Celebrating our Porty Hat Preview Knitters

by Ysolda support@ysolda.com October 28, 2021 2 min read

As part of our work preparing to get the Porty Hat design into knitters' hands we once again invited some knitters from our community to work up their version as part of our preview knitter programme.

The Porty Hat follows up on our bestselling Musselburgh pattern with a similar top-down, swatchless construction and just as much cool, casual style. We’ve named it after our local beach in Edinburgh, where a cosy hat that can be pulled down over your ears to keep out the chill is an essential accessory. The Porty Hat’s universal appeal and comfortable, elastic fit, make it a wonderful gift for anyone on your list.

a person wearing a pink shirt and khaki dungarees holds a stack of ribbed hats in pink, pale blue, charcoal and teal Whether you’re an adventurous beginner eager to learn new skills, or an experienced knitter looking for a quick, compelling project you’ll love knitting the Porty Hat. The swatchless design begins at the centre top: the crown is shaped by increasing outward in 4 ‘compass point’ lines. When you’ve created enough fabric to do so you can simply measure your gauge on the project, and match it to the numbers given for your size and gauge. Once the fun crown shaping is complete, there’s lots of soothing 1x1 rib that makes for the perfect “take anywhere” project.

Smooth sock yarn? Something squishy and chunky? Stripes, speckles or colour-blocking? Extra long with a giant pom-pom? Understated or loud? How will you make this blank canvas your own?

We know you'll find the incredible range of hats made by our preview knitters inspiring! We've broken them down by yarn weight so that you can see how yarn choice and gauge affect the results.

Fingering (4ply) weight yarns

Winnie

Instagram: @bokchoyknits

Yarn: Atelier Franziska Uhl Handgefärbte Sockenwolle

A person wearing a pink variegated hat, a parka with a fluffy hood and glasses is pictured looking to the right against a background of foliage.

Jy

Instagram: @jychao

Yarn: Doulton Border Leicester 4ply

Sportweight yarns

Patrice

Instagram: @Beesinthepines

Briggs and Little Sport 100% wool single ply

A smiling person with short grey hair is pictured wearing a bright orange ribbed hat with the brim turned up in front of a white brick wall.

Winnie

Instagram: @bokchoyknits

Yarn: Sweetgeorgia tough love socks held together with Hedgehog Merino lace

Closely cropped portrait of a person wearing a ribbed hat with a blue marled body, and a grey marled folded brim. The brim has a narrow red stripe in the middle.

Rachael

Instagram: @redrabbit8584

Yarn: Knit Spin Farm Targhee Sport

Close up of the crown of a striped hat pictured from behind. The narrow stripes are grey, charcoal, plum, yellow and bright blue.

DK (double knitting) yarns

Max

Instagram: @thirdfactory

Yarn: Toots Le Blanc DK 60%wool/40%angora

Selfie of a grinning person with freckles and short black hair wearing a fluffy grey ribbed hat. They're holding the camera and leaning on a red brick wall.

Sophia

Instagram: @craftink/

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Yarn Supersock DK

A smiling person with long brown hair is standing with their hands behind their head and wearing a variegated ribbed hat in shades of pink and purple.

Nahoko

Instagram: @nm.ninemountains.nm

Yarn: DARUMA Merino DK / DARUMA COMBINATION WOOL

A small child and parent, both with straight black hair, are pictured from behind reading a picture book. They both wear white graphic t shirts and the adult has a teal ribbed hat.

Worsted weight yarns

Charlotte

Instagram: @lolotte1409

Yarn: Squoosh fiberarts ultra worsted, Malabrigo Worsted

A collage of images of 3 pink hats pictured together with varying amounts of progress worked. Pom poms and tools are shown around them.

A collage of 3 images of the same person wearing and knitting the 3 pink hats pictured above.

Tracy

Instagram: @tfknits

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash

A person with medium length brown hair is photographed from behind wearing a gold coloured ribbed hat with the brim turned up. There is a fence and autumn leaves in the background.

Jy

Instagram: @jychao

Yarn: New Lanark DK plus a strand of silk mohair

collage of 2 photos of the same person sitting on a grassy cliff overlooking the sea wearing a softly variegated hat in grey and pastel colours. In one picture they have the brim unturned with the crown sticking up above their head, and in the other the brim is folded.

Winnie

Instagram: @bokchoyknits

Yarn: Black Cat Custom Yarn Let’s Get Worsted

A variegated bright blue ribbed hat is photographed on a worn wood floor.

Aran weight yarns

Amanda

Instagram: @hippiemommy

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Merino Aran

a young teenager with long brown hair is photographed in a park wearing a black hoodie and a bright pink hat. The hat has variegated shades of pink, yellow and dark grey and is worn with the brim turned up.

Chunky weight yarn

Amy

Instagram: @runallthetrailsco

Yarn: Western Sky Knits Biggie

A variegated orange and turquoise ribbed hat with a fluffy pom pom lies on a grey fabric background. The colours on the hat have pooled into wide diagonal stripes.

Feeling inspired? Click here to purchase the Porty Hat pattern, which includes print friendly, mobile optimised and low vision pdfs, and cast on today! We can’t wait to see your Porty Hat so please do tag us on social media and show us your progress using the hashtag #PortyHat!