Fair Isle Hat by Jenny Williams for KnitPicks.com

my first fair isle project

My first ever fair isle project! I am so proud of this hat. For me, it marks an improvement in my knitting skills and a broadening of my project horizons. There are so many more fair isle projects I feel empowered to attempt upon completing this hat.

I found this pattern on Ravelry for $4.99 USD. The pattern includes instructions for a hat with earflaps and a matching cowl. I chose not to add earflaps to my hat, and I have yet to make the matching cowl (but it is on my to-do list for sure).

This is a well written pattern that includes two charts, with which you can make both the cowl and hat. The instructions for both garments are very integrated with one another.

I knitted this in the round, which made my first fair isle experience that much easier. I still use the English method of knitting, thus causing me to have to untangle my yarn more frequently. I found I had very few tension issues, though.

The suggested yarn for this pattern is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Worsted, however I had Cascade 220 Heathers on hand, so I used that instead! Both yarns are 100% Peruvian Highland wool and come in various colorways. I used size 6 needles for this project.

I had so many ends to weave in! In the future, I will consider weaving them in as I go, but for my introductory fair isle project, I didn’t want to potentially ruin my tension.

I wet blocked this hat with Eucalan, pinning it to a foam mat to dry. One day I’ll invest in a hat form…

And that’s it! I love this hat so much and I cannot wait to wear it this fall/winter. It feels so luxurious to have a handmade wool hat to wear. As a bonus, all the yarn carrying and floats on the wrong side function as an extra layer of warmth.

I think you’ll see many more fair isle hats from me in the future! They’re rewarding and quick projects that are fun for experiments and new designs.

Until Tuesday, happy (fair isle) knitting, loves!