***You can purchase an INEXPENSIVE AD-FREE PDF of this pattern on Etsy HERE and on LoveKnitting HERE! This beautifully formatted PDF includes BOTH the Dotty Beanie Knit Pattern and the Duo-Color Dotty Beanie knit pattern, as well as the step-by-step pictures. It is a total of 6 pages including the cover page! You can also find both patterns in my Easy & Modern Knits Pattern Bundle found HERE (includes over 10 of my knit patterns at a discounted price)!
After falling in love with the gorgeous texture of the dot stitch and my pretty Dotty Beanie (see free pattern HERE), I was intrigued as to how such a design would look worked up in two different colors. Purl stitches are dispersed throughout knit stitches in this beanie, and I thought using a contrast color for all the purl stitches would look so neat. Here is a picture of the Dotty Beanie worked up in a solid oatmeal color!
I wanted to use the same beautiful Oatmeal shade as the Main Color (MC) of the beanie. I chose this rich mustard as the Contrast Color (CC) as I thought they paired very well together. This yarn is called “Merino Yak Alpaca” and it is from the LB Collection (exclusively available online or on the Lion Brand website). It is a worsted weight (level 4) yarn that is 70% merino wool, 15% alpaca and 15% yak. As stated on their website, “the merino adds softness and bounce, the alpaca adds luster and drape, and the yak adds warmth and a bit of mystery to this luxury yarn”.
I started off by knitting a 2″ ribbed band in the main color with my Clover Takumi 4.5 mm 16″ knitting needles.
I switched to 5 mm knitting needles for the body and began including the Contrast Color! This took some trial and error as I originally tried using a light purple as the contrast color. However, the purple completely blended in with the oatmeal, and it was very difficult to see any contrast color. Thus, be sure to use two colors that are not too similar to one another so that the contrast is more striking. Then, I thought that I would simply need to switch to mustard for all the purl stitches! However, this did not work out as you actually have to switch to mustard during the “set-up” or knit stitch rounds. It was an interesting challenge trying to keep the color changes in mind as well as the dot stitch (switching between knit and purl stitches). Thankfully for each round of the body, you only need to concentrate on one task: during the knit rounds where you only work the knit stitch, this is when you keep the color pattern in mind, for example: Contrast Color 1, Main Color 3. Then when you need to focus on the dot stitch, i.e. Purl 1, Knit 3, you only use the Main Color throughout, so you do not need to worry about color changes. Don’t these two colors look stunning together? I love the little mustard dots sprinkled throughout the beanie- I decided to name it the “Duo-Color Dotty Beanie“!
This is what the inside of the Duo-Color Dotty Beanie looks like! Whenever I switched colors, I simply dropped the yarn and picked it back up when I needed it (no cutting or needing to reattach the yarn). I made sure to leave enough slack to allow for some stretch so that the the beanie and stitches would not be too tight. I think the inside of the hat looks very pretty too with all these mustard floats! It is also important to note that I stopped using the Contrast Color once I started doing the decrease rounds towards the crown. I worked these decrease rounds only in the Main Color.
**********************
Here is the free knit pattern for my Duo-Color Dotty Beanie!
Notes:
- The ribbed band is about 2″ tall- you can add or subtract rounds depending on how much ribbing you want.
- If you would like to adjust the number of stitches for the cast-on, be sure to make it a multiple of 4. Add more stitches to make the hat wider, decrease the number of stitches to make it narrower.
- To make the hat slouchier with more height, add more rounds to the body. To make the hat shorter, decrease the number of rounds in the body.
- This pattern uses the dot stitch which staggers purl stitches among knit stitches for a beautifully textured and dotted look. The dot stitch is worked over four rounds.
- Keep checking to make sure your purl stitches are lining up appropriately in the body of the hat. Once you begin the decreases, the purl stitches will no longer line up, but it is not very noticeable since it is towards the top of the hat.
- For a seamless join, I cast on an extra stitch as demonstrated in this video HERE.
- The decreases (K2tog or knit 2 stitches together) are worked in the knit stitch rounds (not the rounds where there are purl stitches).
- I dropped the color that was not in use and picked it back up again when needed, thereby creating floats on the inside of the beanie.
- In the pattern below, the color changes are noted first (e.g. Work color pattern as *Contrast Color 1, Main Color 3* with the following stitches *Knit 1, Purl 1*).
- From R16-58 when you are working the two color dot stitch body, keep in mind that the color changes will only be worked on odd rows when you just need to knit across. Even rows will be worked in the main color with the knit and purl stitches. Thus on each round, you either concentrate on the color changes or on the knit/purl stitches.
- When adding a new ball of yarn, you can felt the ends together (rather than tying knots) since Merino Yak Alpaca yarn contains animal fibers. See my “How to Felt Yarn Ends Together Tutorial” HERE!
Materials:
- 4.5 mm and 5 mm 16″ circular knitting needles
- LB Collection Merino Yak Alpaca (worsted weight level 4 yarn) in two colors: a Main Color or MC (~57 grams; I used “Oatmeal) and a Contrast Color or CC (~10 grams; I used “Mustard”)
- Stitch Marker
We will begin with the ribbing in the Main Color. Using 4.5 mm needles and long tail cast on (need 66″ tail for the cast-on), cast on 96 stitches.
R1-14: *K1, P1* around. (96 sts)
We will now begin adding in the Contrast Color. Switch to 5 mm needles,
R15: Using this color scheme- *CC1, MC3*: *K1, P1* across. (96 sts)
We will now begin the dot stitch.
R16: Using MC, *P1, K3* across. (96 sts)
R17: Using this color scheme: MC2, *CC1, MC3* across till last two sts remain, CC1, MC1: *Knit across*. (96 sts)
R18: Using MC, K2. *P1, K3*, repeat around until two stitches remain. P1, K1. (96 sts)
R19: Using this color scheme – *CC1, MC3*: Knit across. (96 sts)
Rounds 16-19 make up the four round repeat that will be repeated for the body of the hat.
R20-58: Repeat Rounds 16-19. (You will end on the R18 repeat.)
We will now begin the decreases and crown shaping. We will now work only in the MC, so you can break off the Contrast Color. The purl stitches will no longer exactly line up, but it is not noticeable towards the top.
R59: *K6, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (84 sts).
R60: K2. *P1, K3*, repeat around until two stitches remain. P1, K1. (84 sts)
R61: *K5, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (72 sts)
R62: *P1, K3* around. (72 sts)
R63: *K4, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (60 sts)
R64: K2. *P1, K3*, rep around until two stitches remain. P1, K1. (60 sts)
R65: *K3, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (48 sts)
R66: *P1, K3*, around. (48 sts)
R67: *K2, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (36 sts).
R68: K2. *P1, K3*, rep around until two stitches remain. P1, K1. (36 sts)
R69: *K1, K2tog*, rep 12 times. (24 sts)
Cut yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches. Pull tight, tie knots and hide end.
Finished dimensions: 8.5″/21.6 cm wide (at body when flat), 9.5″/24 cm in height, 17″/43 cm circumference
*************************
I am completely smitten with my Duo-Color Dotty Beanie as I love how the little mustard purls look scattered throughout the beanie! It has such a cute and modern look to it!
I added one more repeat round to this beanie compared to the original Dotty Beanie for a bit more slouch- feel free to adjust the height to your liking by decreasing or increasing the number of body rounds.
The Duo-Color Dotty Beanie is a fun challenge that results in an absolutely beautiful and unique piece that you can wear all throughout the fall and winter! Using worsted weight yarn means that this hat is very light and also warm with the blend of animal fibers, so it is perfect for those crisp fall days coming up. It’s been such a thrill seeing all your finished Dotty Beanies and I’m delighted that you all have fallen in love with this design as much as I have! It’s a very addictive and soothing pattern as you watch the beautiful dot stitch work up. It is very fun choosing different color combinations for the Duo-Color Dotty Beanie, and I can’t wait to see what combinations you come up with! Don’t forget that you can purchase the concise PDF that makes the pattern easy to print and store HERE in my Etsy shop- it contains BOTH the Dotty Beanie and Duo-Color Dotty Beanie patterns! You can also check out the “Easy & Modern Knits Pattern Bundle” as it contains all the knit patterns I’ve designed (over 10) at a discounted price! Thank you for continuing to support my work as I experiment with new stitches and techniques, everyone! Sign up for my e-mail newsletter HERE to keep up to date with my work!
Note: Thank you to Lion Brand Yarn for providing the yarn for this design!
This pattern is an original pattern by Stephanie Lau of All About Ami. Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to this pattern but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell the pattern or distribute it.
You may sell products made from this pattern but please clearly credit the design to me, Stephanie Lau of All About Ami, and provide a link to my blog www.AllAboutAmi.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for being respectful and for your understanding!
