I have a lot of left over yarn at home and often there is just a really small amount of each yarn or color. I have used these left overs to knit socks and mittens and gloves with striped or little Fair Isle patterns, but there is always this concern that there isn’t enough for both socks or mittens or gloves and it is frustrating :) And it gets boring at some point :)

So one day I thought I’ll do something different and knit a hat and just started knitting a simple stripe and this is what came out :) Only later I realized that there is a whole bunch of things out there using a similar technique, Frankie Brown’s 10 stitch blanket being probably the most famous of these and that I had even favored it like 4 years ago in Ravelry :) So I must have had it somewhere at the back of my mind the whole time :)

Anyway, first I knitted a hat for my son. I worked it in Hjertegarn Lima (100% wool; 1.76oz / 50g, 109yds /100m) with needles US 6 [4mm]. This hat is without the sharp point or tip at the top of the hat.

For a head circumference of 21.5” / 55cm it took approx 2.86oz /81g (177yds /162m) of worsted weight yarn.

When I started to write down the pattern I thought that it would be easier to do it for one specific yarn, so I chose a self-striping yarn with beautiful colors from LYS – NORO Kirara (51% Wool, 29% Cotton, 10% Angora, 10% Silk; 1.76oz / 50g, 164 yds /150m). I used needles US 4 [3.5mm].

For a head circumference of 21” / 54cm it took approx 2.12oz /60g (197yds /180m) of DK weight yarn.

This unisex hat is actually super easy and fun to knit and is worked with only two needles back and forth in rows and spirally joined as you go along. You can follow this pattern or use it as a recipe and design your own hat: you can make it longer or shorter, wider or tighter, with or without the tip, with or without the ribbing. This pattern works for any yarn weight and you can knit it in any size.
Hope you enjoy it! :)

You can find Mika hat pattern in Ravelry