Meet Bedrock, the second Cuboidal Hat!

This is the second post introducing my new Cuboidal collection. Bedrock is the second design, and it’s a beret style!

The beret has been having a comeback of late and that makes me rather happy. It’s a much more versatile shape than folks realise, and I think this mitre version, with the way the squares form impacting the way the Hat drapes, highlights this really well.

The sample shown uses the simplest of the 8 square styles included in the collection, and it’s the foundation for all other squares styles. Each of the 8 patterns uses one of the 8 square styles, and all but one of the patterns, the Portal beanie shown previously, uses this foundation square in some way.

Of course you don’t have to use any one square style with a particular pattern - the collection will include details for all 8 and you’ll be able to mix and match in whichever way you want! What each of the 8 designs does is highlight one square style and how it can be used to create interesting effects - as we saw with the Portal beanie, what starts as a simple striped square gives a very 3D result.

The first set of photos shows the beret worn to one side, which is a pretty common way to wear a beret. Whether it be to the left or right, or even to the back, it takes on a familiar form.

The second set of photos, shown above, show the beret being worn high. By this I mean it sits up, it doesn’t lean in any one way. It’s not a common way to wear a beret, most are too drapey and tend to fall in one direction or another. Yet constructing a beret from mitre squares creates a different kind of fabric, and it will sit up if you want it to! I blocked this one as a circular beret, so it’s not as square as it could be, but left unblocked it will sit up like a square crown and look rather glorious.

And finally, the beret can be worn forward for a flat-cap look. You don’t work an extra brim to this to form the flat-cap shape, you just sit it or block it that way. This is another advantage of the circle-square aspect of this beret - the garter fabric and all those squares give you a structure that’s rather moldable and versatile.

Most berets can be styled this way, fabric depending of course, and I’m thinking to do a series of blog posts showing the many different ways you can style the beret! Or any Hat, really.. hmmm…

The beret introduces a shaping technique that I’ve not seen used before with mitre squares. There are a few Hat patterns in existence that use mitre squares but the technique isn’t common, and I’ve not seen this shaping method at all. What it is is a clever way to decrease the volume between the body and the brim, all whilst working the mitre squares. there are no extra rows, no separate part of the Hat - the shaping is worked into the squares. And it’s rather fun!

This Hat will absolutely love your variegated yarns, in fact it’ll love just about any yarn that has any changes of colour in it, even semi-solids. The decrease lines in the mitre squares add to the 3D effect, and couple that with a hand-dyed or hand-spun yarn and it’ll create a really striking finish. I can’t wait to see what you do with this one!

What do you think of ‘Bedrock’? What yarns might you use?

About the Cuboidal collection…

As with all of the patterns in this collection, the sample is shown in Malabrigo Arroyo. I find it gives me a nice firm squishy fabric on 2.75mm or 3mm needles, at a gauge of 28 sts to 10cm/4in, which is perfect for garter stitch. You don’t want a loose fabric with these Hats as they’ll stretch, and a firmer gauge ensures the Hat lasts longer before stretching out.

The whole collection is pretty much an any yarn, any size collection! I provide tables covering 8 gauges across 12 sizes, but armed with a gauge swatch and a bit of maths, you can achieve beyond the range provide - the construction of the Hat is the same regardless of the size you’re making or the gauge of your yarn. And the eBook will also include a chapter on head measuring and calculating yardage!

And in case anyone asks, this collection won’t be split into individual patterns. I talk about it more in length on this blog post, but in short the patterns are tutorial heavy and splitting them out just doesn’t work.

The collection will be $23/€19/£17 when published - September 2022 - and members of The Woolly Hat Society will get an exclusive new release discount!

Follow along with the #CuboidalHats tag on Instagram and learn more via the Cuboidal blog category.