That’s an awfully long title, but thankfully this way of creating a knitted Hat is a lot simpler than the title suggests! This is the next article in my series about knitted - and crochet - Hat construction.
Some examples of Woolly Wormhead designs made this way are Diagonale, Tubed and Imagiro.
the ‘Diagonale’ slouch Hat
the ‘Tubed’ slouch Hat
the ‘Imagiro’ vintage Hat
When we make a Hat this way, we start with a regular strip of knitted fabric and fold, then sew it together. It’s not a method that necessarily springs to mind when ‘modular knitting’ gets mentioned, as it doesn’t require you to join lots of pieces of knitting – though you could totally do that and make yourself a really cool Hat. It’s modular because it combines methods; it’s still pieced together, only differently. I expanded on this a little more in my Hat Construction overview article.
What I love about this method, is that it’s a fantastic way for newer knitters to make themselves a Hat, as it requires no shaping techniques – just a rectangle of knitting! And we can work this simple piece of knitting in a few different ways.
Diagram 1: the schematic shows a simple rectangle and the direction of knitting in the ‘Tubed’ Hat
Diagram 2: the schematic shows a simple rectangle and the direction of knitting in the ‘Diagonale’ Hat
Diagram 3: the schematic shows a simple rectangle and the direction of knitting in the ‘Imagiro’ Hat
The free Tubed Hat pattern is created from a strip of knitting that’s knit vertically - as shown above in Diagram 1 above.
A number of stitches equivalent to half the circumference of the finished Hat is cast on, and the strip is cast off when the length is equivalent to twice the overall length of the Hat. The stitches lie in the same direction as the depth of the Hat until the piece is folded and the crown shaping created.
The Diagonale design introduces increase and decrease techniques, but because they’re not essential for shaping, it’s a great pattern to practice those methods with. The direction of knitting is shown in Diagram 2 above.
The use of increases and decreases creates a diagonal pattern, one that is on the bias, and so the direction of the stitches lies at 45 degrees to the depth of the Hat whilst we knit it.
Similar to the Tubed pattern, when it’s sewn together and the crown shaping formed, some of the stitches will change direction.
Diagram 4: this schematic indicates how the rectangle of knitting will be folded and seamed in the construction of the ‘Tubed’ and ‘Diagonale’ Hats.
The schematic above shows how we then construct our Hat once the strip of knitting is finished. The dash-dot line in the middle is where we would fold the knitting, and the fine dashed lines show us where we would then sew the knitting – I recommend the Mattress Stitch for Garter Stitch method for the Tubed and Diagonale patterns.
From there, the corners may be treated in different ways, or the brim edge may be folded up – there’s lots you can do to make your Hat different!
Sometimes the direction of knitting is different again.
The Imagiro pattern instructs you to cast on for the longest edge of the strip of knitting, and having worked this for the length of the shorter edge, it is then folded in an interesting way and stitched in place to create its unique shape. Diagram 3 above shows this rectangle in relation to the other two.
Diagram 5: this schematic highlights how a fold and a single seam can still create a Hat.
From here I hope you can see how you might wish to change the shape of your strip of knitting to create yet another different Hat when folded or sewn. Even the humble rectangle can be created in so many different ways; the possibilities are endless!
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