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.
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?
Build your skills by following the links to our clear step-by-step tutorials.
The Porty Hat is written for multiple gauges, you can start knitting the hat with whichever needle size feels comfortable for you for the yarn you are using.
Porty Hat includes 4 sizes and 7 gauges, so you can knit it with the yarn you prefer, to fit everyone. Because every size starts in exactly the same way you can skip swatching and measure gauge on your project.
baby (B) [kid (K), adult (A), adult large (AL)]
To fit head circumference: 16 [19, 22, 25]” / 40 [47.5, 55, 62.5]cm.
Total length: 7 [8 3/4, 10 3/4, 12 1/4]” / 17.5 [22, 27, 30.5]cm.
Length with brim folded up: 5 1/4 [6 3/4, 8 1/2, 9 3/4]” / 13 [17, 21.5, 24.5]cm.
Fingering: Garthenor Organic Preseli (100% wool, 1.76 oz / 50g, 219 yds / 200m) in Koi.
DK: Neighborhood Fiber Co Studio DK (100% Merino, 4 oz / 113g, 275 yds / 250m) in Charles Center.
Worsted: Neighborhood Fiber Co Studio Worsted (100% Merino, 4 oz / 113g, 200 yds / 183m) in Upton.
Chunky: De Rerum Natura Cyrano (100% Merino, 164 yds / 150m, 100g) in Plume.
Bulky: Lion Brand Hue + Me (80% acrylic, 20% wool, 4.41 oz / 125g, 137 yds / 125m) in Rose Water.
Learn how to knit your own Musselburgh or Porty Hat in this fun mini-course, featuring the full replay video from our popular live webinar: Knitting Swatchless Hats. In the webinar replay Ysolda will walk you through each step of knitting a swatchless hat from selecting yarn and needles to creating a beautiful finish. She'll cover how to use the patterns and share lots of tips and tricks for a successful project that you'll love knitting. Discover why so many knitters haven't been able to stop knitting these compelling projects!
Please note, this course takes you through the skills you need to knit from our Porty Hat and Musselburgh knitting patterns. If you do not have your own copy of the patterns, you can use the 50% off coupon included in the course material.
Fingering to bulky weight yarn. Exact yardage will depend on size, gauge and yarn used. 100g of yarn is enough for any size, gauge and yarn combination. For DK-chunky weights you may need extra yarn to add a pom pom to the adult large size.
The needle size that works best for your yarn will depend on your individual tension. The recommended needle size for the yarn is a good starting point.