I recently finished my Kentia Hat, just days after starting it. Gotta love a good quick knit to clear the palate.
The usual details first:
Pattern: Kentia Hat / Ambah O’Brien
Yarn: agirlandherwool / Silk DK / Majestic and Overnight Oats
Needles: Size 5 on a 16 inch cable
Cast on: 8/23/2020
Cast off: 8/29/2020
The pattern page on Ravelry can be found here.
I said it at the beginning, but I’ll say it again. It’s really nice to throw in a quick knit into the repertoire every once in a while. A hat certainly fits that bill as it’s smaller, usually knit with heavier yarn and it’s split into three sections – the brim, the body and the crown. I think this last point really helps me cruise through hats as each section really does go quickly.
I knit this hat because I recently released a new DK base, my Silk DK base, which is 50% Merino Wool and 50% Silk. I wanted to bring in some more variety to the shop and this base just sounded so luxurious. AND. IT. IS. This yarn is the softest I’ve ever felt, but it’s so sturdy that I don’t see it breaking down anytime soon. I knew I needed to start dyeing on the base and also knitting with it.
I decided on a hat because this yarn makes for really great hat yarn as it won’t be itchy on your forehead. For that reason, if you want to knit a cowl, definitely check it out. I decided to dye up a brand new colorway in honor of the new base and Majestic was born. Majestic is a blue-green base with various blues and a burgundy speckled on top of it. It pairs with Overnight Oats, of course.
I went to Ravelry and searched for a DK weight hat and came across the Kentia hat pretty quickly. I know that Ambah is hosting a Knit August (or was at this point) and I think that helped move the pattern up in the queue. I mean, a ton of her patterns are always at the top, of course, but as she was discounting a pattern each day, this one must have been a recent one when I went on my search.
The pattern is a slipped stitch/Mosaic pattern that makes for an easy way to accomplish a really complex looking hat. I love that the slipped stitches bulk up the hat even more and make it squishier. I worked on the brim and the chevron design pretty quickly and then put the project down while I finished up another project. I think I then knit the body and the crown in a sitting. It really went that quickly.
I went down a needle size from what the pattern called for and also knit the small. It’s a smug hat, which means it’s not going to slide around. The fit is perfect for me! Once I wear it around in the winter more, I’ll be able to see if it stretches out. Mostly, this was made to be a shop sample, but I know I’m going to want to wear it all of the time.
So again, if you’re looking to mix things up, definitely give this pattern a go. It was nice to do easy colorwork on a fast project.
Check out more and see it in person here: