Sports
Sports
FanFan
HatHat
by Mary Ann Stephens
Pattern overview:
This is a circularly-knit, Aran-weight hat sized for the average adult head. It has a deep, ribbed band which folds
up for extra warmth around the ears. The optional stripes along the mid-portion can be done in your favorite
team’s colors, using any row patterning you’d like. A jaunty pompom tops things off and ties in your colors.
Note: If you’d like a slouchier hat, you’ll have enough of the background yarn to add an inch or two of plain
stockinette stitch rounds above the striped area, before you begin the crown decreases.
Finished circumference: 21 1/8” / 54cm, measured over stockinette stitch area, when knit to gauge. (Note: For a
slightly smaller, adult-sized hat, use worsted weight yarn; for a child’s hat, use DK weight yarn.)
Suggested yarn: Dale Garn “Hegre” 100% pure new wool Aran-weight yarn. You’ll need two 50g / 82 yd / 75 m
balls for the main color (shown: #0017 Off-white = A) plus one 50g ball, or remnants, for each contrasting stripe
color (shown: #4018 Red = B and #5744 Norwegian blue = C.) Note: Hegre has been discontinued. Substitute with
Aran weight yarns for the size shown. Finer gauge yarns + smaller needles = smaller hats. Try worsted weight for
small adult hats; DK weight for children’s hats.
Notions: Stitch marker (for end of round); tapestry needle (for weaving in loose ends); cardboard, pencil, ruler, compass
and scissors (for homemade pompom forms.)
Suggested needles:
Looser knitters: US #7 / 4.5mm for ribbing and US #8 / 5.0mm for main portion.
Tighter knitters: US #8 / 5.0mm for ribbing and US #9 / 5.5mm for main portion.
You can use a set of double-pointed needles, one long (32” or longer) circular needle with the “magic loop” technique, or two
circular needles – whichever method you prefer. USE WHATEVER SIZE NEEDLES YOU NEED TO OBTAIN GAUGE!
Gauge: 17 stitches and 22 rows over 4” / 10cm in stockinette stitch.
Abbreviations: A = background yarn; B & C = contrasting stripe colors; CO = cast on; EOR = end of round; K = knit;
K2tog = knit two stitches together as one; P = purl; rd(s) = rounds; rem = remaining; rep = repeat; st(s) = stitches.
Copyright 2015, 2018 Mary Ann Stephens All Rights Reserved. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.
Instructions Sports Fan Hat by Mary Ann Stephens, page two
Ribbing
Using A and smaller needle(s), CO 90 sts (I used the common long-tail CO for the sample, but you can use any favorite
method), place EOR marker and join work circularly. *K 1, P 1, rep from * until work measures 5” / 13cm
from CO edge.
Stripes
Optional jog smoothing: Try this trick to visually smooth the EOR jog in your stripes: Knit the first round
of any stripe as normal. Since you’ve spiraled up one row as you’ve knit that round, as usual, the end of
your round will sit one row higher than its beginning. For now, you’ll have the dreaded jog in your stripe.
But, as you start the 2nd round of that stripe, you’ll lift the st below the first st on the left needle (a
background st) so that it’s together with the first st on the left needle (the first st of your stripe) and knit
them together. This will raise the beginning of your stripe, thereby smoothing out the color jog a good
bit. Work the rest of that round, and all remaining rounds within that stripe, as normal. Tweak that first
st in the second rd of every stripe in the same manner.
Change to larger needle(s). K 3 rds in A. K 4 rds in B. K 4 rds in A. K 4 rds in C. K 3 rds in A.
(Or, work any design you’d like over those 18 rds above the ribbing. And don’t feel locked into exactly 18
rds for that section - if you want a slouchier hat, feel free to continue those plain rounds, striped or not -
whatever you’d like - over another inch or two.)
Shaping the crown:
*K2tog, K 13, rep from * to end of rd. (1 dec in each rep; total of 6 reps in 1 rd.) 84 sts rem. K 1 rd.
*K2tog, K 12, rep from * to end of rd. 78 sts rem. K 1 rd.
*K2tog, K 11, rep from * to end of rd. 72 sts rem. K 1 rd.
Continue in this manner, beginning each rep in each decrease rd with k2tog, alternating each decrease rd with 1
plain rd (i.e., without decreases) until you have worked through *k2tog, k 2 sts, rep from * to EOR = 24 sts rem. K 1 rd.
Break off yarn, leaving several inches. Thread yarn end through each of the rem 24 sts; feed yarn end through
center of sts to inside of hat. Do NOT weave loose end in just yet – you’ll use it for attaching the pompom shortly.
Pompoms: Cut two circles out of cardboard (sample used two 3¼” diameter circles. You can get away with just one
circle, but using two ensures a more even pompom.) On each circle, cut two slits, about 30 degrees apart, from the
outer edge to the center; cut a 3/4” hole in the center. (See photo, below.) Holding the 2 cardboard circles stacked
together, and holding all 3 yarn colors together, *wrap yarns evenly, from the center, around one outer edge and
back to the center; repeat from * for about 70 wraps (or whatever your heart desires.) Cut all yarn ends. Thread a
tapestry needle with several inches of sturdy scrap yarn and run the threaded needle under all wraps on one side
of the cardboard. Gather the wraps closely together and feed the needle and loose ends of the threaded yarn to
the center. Insert scissors between the 2 layers of cardboard and cut all wraps along the outer edge. Tie the
threaded yarn tightly around all wraps. Feed loose ends through center top of hat to inside of hat. Tie pompom
ends to crown end, tightly. Weave loose ends in place. Wash hat, and block, if necessary. Wear in happiness!
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Copyright 2015, 2018 Mary Ann Stephens All Rights Reserved. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.
