Mock Aran Knitted Mens Hat
This hat has the look of cables without using a cable hook.
Sizes:
Adult man, size medium – 20″ circumference, 7.5″ height
Adult man, size large – 22″ circumference, 8″ height
Gauge:
18 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette
Materials:
1.5 to 1.8 oz (100 to 120 yards) of soft worsted weight yarn
Size 8 (5 mm) 47″ circular needle (for magic loop) or set of size 8 (5 mm) double pointed needles
Yarn needle
Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
p2tog = purl two together
p3tog = purl three together
Man’s size Medium:
Cast on 96. Join to knit in the round. Divide stitches between double pointed needles or needles for a magic loop. Divide with multiples of 16 on each needle. Repeat the round directions across the round.
Rnds 1, 2, 3 and 4: k1, p1
Rnds 5, 6, 7 and 8: (k1, p1) three times, k5, p1, (k1, p1) twice
Rnds 9 and 10: (k1, p1) twice, (k4, p1) twice, k1, p1
Rnds 11 and 12: (k1, p1) twice, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1
Rnds 13 and 14: k1, p1, k4, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k4, p1
Rnds 15 and 16: k1, p1, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times, k3, p1
Rnds 17 and 18: k1, p2, k3, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, p2
Rnds 19 and 20: k1, p3, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p3
Rnds 21 and 22: k1, p4, k3, p1, k3, p4
Rnds 23 and 24: k1, p5, k5, p5
Rnds 25 and 26: k1, p6, k3, p6
Rnds 27 and 28: Repeat rounds 23 and 24
Rnds 29 and 30: Repeat rounds 21 and 22
Rnds 31 and 32: Repeat rounds 19 and 20
Rnds 33 and 34: Repeat rounds 17 and 18
Rnds 35 and 36: Repeat rounds 15 and 16
Rnds 37 and 38: Repeat rounds 17 and 18
Rnd 39: k1, p2tog, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p1, p2tog
Rnd 40: k1, p2, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p2
Rnd 41: k1, p2tog, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, p2tog
Rnd 42: k1, p2, k3, p1, k3, p2
Rnd 43: k1, p2tog, p1, k5, p1, p2tog
Rnd 44: k1, p2, k5, p2
Rnd 45: k1, p2tog, p1, k3, p1, p2tog
Rnd 46: k1, p2, k3, p2
Rnd 47: k1, p2tog, p3, p2tog
Rnd 48: k1, p5
Rnd 49: k1, p2tog, p1, p2tog
Rnd 50: k1, p3
Rnd 51: k1, p3tog
Cut the yarn with several inches to work with. With a yarn needle, pull the yarn through all the remaining loops, secure and weave in end.
Man’s size Large:
Cast on 108. Join to knit in the round. Divide stitches between double pointed needles or needles for a magic loop. Divide with multiples of 18 on each needle. Repeat the round directions across the round.
Rnds 1 and 2: k1, p1
Rnds 3 and 4: (k1, p1) four times, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times
Rnds 5 and 6: (k1, p1) three times, k7, p1, (k1, p1) twice
Rnds 7 and 8: (k1, p1) three times, (k3, p1) twice, (k1, p1) twice
Rnds 9 and 10: (k1, p1) twice, k4, p1, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p1
Rnds 11 and 12: (k1, p1) twice, k3, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, p1, k1, p1
Rnds 13 and 14: k1, p1, k4, p1, (k1, p1) three times, k4, p1
Rnds 15 and 16: k1, p1, k3, p1, (k1, p1) four times, k3, p1
Rnds 17 and 18: k1, p2, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times, k3, p2
Rnds 19 and 20: k1, p3, k3, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, p3
Rnds 21 and 22: k1, p4, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p4
Rnds 23 and 24: k1, p5, k3, p1, k3, p5
Rnds 25 and 26: k1, p6, k5, p6
Rnds 27 and 28: k1, p7, k3, p7
Rnds 29 and 30: Repeat rounds 25 and 26
Rnds 31 and 32: Repeat rounds 23 and 24
Rnds 33 and 34: Repeat rounds 21 and 22
Rnds 35 and 36: Repeat rounds 19 and 20
Rnds 37 and 38: Repeat rounds 17 and 18
Rnds 39 and 40: Repeat rounds 15 and 16
Rnd 41: k1, p2tog, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times, k3, p2tog
Rnd 42: k1, p1, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times, k3, p1
Rnd 43: k1, p2tog, k3, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, p2tog
Rnd 44: k1, p1, k3, p1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, p1
Rnd 45: k1, p2tog, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p2tog
Rnd 46: k1, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1, k3, p1
Rnd 47: k1, p2tog, k3, p1, k3, p2tog
Rnd 48: k1, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1
Rnd 49: k1, p2tog, k5, p2tog
Rnd 50: k1, p1, k5, p1
Rnd 51: k1, p2tog, k3, p2tog
Rnd 52: k1, p1, k3, p1
Rnd 53: k1, p2tog, p1, p2tog
Rnd 54: k1, p3
Rnd 55: k1, p3tog
Cut the yarn with several inches to work with. With a yarn needle, pull the yarn through all the remaining loops, secure and weave in end.
Edits:
12/17/15 – replaced a broken link for Magic Loop method
Love it! Thanks for sharing the pattern
Great hat, can’t wait to try it
im a beginner but how do you divide 96 stitchs with 16 stitcths to a needle and get 96 stitchs does not compute on my brain
Divide in multiples of 16. If you are using three needles, that would 32 on each needle. If you are using four, then 32 on two needles and 16 on two needles.
I have found a error in 9-10……
Rnds 9 and 10: (k1, p1) twice, (k4, p1) twice, k1, p1
It is not coming out right? I’m working on circular needles.
I love your hats and would like to print the patterns.Isabella
The design of this hat is wonderful Thank you for sharing the pattern with us.
Hello .
I am now trying to knit your hat patterns .I do hope that they are easy to Knot. Isabella
Hello .
I am now trying to knit your hat patterns .I do hope that they are easy to Knit.
I have lots of D k wool in my stash and looking for patterns to knit in D K. Isabella
These are lovely, I cannot wait to try them. Thank you.
Kim
Wish you had a picture of that neat hat modeled on a real person. I’d like to see how it looks and fits.
I see now that it is designed for a man. I suppose it fits like a watch cap.
Yes. I need to find a styrofoam head form to help with hat photos.
Mama – This is a beautiful pattern, and I love the one with the ribbed wide brim too!!
As a suggestion, maybe you have a vase or bowl you could turn upside down to model the cap? However, I’m satisfied with the photo, since all heads are different and all knitters get different results. Some people will like having it flat just because they can see the full pattern better when deciding whether to do the project.
Hello
where is the pattern for the 3 rd hat pattern? Isabella
The third picture is just a top view of the same hat.
Love the pattern, but using cable needles is not that hard. How many more stitches are needed to do these in real cables?
You would probably want to add a couple of stitches of purl on either side of each of the cables, so 12, to compensate for the additional draw of the cables.
I’m getting ready to knit this pattern but don’t see a guage. Also, I’m sure the 47″ circular needle in the materials list is an error! Again, I’m going to knit this hat and I agree with Kathleen that using cable needles is not that hard. This pattern just looks fantastic.
I made the samples with Lion Brand Wool-Ease which knits about 19 stitches to 4″ on size 8 (5 mm) needles.
The 47″ circular needle is for using the magic loop method for knitting in the round. (http://weebleknits.net/mloop.html) You can also use a 16″ or thereabouts circular and just convert to double pointed when you get to the crown.
16 in circular needles are so handy. I have done Magic Loop
for shawls etc but for hats the 16 inch is perfect and they come in all sizes.
I finally found a simple but great pattern for men’s hats. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. Thank you again!!!
Brilliant Pattern – I will use the pattern in a jumper which should look stunning when done together with the hat.
Thank you for sharing… Can’t wait to start
i started knitting the hat pattern im not getting the seed st
i seem to be stuck on rows 5 6 7 and8on row 5 k1 p1 3 times
then on row 6 do i reverse it to p1 k1
thanks helen
great looking pattern i started to knit but ran into a
problem with row 6 do i reverse k1 p1 to p1 k1 for the seed
st. effect
thanks helen
No. It’s actually moss stitch which is like seed stitch but with two rows of each instead of alternating each row.
No. It’s actually moss stitch which is like seed stitch but with two rows of each instead of alternating each row.
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I made an Aran sweater in rose colored yarn from Ireland and was looking to make a matching hat – and voila!!! The sweater has diamond pattern w/moss stitch – JUST PERFECT. Thank you, I was going to create one myself – but this is better.
Did you put the gauge somewhere and I don’t see it? My knitting is NEVER the needles that patterns ask for and I always have to do a gauge to make sure it comes out the right size. Can you email me the gauge? Thanks!
18 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette
I need to add that to all my patterns. Thanks for asking to prompt me to do that.
Could not print the whole pattern
If you are using the print icon at the bottom of the pattern, you have to be careful not to click on the text. Any portions you click on will be deleted from printing. It’s designed to let you just print portions you want.
can you use a circular needle 16″? I never use dpn with out leaving some kind of hole.
You can definitely use a 16″ circular for the body of the hat. After a couple of the crown reductions you will either have to change to dpns, do a magic loop with a long circular, use two short circulars, or stop knitting in the round and make a seam.
Thanks for the great looking men’s hats. But, please spell gauge correctly. Thank you.
Thank you for catching that! I’m a math person and known to be spelling challenged, but even that was bad for me. I had also copied that spelling into every pattern I had when I had decided to add gauge recently. They are all now corrected.
what does the (k1, p1) in parentheses mean?
i think i figured it out…thanks
I love these hats, I will definitely try them.
Thank you for your beautiful free patterns!
so this is knit from the bottom up? i am not a fan of circulars so i am using dpns. also, for the large…you split 27 stitches on each not 18 right? 18 x 4 does not equal 108. thanks.
It is knit from the bottom up.
You can split 27 stitches on each of 4 dpns. Once you get into the reductions you may have to move some stitches around. I said to split in multiples of 18, so something like 36/18/36/18, but that only gives an advantage once you get to the reductions because it prevents having to move stitches.
I love the pattern but what is a Magic Loop? Patterns keep talking about it but I have never heard of the term before this year. (And I am 80!!)
I’m particular about hats and don’t want them to have seams, so I’ve always made my hat crowns on double pointed needles. I really don’t like double pointed needles because I get stressed about dropping stitches, and if knitting is stressful, it is pointless. 😉 So I had for the most part avoided hats or socks or anything for which I would need double pointed needles – until I discovered the magic loop. The basic jist of it is putting something that is knitted in the round on a very long circular needle and midway through the round the majority of the nylon sticks out to the side in a big loop. It works much like double pointed needles, but with just two needles instead of three or four. This is the site I recommend for tutorial on the technique: http://weebleknits.net/mloop.html
I love the Mock Aran mens hat.
need size 8 – 47″ circular needle>?
Please help
The main body of the hat can be made with a 16″ circular. Once you get into the crown reductions, you will either need to move to double pointed needles or some other method of doing small in-the-round work. The 47″ circular is for the magic loop method. When I make hats, I usually just knit the whole hat using the magic loop method instead of changing needles later.
Thanks so much for this pattern, it’s beautiful! My family has recently moved back north after living in a tropical climate for several years. I’ve been on the lookout for a hat to knit for my husband for his first winter back and I think this is the one 🙂 Thank you!
I was wondering if you could make this hat using straight needles & just sew the seam together.
It can be converted to work flat with a seam. Let me know which size you wanted to make and I will convert it.
I would love this pattern converted to straight needles, say size 8 and for a 10-12 year old! Thank you
Maria
Would LOVE instructions for straight needles.
Thanks!
LOVE this hat pattern. Could you please give instructions for STRAIGHT needles?
Thabnks!
Here it is:
http://blogs.thetucker.com/knit/2013/01/07/mock-aran-knitted-mens-hat-for-straight-needles/
Great hat,
i want to do it but with a smaller size, with the yarn i use its perfect if the size is around 80 or 84 cast on to start with. but i am really confused how to continue the rest of the raws? i am worried by the time i reach raw 48 i will run out of stitches.
also i only know how to knit with double pointed , will that work ?
If you cast on 80 stitches and use the medium directions it should work out fine. This will give you 5 repeats of the pattern around instead of 6. Double pointed needles will work great.
Thank you so much 🙂
so 80 and not 84 ?
Yes, 80 since the pattern is a repeat of 16.
Thank you 🙂
How do I modify the pattern if I start with 120 stitches?? My son has a very large head!! Thnks
My husband’s head is 25″ in circumference and the large size fits him perfectly. It’s a stretchy hat. If it does need to be bigger than that, both of the sizes I give can be made with an extra repeat:
The medium can be made with a cast on of 112. A few extra rows of ribbing can be added at the beginning to make it taller.
The large can be made with a cast on of 126.
So since I already have my k1P1 rib done on 120 stitches, what if I increased 120 to 126 by adding 6 extra stitches evenly across the round ( every 20th stitch) on the last round before starting the pattern? Would that work or would it look funny?? Thanks so much for your help…
I’d think if you did that you’d have to add the stitches in sets of two to keep your ribbing pattern going.
I love the look of this pattern. Interesting that it is a man’s hat yet made up in rose/pink. I would like to make it as a woman’s hat. What is your suggestion for casting on number, while still using same size needles? It really is a beautiful hat! Thank you for the pattern.
They do really have a pink tone in that picture. They were really brown tones but I had to rush to take pictures before donating them and didn’t have a good lighting situation. I made them with Lion Brand Wool-Ease. The darker one is Chestnut Heather and the lighter one is Wood.
The Men’s Medium can be cast on with 80 instead of 96 which would make a women’s small/medium. The Men’s Large can be cast on with 90 instead of 108 which would make a woman’s medium/large. There will probably be an issue with either of these making the hat a bit tall.
Thanks for the pattern, I’ve made 4 so far, we knit hats for the mission every year, and I keep trying to make different styles. Love Yours.
thanks for your beautiful pattern. I am so interested to try it . But I dont understand what you by dividing into multiple 18 stitches,first I have to make 108 stitches,before knitting and purling what should i do? Thanks,
That is for knitting in the round, dividing the cast on stitches between double pointed needles or sides of a magic loop. If you don’t usually knit in the round, I have a version of this pattern for straight needles.
Thank you for your pattern, converted from circulars to 2 needles. I have a skein of Pure Colonsay Black faced wool and hope I have enough. It is DK 220m/238 yds. Wish me luck.
Trying to knit this hat, I guess I am dense but I am stuck on row 5. Do I knit 1 purl 1 three times, knit 5, purl 1, knit 1 purl 1 two more times, then start over with knit 1 purl 1 three times???? I have been knitting for a lot of years so I don’t know how I can’t get this.
Exactly as you state.
Just finished the hat and love it. I did make the beginning ribbing for several more inches than the pattern states, as the boys like their hats with a big cuff they can pull down if they want. Now I need to make a scarf to match. Do you have instructions? Thanks so much for all your help getting started on the hat.
Going to try one of the sweet baby hats next for the NICU I send sets to.
Hi, I have been reading all your patterns for hats and it seems you do them all similarly. I am a beginner knitter and just finished a definitely harder than beginner pattern for a hat and I knitted it on what I call round needles…knitting needles joined by a plastic thingy (sorry my terminology isnt great yet) I am confused by your reference to magic loop? Also why do you have to divided the stitches? When I made the hat I cast on the # of stitches and joined them and then the pattern just continued to the point where you started to decrease. I didn’t have to change to diff needles? Is there a reason for this? I am thoroughly confused.
If your circular needle isn’t longer than the circumference of what you are knitting, you can absolutely do as you describe and just join and knit. For adult hats, that usually works best until you get to the top and have to make the crown reductions. What I do in that case is move to either double pointed needle or the magic loop method. The magic loop method uses a really long circular needle with a big loop of it pulled out of one side of the knitting (the magic loop) to allow for knitting in-the-round in a small circumference. You can read about magic loops at http://weebleknits.net/mloop.html.
The dividing the stitches is for using double pointed needles or the magic loop.
Loved this pattern when I saw it a year or so ago, so printed it and put it in the “pattern pile”. Just started to make one in medium size and have one question.
Rows 27-36 just reverse rows 23-15, then row 37 and 38 go back to 17 and 18. Is this correct, or should it be 13 and 14? I haven’t reached this point in the pattern so maybe when I see it it will make sense, but asking anyway.
Thank you for the beautiful patterns!
It is correct as written. Rnds 15 and 16 are the widest point of the diamond. The difference between rnds 13/14 and 17/18 is that 13/14 includes ribbing that is phased out during the first half of the first diamond.
I would like to make this hat for my 6 year old son. I have some dk weight yarn and a 4,5 mm needle. Do you think I should cast on 96 or 80 ?
Thank you for your wonderfull paterns.
Cast on 96 stitches and the size should be perfect.
Hi
I’d like to knit this hat for an adult male with a smaller sized head. I have some Bernat Alpaca(30% alpaca, 70% acrylic) yarn. The package describes it as #5 Bulky and says US10/6mm with 15S x 20R is 4″x4″. I’d like to use this yarn but am not sure what size needles to use. I knit a tiny swatch with US8 and it seemed to be maybe 2 or 3 stitches larger than the 4″ required above. What do you think?
I’m not understanding what you are saying your gauge was for your sample swatch on the US8 needles. How many stitches in 4″?
If you get 15 stitches in 4″ with US10 needles as the yarn suggests, you can make the medium hat with a cast on of 80.
I love this pattern! Thank you for sharing it.
I’m using a Schulana Milford yarn and 5mm / size 8 needles (a 16″ circular and DPNs). I average 6 stitches to an inch. I wish to make the large, 22″ circumference, 108 cast-on size.
I’ve divided 108 by 4 and multiplied by 6, which I believe tells me that I need to cast on 162 stitches.
How should I best adjust this number for the pattern? 162 divided by 18 is 9, so maybe the cast-on number is already right and it’s the decreases that need mathematically adjusting.
Thank you.
First of all, I want to be sure you are getting 6 stitches to the inch with that yarn and needles. Do you tend to knit really tight? The yarn says that its typical gauge on 5.5mm needles is 3.75 stitches per inch, so on 5mm needles I would guess to be about 4 stitches per inch.
If you do knit tight and really do have a gauge of 6 stitches per inch, this is how I did my calculations –
My stockinette gauge is 18 stitches in 4 inches, so 4.5 stitches for 1 inch. So the cast on would be adjusted by multiplying by your gauge and dividing by the pattern gauge – so
108 * 6 / 4.5 = 144.
The base pattern has 6 repeats of 18 stitches. What is great about this adjusted cast on is that it is 8 repeats of 18 stitches exactly, so no further adjustments necessary.
I am a pretty tight knitter. (I’m fairly new at this.) I’m trying to loosen up a bit, but my stitch count is always surprising amount higher than the pattern’s gauge for the two socks I’ve completed, anyway. I’ll cast on 144 and see how it goes. When I get to the decreases, I’m assuming that with the extra stitches, I’ll need extra rows. Might I do better repeating the last couple of rounds or the first, do you think? And thanks again for your reply!
You can actually do the decreases just as stated in the pattern.
May I ask you another gauge question? I re-knit my gauge swatch because I realized, late, that I was supposed to do stockinette instead of just knit. Doh!
This time, my count averaged 4.75 stitch-per-inch.
Trying to work out the math properly, I did
108/4*4.75, which equals 128.25. (7.139 when divided by 18.)
And,
108*6/4.5, which equals 114. (6.3 when divided by 18.)
At a best guess, would I be better off, do you think, casting on 126, 18 more than the pattern’s 108?
Thank you, again.
I agree with your math for the calculation of 114. And yes, the next available cast on amount is 126. But I’m thinking you are better off sticking to the 108. That is only 6 stitches less than 114, where 126 is 12 stitches more. It is a very stretchy hat and could get really big with a 126 cast on.
Ah, yes, the stretchiness. Good point. Thank you again! I so love this pattern. 🙂
Going to try your pattern today. Have a male friend who deserves a nice hat this winter !
Love the hat and have started the large one for my husband. But I’m slightly confused: Round 3 did not end where it was supposed to on the “(k1, p1) three times”. When you list Rounds 3 and 4 as being the same, does that mean I just continue the “(k1, p1) four times, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times” from round 3 into round 4 and round 4 will end correctly?
It should work out so that is finishes at the end of the round.
For the large one, you should cast on 108 stitches and always have 108 stitches until you begin the crown reductions. The 108 stitches is 6 repeats of 18 stitches, so each line of the body of the pattern has 18 stitches which will be repeated 6 times for each round.
Rnds 3 and 4: (k1, p1) four times, k3, p1, (k1, p1) three times
So for round 3, the k,p is repeated four times, so that is 8 stitches, k3,p1 is 4 stitches, and the k,p repeated three times is 6 stitches. 8+4+6=18. A good way to check is to make sure you are exactly at the end of the line of instructions after every 18 stitches.
Just want to say thanks for a great pattern. I’ve done 2 of them now and was impressed with how fast they went, how easy the pattern was to follow, and most of all-how great they looked and how well they fit! And best of all, both guys loved their hats. So thanks again for sharing your pattern.
I would like to make this hat for my husband. I have some dk weight yarn and 4.0mm needles. How many should I cast on?
Thank you for your wonderful patterns.
Cast on 126 and follow the directions for the large size. With DK and 4.0mm needles that will give you a medium hat. You should probably knit a few extra rounds of ribbing to add some height since the DK stitches will also be shorter.
Do I cast on 126 if I was to do the straight needle version of this hat???
There is a straight needle version of this pattern –
http://stitcheryprojects.com/2013/01/07/mock-aran-knitted-mens-hat-for-straight-needles/
I think the 47″ cable for knitting in the round is an error – works well with 24″ cable though! Love the ease of this pattern even for me a fairly new knitter
The 47″ inch round needle is for the “magic loop” method. That is an alternative to double pointed needles for doing small in-the-round knitting. A smaller circular works great on hats until you get into the crown reductions.
Hi Mama,
I loved this pattern – I made a hat for myself in blue. I was now hoping to make a matching scarf. I am new to knitting and I don’t really know how to adapt patterns yet. I feel like this would be a good pattern to adapt to a scarf, or even a circle scarf. I was wondering if you had any suggestions as to how to do that, or if you had seen a pattern for a scarf with a similar pattern that you could share?
Thank yo so much for your help 🙂
The hat is a 16 stitch repeat (the medium version). To make a scarf, two repeats would be about 7″ and three about 10″. For two repeats cast on 36, or for three cast on 52. Add an extra k1, p1 to the beginning and end of each row.
I love the hat!!
will the pattern design show if knit in black yarn?
Probably not as well as a lighter color. It will show more if the yarn has a bit of sheen.
Found an error in Rnds 9 and 10: (k1, p1) twice, (k4, p1) twice, k1, p1
It does not come out right……Using circular needles.
This pattern has all kinds of errors…… the next rows don’t work either.
sorry, moving on!
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Many people have completed these hats without noting errors.
So, I must totally say I’m sorry!!
I have no clue what I was doing wrong, but it was something. I made the hat, and I LOVE it!
This will be a pattern I will do many times.
Again, I’m sorry.
Kim
Thank you for this pattern. You have many lovely patterns.
I’m making this hat for my co-worker, and I know he’ll love it! Simple to follow the instructions. A fun hat to knit and I’ll be making a few more! Merry Christmas and thank you!!
Going to give it a try for my son in law
When I emigrate to the UK later this year
Thankyou for posting the pattern
Regards
Sue from South Africa
Love these patterns, they are currently my go-to patterns for boredom busting knitting.
I am currently knitting them on thin needles with thin yarn so that they come out the right size for babies, as I find the usual patterns for baby hats a bit boring. So far I have had no complaints from any of the parents of babies that have been wearing the hats. They are very well received.