Traveller’s Hat Pattern and Video

The Traveller’s Hat is a very easy beginner knit pattern if starting with the long-tail cast on, or is perhaps an advanced beginner or intermediate project if using the circular tubular cast on, which I recommend. It’s a slouchy hat that works well for both men and women. The hat is knit in wide stripes alternating between colors, although would also be nice in a single yarn; either a solid color or variegated yarn would work well. I used the Miss Babs Madison, which is an aran weight yarn (as suggested in the pattern), in the Pacifica colorway and Dunk. The yarn is very soft and the finished hat has a satisfying weight and warmth. You could probably use any medium weight yarn.

The pattern starts with a section of one by one (1×1) rib stitch with size 3 knitting needles, then switches to size 6 needles for the pattern stitch. I used a 16” circular needle to start and finished the last two rows with magic loop. My gauge was 18.5 stitches per 4”. The fit was a little loose for me, although it certainly fit; my head measured at the widest part is 22”. It was a perfect fit for my husband, whose head measures 23”. If I were to knit this hat again for me, I might subtract 4 stitches.

For the length, I did the section of 1×1 rib, then knit 6 color bands after that. You can try on the hat before the first decrease row to see if you want to add another section, or maybe you want to subtract a section. The final decision is whether or not to add a pom pom.

This Lesson provides videos for how to do all of the steps and learn about how to make sure your hat will fit before you start, and the following video gives an overview of the entire project, picking up after the cast on; I suggest starting with the Circular Tubular Cast On video: