Along These Lines combines two contrasting colors in a bold stranded-colorwork hat. Inspired by a class at The Knitting Guild Association’s Next Level Conference, the design explores ladderback jacquard, a technique for managing long floats on the inside of your knitting.
Ladderback jacquard creates small columns of stitches behind the colorwork to secure longer floats without catching them into the front fabric. This hat offers a manageable project for exploring the technique while creating something practical to wear.
Worked seamlessly in the round from brim to crown, Along These Lines begins with a short 1x1 ribbed brim. The charted colorwork forms the body of the hat, followed by a shaped crown with a contrasting-color finish.
Choose two colors with a clear contrast to highlight the design. My sample uses Purl Soho Hedgerow in Persimmon Red and Heirloom White, a merino, cashmere, and silk blend with a tweedy appearance.
The pattern includes five sizes: XS, S, M, L, and 1X.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
How to work stranded colorwork from a chart
How to use ladderback jacquard to manage long floats
How to follow chart markings for starting, continuing, and ending ladderback stitches
How to work a stretchy cast-on, with a tutorial link for the Old Norwegian cast-on
How to work a hat in the round from brim to crown
How to shape the crown using knit-two-together decreases
Along These Lines was originally published in the Winter 2025–2026 issue of Cast On, The Knitting Guild Association’s magazine. The pattern rights have since returned to designer Joy Friedman, and the hat is now available directly from Top of the World Knits.
SIZES
XS (S, M, L, 1X)
Finished circumference: 17 (19, 20.75, 22.75, 24.5) inches
Finished height: 7.75 (8, 9, 9.75, 9.75) inches
Measurements are for the finished hat, not the wearer’s head circumference.
YARN
Worsted-weight yarn in two contrasting colors.
Sample yarn: Purl Soho Hedgerow, 93% Merino Wool / 3.5% Cashmere / 3.5% Mulberry Silk, 243 yds / 222 m per 100 g skein.
Main Color: Persimmon Red Contrasting Color: Heirloom White
The original pattern lists one skein of each color for all sizes. These are purchase quantities, rather than the amount of yarn used in the hat.
NEEDLES
US 5 / 3.75 mm needles for the colorwork and US 3 / 3.25 mm needles for the ribbing, or sizes needed to obtain gauge.
Circular needles suitable for working the hat in the round, plus double-pointed needles or your preferred method for working the smaller circumference of the crown.
GAUGE
19 sts and 21 rounds = 4 inches / 10 cm in Along These Lines colorwork pattern on larger needles.
SKILLS NEEDED
Knitting and purling in the round, working stranded colorwork with two colors, reading a colorwork chart, ladderback jacquard, and working knit-two-together decreases. Some sizes also use a make-one-left increase.
Please Note
Digital knitting pattern only. No physical item will be shipped.
After purchasing this pattern, feel free to email me at joy@topoftheworldknits.com if you’d like a copy added to your Ravelry library. Just include your Ravelry username, and I’ll take care of the rest.