This week, I’m knitting with Universal Yarn Penna which is a feathery light blend of baby suri alpaca, fine merino wool, and nylon that exudes a lovely halo.

Yesterday, I made the Plume cowl in Rose Kiss, Raspberry Tart, and Mulberry which was a quick and easy project that isn’t only a lovely accessory, but when double wrapped, is very warm to wear around your neck.

Today, I’m making a Raspberry Beret, but not the kind you’d find in a second-hand store. This one is made with Penna in Raspberry Tart, combined with Wool Pop in color Raisin.

In a previous post, I made the Jora sweater in Wool Pop. It had a ribbed cable motif on the sleeves that I loved, and stated that I could see myself using this motif again in another project. I wasn’t expecting to use it quite this soon, but I think this is a perfect application for it.

The hat is made by holding a single strand of each yarn together. It starts with the hat band using the ribbed cable motif, joined to form a circle, and then the stitches are picked up for the body and crown. Increases are done with a yarn over on the first row; then the yarn over is knit through the back loop on the next row.

Based on the swatch I made in my second post this week about knitting swatches, I’m using a US 6 [4mm] needle for the banding. I was originally thinking that I would use that needle size for the entire hat to keep the fabric dense, but discovered that it was too dense and didn’t sit quite right for the body and crown, so I changed to a US 7 [4.5mm].

The band is worked flat and joined at the ends to make a circle. Joining can be accomplished by grafting the two ends together, a 3 needle bind off, or by sewing the cast on and off edges together. If grafting or 3 needle bind off is your preference, then you’ll need to do a provisional cast on to start so that the live stitches can be picked up from the beginning to be joined with the end stitches. I opted for a 3 needle bind off, but any of above methods will work. Whichever method you choose, leave enough tail yarn to do the grafting or seaming. This way, you won’t need to cut the yarn when picking up the stitches for the crown.

For this project, you will need:

materials

yarn

• 1 ball of Penna in color Raspberry Tart
• 1 skein of Wool Pop in color Raisin

needles

• US 6 [4mm] circular needle in 16” or 32” for magic loop, or double pointed needles
• US 7 [4.5mm] circular needle in 16” or 32” for magic loop, or double pointed needles
• cable needle

notions

• 1 button with a shank
• tapestry needle to sew in ends and for grafting if that is the chosen join method.

size

Sized to fit a 20” head.

gauge

• 18sts x 24 rows holding a strand of each yarn with a US 7 [4.5mm] needle

abbreviations

BOR beginning of round

dec  decrease

k knit

k2tog knit 2 stitches together (1 st dec’d)

ktbl knit through back loop

m marker

p purl

pm place marker

RS right side

sl slip

st(s) stitch(es)

WS wrong side

yo yarn over

stitch definition

7×7 Left Cross Rib (LCR): Sl next 7 sts to cable needle and hold in front, work the next 7 sts from left needle in established rib pattern, work 7 sts from cable needle in established rib pattern.

Band

With US6 [4mm] needles, cast on 20 sts (provisional cast on if using grafting or 3 needle bind off).

Set up rows:

1^st row: K2, p2, [k1, p1] 3 times, [p1, k1] 3 times, p2, k2.

2^nd row: P2, k2, [p1, k1] 3 times, [k1, p1] 3 times, k2, p2.

Ribbed Cable Pattern

(worked over 20sts)

Row 1 (RS): K2, p1, 7×7 LCR, p1, k2.

WS Rows 2-10: p2, k1, [p1, k1] 3 times, [k1, p1] 3 times, k1, p2.

RS Rows 3-9: K2, p1, [k1, p1] 3 times, [p1, k1] 3 times, p1, k2.

Rep Rows 1-10 for pattern.

Work 9 complete ribbed cable patterns, then work rows 1 – 8.

Work should measure approximately 20” when stretched.

Cast off and join to cast on row, or optionally, pick up stitches from provisional cast on and either graft or 3 needle bind off to join ends.

The Body and Crown

With smaller circular needles, pick up and knit 90 stitches evenly around the band. Place a marker to denote the beginning of round (BOR).

K1, p1 for 4 rows.

*(K2, yo) repeat from * to end of round, change to larger size needles.

*(K2, ktbl) repeat from * to end of round. 135 sts

Knit 8 rows.

Purl 1 row.

Knit 1 row.

Purl 1 row.

Knit 2 rows.

Dec Row – (K13, k2tog) repeat to end of round. 126 sts

Knit 2 rows.

Dec Row – (K12, k2tog) repeat to end round. 117 sts

Knit 2 rows.

Dec Row – (K11, k2tog) repeat to end of round. 108 sts

Knit 1 row.

Continue decreasing in this fashion (Knit 1 less stitch before K2tog) on every other row until 9 stitches remaining.

Cut yarn, draw through remaining stitches, and secure; be sure to leave enough yarn for sewing on the button.

Recently, I helped a friend unpack and set up a new yarn store. As I was setting up the button display, one rogue button rolled across the floor. It was a shank button in raspberry, so I just had to use it on my beret.

My Raspberry Beret is complete. The first time I tried it on, it was a little snug, but after trying it on a couple of times, it fit perfectly. What I find fun about it, is that you can wear it different ways. I can pull it over my ears if needed for warmth, but I prefer wearing it Parisian style – especially with my Plume cowl. Oui, oui!

By combining Penna with Wool Pop, I get a lovely rich halo of raspberry intermixed with the durability and softness of Wool Pop in Raisin color.

I’m really pleased with the end result. By taking a motif from a sweater pattern and combining Penna and Wool Pop together, I ended up with a unique design. Every time I wear my Raspberry Beret, I will think of that song. I hope you join me tomorrow when I make an elegant lacy stole that highlights the feathery halo of the yarn without muting the pattern detail.

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Consistency in pattern when working in the round