Description
The Ostara hat is a fitted beanie featuring a simple two-colour ribbed brim and colourwork motifs of hares leaping over tulips under full and triple moons for a pastoral theme. The double decreases on the crown in contrasting yarns make radial lines, dividing it into sections. Within each section of the crown, tulip motifs sprout from the centre. The hat uses fingering weight yarns and a stranded knitting technique. The majority of the stranding in the hat uses only two shades per round. There are only three places in the pattern which use three shades per round to highlight the tulips in the main part of the hat. Alternatively, the highlights can be added afterwards using duplicate stitch (also known as Swiss darning). If desired, a faux fur or yarn pompom can be added to the centre of the crown.

Skills
Stranded Colourwork
Working in the Round on 1 Circular/Magic Loop, 2 Circulars or Extra Long/Jumper DPNs
Matching Stitch & Row Gauge
Optional: Duplicate Stitch, pompom making.

Sizes
Small ( Medium, Large, Extra Large).
To Fit Head Circumference at Brim: 53.5 (56, 58.5, 61) cm or 21 (22, 23, 24) in.
Hat Circumference at Brim: 48.5 (51, 53.5, 56) cm or 19 (20 , 21, 22) in.
Hat Height: 20.5 (21.5, 23, 24) cm or 8 (8½, 9, 9½ ) in.

Gauge
32 sts x 40 rnds over 10 cm (4 in) in Stocking Stitch (Stockinette) with stranded motifs.
Knitting a gauge swatch in stranded knitting in the round is advisable.
Change your needle size if your swatch is not matching gauge.
See more in Pattern Notes about getting the right fit.

Materials
Yarns
Knit Picks Twill Fingering 100% Fine Superwash Merino Wool.
Approx 334.5 m (366 yds) per 100g (3.5 oz).
Approx 30 (30, 35, 40) g in #61364 Voyage Heather – Blue-green - Yarn A
Approx 10 (10, 15, 15) g in #61363 Sea Salt Heather - Silver-grey - Yarn B.
Approx 15 (15, 20, 25) g in #61374 Gold Rush - Orange-yellow - Yarn C.
Amounts may vary depending on the type of pompom added.

Needles
2.25 mm (US 1) long circular needle for Magic Loop (or 2 short circular needles) or size to achieve gauge. It is possible to use double pointed needles but they will need to be at least 20 cm ( 8 in) or longer as there will be a large number of stitches.