Say hello to Morph, the fifth Cuboidal Hat

This is without a doubt the most yarn-thirsty Hat in the Cuboidal collection, but I think it’s worth it!

Each pattern in this collection includes details of how many squares are used in each section - the crown, the body and the brim - and coupled with the chapter on calculating yardage you’ll be able to work out how much yarn is needed where, helping you make the most of your oddments or special skeins alike.

With 8 square styles included, alongside the yardage info, I’m really hoping folks run with the designs and create amazing scrappy square Hats! This collection did originally start with the idea of using up oddments and I’m glad they’ll work for both special skeins and leftovers alike.

Morph introduces another new twist - creating corners in the crown. There are two crown styles featured within these patterns - the flat crown, which the previously introduced designs all start with, and the cornered crown. This is one area where using the detailed tutorials will be essential, even for mitred square pros - the techniques used allow you to create the crown and corners seamlessly, without any sewing up, as you go.

Because they’re all worked top-down you have to start with the crown, and having those corners integrated is key to making these knittable - I worked hard at making sure this worked to remove any hurdles to finishing these Hats! The method is novel and may take a little patience, but mostly what’s needed is trust in the process.

When my tech editor was working through these, and bear in mind she’s very familiar with my patterns and approach to construction, she was convinced the cornered-crown versions wouldn’t work on her first read through. Then she got out a pad of square post-it notes and started labelling up edges and joining them as described in the tutorials. It worked. She then tested it again, and yup, it still worked. I’ve asked her to write a blog post about this as I think it’ll help folks who are having trouble visualising how these come together!

All that said, fear not. Knowing that there’s something a little unusual going on is half the battle. It’s not beyond anyone, I promise, and I’ve got it all covered in the tutorials.

One of my favourite things with these Hats is how the decrease lines within these squares form such a strong architectural feature. Aren’t they striking? They add such depth.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve used Malabrigo Arroyo in these Hats but they’re written for 8 different gauges across 12 different sizes and you can use whatever yarn you choose.

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.