This cute, vintage-inspired beret is knit in the round on double-pointed needles. It incorporates two bands of a 1940s Fair Isle pattern, and has a sweet little I-cord tail at the top, which can be omitted or swapped for a pom-pom if preferred.
The beret was inspired by a Second World War pattern for a child’s hat, gloves and scarf set. I love collecting patterns from this era and knitting from them or as in this case, using them as a starting point and making something new.
What makes this beret special is the way that it combines the old with the new, making an extremely practical and wearable hat that is nevertheless romantic and feminine. The Fair Isle design and the soft palette of colors in which it is worked have a very vintage feel. At the same time, the shape of the beret, and the dark and light grays that form the backbone of the color palette, are modern, and fit well with today’s clothes.
Gauge
28sts/36rows at 4” in stockinette stitch using US 3 needles, or needle size necessary to achieve correct gauge
Sizes and Measurements
To fit average adult head size: 20-22” (Actual size at brim: 20”)
This size should fit most adult heads. If you need a larger or smaller size, try going up or down a needle size.
Materials
- Rowan 4-ply Soft [100% merino wool; 190 yds/175 m per 50g skein]. 50g each of the following colors:
- A: Sooty
- B: Dove
- C: Honk
- D: Folly
- E: Linseed
- Note on yarn substitution: any fingering-weight yarn can be substituted for this yarn.
- 1 set of five US 2 (2.75mm) double-pointed needles
- 1 set of five US 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles
- Tapestry needle
- Stitch marker
Directions
(Popknits uses knittinghelp.com's standard abbreviations)
Using US 2 needles and yarn A, cast on 144 sts.
Being careful not to twist the stitches, divide them between four of the needles in the following way: put the first 18 sts on needle 1, 36 sts each on needles 2, 3 & 4, and the remaining 18 sts on needle 1, with the stitch marker marking the end of the round.
Work 8 rounds in k1, p1 rib.
Increase round: *K1, k into front and back of next st; rep from * to end. 216 sts.
Change to US 3 needles and knit 1 round.
First Fair Isle pattern band
Using colors as marked, work all 29 rounds of Fair Isle pattern chart. Each row of the pattern uses either one or two strands of yarn.
Click on image to see larger size on Flickr or..
Download this chart as a PDF
Change back to yarn A.
Top
Begin decrease rounds:
Round 1: Knit to end.
Round 2: *K32, k2tog, sl1, k1, psso; rep from * to end of round. 204 sts.
Round 3: Knit to end.
Round 4: *K30, k2tog, sl1, k1, psso; rep from * to end of round. 192 sts.
Round 5: Knit to end.
Round 6: *K28, k2tog, sl1, k1, psso; rep from * to end of round. 180 sts.
Round 7: Knit to end.
Round 8: *K26, k2tog, sl1, k1, psso; rep from * to end of round. 168 sts.
Continue to decrease on every alternate round as set, until 72 sts remain.
Knit one round.
Second Fair Isle pattern band:
Using colors as marked, work rounds 1-7 of Fair Isle pattern chart, and AT THE SAME TIME continue to decrease on next and every alternate round (i.e. all odd rounds of the fair isle chart) as set above. 24 sts.
Final decrease round:
Next round: *K2, k2tog, sl1, k1, psso; rep from * to end. 12 sts.
Finishing
Break yarn leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining 12 sts, pull tight and secure.
Weave in loose ends.
The beret can be left with no embellishment on the top, or an I-cord or pom-pom can be added if desired.
I-Cord tail
Using size US 2 double-pointed needles, cast on 3 sts. Leave a long cast-on tail. Knit all the stitches. Switch needles in your hands, so the needle with the stitches is in your left hand again. Slide the stitches to the other end of the needle and, pulling the yarn across the back of the stitches, knit the row again.
Continue in this way, sliding and knitting, until the cord is 1in long, or the length you desire. Cut yarn, thread tail through the stitches, and pull. Thread tail through I-cord to finish.
Use cast on tail to sew I-cord into top of hat.
Pom-pom
To make a pom-pom, either use a commercially available pom-pom maker, or follow the instructions here: http://www.kid-craft-central.com/pom-poms.html.
About the Author
Anna Bright is sure she was born in the wrong decade, and spends most of her life trying to get back to the 1930s and 1940s where she feels she belongs. Anna was taught to knit in her teens by two lovely aunts; she loves how this craft connects her back to previous generations.
Anna lives in London and avoids corporate life by working in a museum. She does most of her knitting on the train and during her lunch hours. Her blog, http://princesspea.org, is the place where her life and her knitting look like she’d like them to be.
Credits
Photos by Steve Bright
Model: Anna Bright
From Flickr
Do you have a photo of this item you'd like to share? Tag your photo on Flickr with popknits-fairisleberet. (only the 6 most recent photos will appear here at any time.)
Errata
There are no reported errors in this pattern. Found something? Please Contact Us.
License
Fair Isle Beret by
Anna Bright is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at
http://www.popknits.com/index.php/patterns/page/fair_isle_beret/.
