Nakiska Slopes Hat Pattern

By Allison Thistlewood

Growing up in Calgary, Canada we had a season passes to Nakiska, site of the Calgary 88 Winter Olympic downhill events in the beautiful Rockies. The time it took from leaving our front door to getting on the chair for our first run was about an hour and there was always a feeling of excitement and freedom to be one of the first people on the mountain in the morning. The cables on this hat remind me of crisscrossed powder on a mogul run which was always the most perfect at the beginning of the day.

PATTERN NOTES

• With yarn held double throughout the hat is worked in the round from the brim with a simple cable detail that mixes knit and purl stitches for added interest and stitch definition.
• There is no stranded colourwork involved for the Bubble Pop stitch pattern. Instead, the contrast colours are worked in stripes with the main colour and made to pop by dropping down to the main colour row below, picking up and knitting that stitch. This makes the bubbles pop out to create additional texture at the top of the hat.
• The pattern uses an Alternating Cable Cast On, but you can use any stretchy cast on you wish. I like the look of Tubular Cast Ons but find them kind of fiddly – the Alternating Cable Cast On achieves the same look with less hassle! I learned this pro tip from Woolly Wormhead, hat architect, who has a great tutorial for this cast on on her website here: https://www.woollywormhead.com/cast-on/

Sizes

• Circumference: 45 cm (50 cm, 55 cm)
• Length (not including pom pom): 19 (21, 22) cm
• Intended to be worn with 5-10 cm of negative ease in the circumference.

Yarn

Walcot Yarns Opus (Sport; 70% Falkland Merino; 30% baby alpaca, 325 m / 355 yd per 100g):
MC (Splashed White): 1 skein 100g
CC1 (Love Potion): 1 mini skein 20g
CC2 (Charcoal) : 1 mini skein 20g 
CC3 (Goldenrod) : 1 mini skein 20g

Needles

• 4.5 mm (US7) 40 cm/16” circular needles
• 5 mm (US8) 40 cm/16” circular needles
• 5 mm (US8) needles for small circumference in the round, for the crown: DPNs, magic loop, 2 circulars or other, as you prefer
• Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct tension.

Tension/gauge

17 sts x 26 rounds = 10 cm / 4” in stockinette stitch after blocking
Cable panel, measured from cross to cross in center is 5.5cm wide and 7cm high

Notions

• Tapestry needle
• Cable needle
• TOFT alpaca pom pom
• small button (approx 2 cm diameter)