the front and back of the next stitch
kbf: knit into the back then front of the next stitch
k2tog: knit next 2sts together
ssk: slip next 2sts knitwise, then knit these 2 sts together through the backs of the loops
k3tog: knit next 3sts together
How To
With main yarn and your choice of cast-on method, cast on 3sts. Ideally leave a tail of around 9 [10, 11, 12] in/ 23 [25.5, 28, 30.5] cm
Body Part 1
Foundation Row: K1, knit into the front then back then front of next stitch, K1 [5sts]
Row 1: Knit all sts
Row 2: K1, Kfb, K1, Kbf, K1 [7sts]
Row 3: Knit all sts
Row 4: K1, Kfb, K to last 2sts, Kbf, K1
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until work measures 7 [8, 9, 10] in/17.75 [20.25, 22.75, 25.5] cm along an edge from the cast on point, ending after a plain knit row.
Body Part 2
Row 1: K1, Kfb, K to last 3sts, k2tog, K1
Row 2: Knit all sts
This sets up the bias pattern, and the width of our strip of knitting will remain constant.
Repeat these two rows until work measures approximately 16 [18, 20, 22] in/ 40.75 [45.75, 50.75, 56] cm along the longest edge, ending after a plain knit row.
Body Part 3
Row 1: K1, ssk, K to last 3sts, k2tog, K1
Row 2: Knit all sts
Repeat these two rows until 5sts remain ending after a plain knit row then:
Final Row: K1, k3tog, K1.
Break yarn and draw through remaining 3sts to close.
Ideally leave a tail of around 9 [10, 11, 12] in/ 23 [25.5, 28, 30.5] cm
Finishing
Fold work in half length-ways by bringing the two shortest ends together.
Using the yarn tails, and using the mattress stitch method for garter stitch, close each side seam.
Bring together the top corners and secure them with a few stitches. You can also turn this Hat inside out for an envelope style finish.
Weave in all ends. A gentle wash and blocking is recommended.
Custom any gauge version
Should you wish to use a different yarn at a different gauge, you’ll need to know your head measurement.
Armed with your head size, you’ll want to subtract 2in/5cm or 12% – this allows for negative ease (how much smaller the finished size is compared to the to fit size) and it’s negative ease that helps keep the Hat on your head.
Now that you have the finished size of your Hat, divide that by 2 – this will tell us how wide the strip of knitting needs to be. Remember that this strip is garter stitch worked on the bias, so the width of the strip is the same as the length of the work in Body Pt1. So you’re simply going to work that section until you reach your custom fit measurement! You’ll then follow the directions as given in the pattern.
This also means that you can custom fit this Hat beyond the sizes included in the pattern, even with a totally different yarn gauge.
Example: your head size is 21in, and so an ideal finished size is 18in. That means our strip of garter stitch needs to be 9in wide.
Simply knit the length of garter stitch until it’s double the Hat length and voila! Finish as above.
Need Help With This Pattern?
If you’ve a question about this pattern, please pop it in the comments below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can! I’m afraid I’m unable to offer help via email or private message, but you’re welcome to post in our forum.
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16 Comments
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I am having trouble sewing the hat together. Is there more diagrams?
There aren’t any more diagrams – are you able to tell me which part you’re having difficulty with so I can help you further?
I am working on s tutorial for creating an envelope crown but it’s not finished yet.
Merhaba öncelikle elinize sağlık
Keşke bir yapılış videosuda çekseniz çok güzel olurdu.
Sevgiler ♥️
I’m glad you like the Hat 🙂
Videos take hours to produce, just for short technique videos. To produce a video for a free Hat pattern would take several days of work – and I can’t afford to work for free.
Thanks for this pattern! Should the final piece be a square or a rectangle before casting off?
It’ll be a long rectangle that you fold in half lengthways! You’ll then sew the side seams 🙂
Also having problems with the stitching part.
Folding it lengthways then sewing the (side seams??) would leave you with a loooong thing with like a long thin envelope.
Do you mean instead to fold in half short end to short end, stitch up each side so you end up with a square with an open end? It still ends up huge :=(
Not quite sure what happens then.
Please can you post some photos of this stage? Thanks
Hi there, it’s telling you to fold the length, which is the longest measurement, in half. There’s no seam across the top shown in the photos, and that’s where it’s folded. It’s not asking you to fold it in half widthways 🙂
This was fun to knit up. I used most of one skein of BFL Sock by Megs&Co. But I’m also confused about how to fold and sew up the sides. Unfolded, the piece is 22" long and 10.5" wide. So, when you say "lengthwise", do you mean that this is folded along the long axis so that you maintain 22" length, and are now sewing edges that are 5.25" long? OR…., Do you fold so that the 22" length becomes 11", and it is the 11" edges that get sewn together? Thanks.
Hi there, it’s asking you to fold the length, the longest measurement, in half. So yes, for your size that’ll mean folding the 22in length in half so that the Hat is 11in tall before sewing in the corners 🙂
In your example your say the desired finish size is 21 in and to subtract 2, which would result in 19. But you finish with 18, rather than 19. Is that a typo?
Hi there!
Do you mean in the ‘Custom Any Gauge’ notes? It’s not a typo 🙂 The note says to allow approximately 2in/5cm or 12% of negative ease; 2in won’t work for all sizes, and for a 21in head 12% is 2.5in. I rounded down to 18in as more negative ease is always better than less – especially with garter stitch – and because 18in is easier on the maths than 18.5in when you’re dividing the finished size by 2.
When you fold a 22×9 inch rectangle lengthwise you get sides that are 4.5 inches long. Also, is the fold (wherever it is) strictly across the middle so you’re creating a tube?
If you were to fold it lengthwise that’s what you’d get, yes – but that’s not what the pattern says, it says “length-ways”.
I’ll add an additional note to that in case anyone else misunderstands it.
It won’t strictly be a tube as the top will be closed 🙂
Thanks very much for your response. So excited for this to work because my yarn needed this construction. Google tells me length-ways and lengthwise are the same thing. A couple of project notes say to fold it in half so that the short ends meet, and then seam up the sides. Is that what’s supposed to happen?
Yes – I’ve updated the finishing notes to say “Fold work in half length-ways by bringing the two shortest ends together.”
The pattern then says to sew up each side seam.
Ifyou read through to the last section, for custom/any yarn, it explains further how the Hat is constructed 🙂