Spiraling Twist Hat

This hat is based around a simple pattern of twists, creating a design that spirals around the crown. The goal was to make a hat simple enough to knit without a pattern (on a bus ride) while still being more interesting than simply knitting stockingette forever and ever.

Casting on

Cast on a multiple of 6 stitches. I used 120 stitches on 5.5mm needles to give a fairly loose fit. Join without twisting and mark the beginning of the round.

Brim

• Knit 10 rounds of k1, p1 rib. (k1, p1, repeat to the end of the round.)
• Knit 2 rounds of stockingette (knit stitch).
• Knit 9 rounds of k1, p1 rib.

Crown

The crown is made up of twists, followed by ribbing. On each row of twists, move any markers one stitch to the right. This means that, rather than purling the last stitch of the round before a round of twists, you instead twist it with the first statch of the next round.

10. Move marker one stitch right. RT (knit into the second stitch on the left needle and, without removing the stitch from the needle, knit into the first stitch, removing both stitches from the left needle.) Repeat, twisting every two stitches together until the end of the round.
11. k1, p1, repeat to the end of the round.
12. k1, p1, repeat to the end of the round.

Repeat these three rows four times.

22. Move marker one stitch right. RT until the end of the round.
23. k1, p1 to the end of the round.

Repeat these two rows four times.

30. Move marker one stitch right. RT until the end of the round.
31. Remove the marker, slip the last stitch on the right needle onto the left needle and place the marker on the right needle. RT until the end of the round.

Decreasing

If you are using circular needles, when it becomes uncomfortable to knit the smaller rounds here, switch to double-pointed needles.

32. k1, p1, k1, p1, k2tog, repeat to the end of the round.
33. k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, repeat to the end of the round.
34. k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, repeat to the end of the round.
35. k1, p1, p2tog, k1, repeat to the end of the round.
36. k1, p2, k1, repeat to the end of the round.
37. k1, p2, k1, repeat to the end of the round.
38. Move marker one stitch right. k2tog, p2, repeat to the end of the round.
39. k1, p2, repeat to the end of the round.
40. k1, p2, repeat to the end of the round.
41. k1, p2tog, repeat to the end of the round.
42. k1, p1, repeat to the end of the round.
43. k1, p1, repeat to the end of the round.
44. k2tog, repeat to the end of the round.
45. k1 to the end of the round.
46. k1 to the end of the round.

At this point, the hat has 1/6 of the original number of stitches. On a 120-stitch hat, this left me with 20 stitches. Repeat the last three rounds until you have ten stitches or fewer, then cut your yarn, draw the tail through the remaining loops and pull tight.