Forager Hat & Cowl

This cozy hat is a great little project for fall. Knitted with our thick & thin Tsunami Yarn, the pattern is easy to memorize and knits up speedily - perfect for keeping you busy while on trips to visit friends & family. Offered as a hat and matching cowl to keep you extra snuggly during your forays into the forest!

Shopping list:

• YARN A - 1 Skein Bulky yarn, like Kona Bulky or Cascade Magnum
• YARN B - 1 Skein Tsunami Yarn - we dyed ours using Dharma Acid Dyes and Jacquard Acid Dyes (2 hats and 1 cowl were completed using one skein of Tsunami Yarn)
• 1 set of US size 11 needles, 16 inch circular, or double pointed needles
• 1 stitch marker

Let's get started!

Pro Tip: We dyed up our yarns using Dharma Acid dyes. You can check out the color selection here:

• Dharma Acid Dyes

And here's a tutorial on how you can get multiple colors on your yarn:

• The 5 Minute Silk Scarf

Measurements:

• Hat: 20" circumference, 9" tall for fitted hat, 10.5" tall for slouch
• Cowl: 26" circumference x 7" tall

Gauge:

• 10 sts to 4"

Stitch Dictionary:

• P1, K1 - Purl one, Knit one in rib stitch
• K2tog - knit two stitches together
• P2tog - purl two stitches together

Hat

With Yarn A, cast on 48 stitches using the cable cast on, knitted cast on, or long tail cast on. Join in the round, being careful not to twist your stitches. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your round.

Work 5 rounds in P1, K1 ribbing. This is to make the ribbed border of your hat. If you want a thicker border, continue working in ribbing until it is the length you want.

Next round, switch to Yarn B and knit one round. Cut Yarn A and weave in ends.

At this point you will have a series of thick and thin sections of knitted stitches. On the next and all following rounds, use this as your guide: knitting the thin sections, and purling the thick sections.

Continue knitting the thin sections and purling the thick sections until your hat measures about 8.5" in total length from the CO edge.

Begin Decrease rounds, maintaining knit/purl pattern as determined by yarn thickness:
Round 1: (Work 7 stitches, K2 tog) repeat until end of round.
Round 2: and all even rounds: Work even in pattern.
Round 3: (K2tog, work 6 stitches) repeat until end of round.
Round 5: (work 2 stitches, K2tog, work 3 stitches) repeat until end of round.
Round 7: (K2tog, P2tog) repeat to end of round.
Round 9: (K2tog, P2tog).

Cut your yarn, leaving an 8 inch tail. Pull this tail through all the stitches left on your needle and pull it tight, cinching up your hat to close it. Pull tail through a second time for added security and weave in ends.

Soak in Eucalan wool wash, dry out of direct sunlight and enjoy wearing your new Forager!

Cowl

First you'll want to decide what color yarn you want to start with. (In our example, we used the dark brown yarn as Yarn A, and the lighter colored yarn as Yarn B.)

With Yarn A, cast on 58 stitches using the cable cast on, knitted cast on, or cast on of your choice.

Optional: In our example we took some leftover yarn from the hat project and did a double cast on for a decorative edge. You can see an example of this cast on here.

Join in the round, being careful not to twist your stitches. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your round.

At this point you will have a series of thick and thin sections of knitted stitches. On the next and all following rounds, you will use this as your guide: Knitting the thin sections, and Purling the thick sections.

On every 3rd row, switch to Yarn B. We recommend leaving the tail of your alternate yarn color (and not cutting it) and then picking up the color when you're ready to switch colors again.

Becky Stern has a nice video of how to alternate yarn colors here.

Keep an eye on your knitting, you get to pick how thick of a cowl you would like. We opted to make one that's 7.5" deep from the CO edge.

Once your cowl is almost as tall as you like, switch to Yarn A and knit 3 more rounds. Bind off your project, cut Yarn A and Yarn B and weave in ends.

Optional: If you opted to create a decorative edge, switch to that yarn for your bind off so that both edges have a decorative border.