Hats · Easy

Watch cap with ribbed fold-up brim

A deep rib knitted on both beds, then all stitches move to one bed for the stocking-stitch body, and the crown is gathered. The rib is worn folded up, so the brim is double and warm. This is the hat to knit once you have a ribber.

Suits these machines

Techniques used

Your size, machine and gauge

Size

Machine

Gauge (stocking stitch, after steaming)

Stitches in 10 cmRows in 10 cm

Typical starting points

Printing a template is free.

Virtual test knit

✓ Virtual test knit passed

Every row of every piece on this page has just been knitted on a model of your machine, for the size, machine and gauge you chose. The model follows each needle's loops through transfers, held needles, hems and cast-offs, then measures the finished pieces.

108 rows and 16,478 stitches knitted, 154 stitches transferred, 0 held-needle passes: no dropped stitch, no hole, no lost loop, every stitch cast off or secured at the end.

Measured on the simulated pieces
Measurement	Should be	Simulated
Hat circumference	49–53 cm	✓ 51.3 cm
Hat height with the brim folded	20–22 cm	✓ 21 cm
Folded brim depth	5.5–6.5 cm	✓ 6 cm

The simulation checks the instructions and the arithmetic. Yarn, tension and blocking still differ from knitter to knitter, so knit the gauge swatch first and type in your own numbers. Knitted one? We would love a photo: support@purlbed.com.

Women / teen · Single bed (punch card) + ribber · Gauge (stocking stitch, after steaming): 30 sts × 40 rows

Sizes

Measurement	Child 4–8 years	Women / teen	Men
Head circumference	51 cm	55 cm	58 cm
Hat height with the brim folded	18 cm	21 cm	22 cm
Rib before folding	10 cm	12 cm	12 cm

You will need

Yarn: Wool or wool blend with good stretch: 4-ply / fingering on a standard machine with ribber, DK or heavier on a coarser double bed.

About 50 g in total for this size (an estimate from the area of the pieces; buy a little more).

Also: Tapestry needle, Transfer tool, Optional: pompom maker

Gauge swatch first

Cast on 40 needles with waste yarn and knit a few rows. Change to the main yarn and choose a tension that gives a fabric you like (see the starting points below).
Knit 60 rows. Tie a contrast thread to the 11th needle from each side at row 10 and row 50, so the marks are 20 needles and 40 rows apart.
Knit a few rows of waste yarn and take the swatch off. Steam or wash it the way you will treat the finished piece, and let it rest flat for a few hours.
Measure between the marks: stitches in 10 cm = 20 ÷ width in cm × 10, rows in 10 cm = 40 ÷ height in cm × 10. Type the two numbers into the gauge boxes above; that tension is your main tension (MT).

Pieces

Hat

Cast on 154 sts, 108 rows. Flat size about 51.3 × 27 cm.

Row by row

Set out 154 needles for 1×1 rib (L77 to R77): every other needle on the main bed, the needles between them on the ribber. Cast on in the main yarn with a zig-zag row and the circular rows your machine uses. Set RC to 000.
1×1 rib: knit 48 rows at about MT−2 on both beds (RC 048). Move each ribber stitch to the empty main bed needle opposite it, so all 154 stitches are on the main bed, and put the ribber out of work.
Knit 58 rows at MT (RC 106).
Move every other stitch onto its neighbour and put the empty needles out of work (154 → 77 sts). Knit 2 rows (RC 108).
Cut the yarn leaving about 30 cm. Thread it through every stitch with a tapestry needle, take the stitches off the needles and pull the top closed.

Bed chart

Row 1 is at the bottom. Arrows mark the transfers; the key under the chart names each colour.

Needle notation

Step 1 at the bottom; only the needles around the changes are shown.

Row sequence (3)

Rows	What the carriage knits	Tension
1–48	1×1 rib	MT−2
49–106	Main bed only	MT
107–108	Main bed only	MT

Opens a copy of this piece as an editable bed chart in your browser.

Finishing

Pull the gathering yarn tight and fasten it on the inside.
Sew the back seam with mattress stitch from the crown to the end of the stocking stitch, then turn the work and sew the rib from the other side, so the seam is hidden when the brim folds up.
Weave in the ends. Fold the brim up and steam the body lightly (do not press the rib flat).

Notes and changes

Knit the rib 2 numbers tighter than the body for a brim that hugs the head.
Without a ribber, knit the beanie with turned hem instead.

Abbreviations

MT: main tension: the tension dial setting of your gauge swatch. MT−1 is one number tighter, MT+2 two numbers looser.
RC: row counter. Set it to 000 after the cast on; the steps give the reading at the end of each step.
sts: stitches. One working needle holds one stitch.
L10 / R10: needle numbers, counted outwards from the centre 0 of the needle bed.
Hold: a needle pushed fully forward keeps its stitch and does not knit while the carriage is set to hold.
Waste yarn: a contrast yarn knitted before or after the piece and unravelled later, so open loops can be hung or sewn.
Fully fashioned: decreasing or increasing 2 stitches in from the edge with a transfer tool, so the edge stays smooth for seaming.

purlbed.com/templates/ribbed-watch-cap/ · Virtual test knit passed

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