Geeky Beanie

I finished it!

Eldest nephew, whose birthday was December 26th, chose what he wanted me to knit him. He chose the background color, and he asked for the pom-pom on top.

And today, I'm going to share the "recipe".

I knit the beanie from the bottom up, using a stretchy cast-on. I worked the ribbing in the round, but then split to knit flat for the designs in the main part of the hat. I did this because the colorwork was worked using intarsia. (The X-Wing was knit all in white with the detail added later using duplicate stitch.) Once the colorwork was finished, I went back to knitting in the round for the crown, using a standard decrease to get to the top. Then I seamed together the open hole using mattress stitch. 

If the above paragraph sounded like gobbledygook, this pattern is not for you. The colorwork is a bit, ahem, involved.

(and this is the inside neatened up a bit)

I had to take a couple runs at it before I got it right. (I'm no colorwork expert, but someone with less patience and/or less experience might not make it to the end.)

This is not impossible. If you have colorwork (specifically intarsia) experience, and the italicized paragraph sounds reasonable, then you should have no problem completing this beanie.

Finished Measurements;
The circumference is about 18 inches. It's about 8 inches from brim to top.

Materials:
Caron Simply Soft yarn in black, gray, white, red, and blue
(a full skein won't be needed for any of these colors, but most yarn will be needed in the background color)
Size 7 circular (or double pointed) needles
Notions: Bobbins, Stitch Markers, Tapestry Needle

Gauge:
22 stitches=4 inches in stockinette stitch

Pattern:
Cast on 100 stitches using the Old Norwegian Cast On
(Note: it may be useful to use a size 8 needle just to cast on, just to make sure the ribbing edge of the beanie stretches fully.) Then join to work in the round, being careful not to twist stitches.

Work in k2, p2 ribbing for 2-2 1/2 inches. (I went just a touch over 2 inches.)

Then knit one round. After, divide to work flat (which is more about needle arrangement than anything else at this point.)

Set up row: make 1 stitch, k1, place marker, k30, place marker, k4, place marker, k30, place marker, k3, place marker, k30, place marker, k2, make 1 stitch
(Note: the make 1 stitches are for selvedge for seaming up this bit of the beanie later. The markers are placed to set where the colorwork charts will be worked.)

Working in stockinette stitch flat, work the charts of your choice in each of the 30 stitch panels. These charts are not mine. I found them online:

• Rebel Insignia (it's the 14th chart down--you'll have to scroll)
• Crossed Lightsabers (it's the 3rd chart down)
• X-Wing Fighter (it's the 9th chart down)

Note: the X-Wing fighter was worked as plain white:

And then the detail was added using duplicate stitch after the beanie was finished:

This beanie can be knit with any 30 stitch chart, so any 3 charts on those two pages (or any other chart) can be substituted to make the hat exactly what you want. 

After completing the colorwork, rejoin to work in the round, binding off the selvedge stitches. The beanie should be about 6 1/2 to 7 inches long at this point. If it's not quite long enough, knit even until it is. (This can be fudged a bit. Once the decreases start, the hat should measure from the top of the head to the ears.)

Decreases: 

Round 1: *k2tog, k8*, repeat all around (90 sts)

Round 2 (and all even rounds until specified): knit even

Round 3: *k2 tog, k7*, repeat all around (80 sts)

Round 5: *k2tog, k6*, repeat all around (70 sts)

Round 7: *k2tog, k5*, repeat all around (60 sts)

Round 9: *k2tog, k4*, repeat all around (50 sts)

Round 11: *k2tog, k3*, repeat all around (40 sts)

Round 13: *k2tog, k2*, repeat all around (30 sts)

Round 15: *k2tog, k1*, repeat all around (20 sts)

Round 17: k2tog, repeat all around (10 sts)

Round 18: k2tog, repeat all around (5 sts)

Break yarn. Thread through remaining stitches. Tighten. 

Wind in all ends. (To keep yourself sane, you might want to start the winding in of ends as soon as you can, like while working the beanie.) Duplicate stitch any details that may have been missed earlier. Make a pom-pom and attach to the top.

And that's it. As the colorwork charts are not mine, permission to make this for resale must be cleared by the copyright holder for those charts. 

If you do make this, I'd love to see how yours turns out. Either comment here or tag me on Instagram, Twitter, or Ravelry (I'm @ZiziRho).