Cozy season is here, and that means it’s time to cast on a new chunky accessory. Enter the Belleayre Earflap Hat! This classic tasseled ski hat features a pompom top, I-cord ties, and fair isle colorwork to get you excited for temperature dips. Scroll down for the free pattern, purchase a printer-friendly PDF of the pattern here, or purchase the kit with all the Hue + Me yarn you’ll need here.

I love the iconic silhouette of the earflap ski hat, and I can’t believe I have yet to design a knitting pattern for one until now! The mix-and-matchable Hue + Me palette lends itself so nicely to a design like this since it’s so customizable will all of the beautiful color combos you can put together, so it was the obvious choice when I set out to design this hat.

What I love about this style of hat is all of the details - the I-cord tasseled ties, the fluffy pompom topper, the squishy earflaps, and of course the classic fair isle colorwork.

I designed this baby in three sizes so you can work them up for the whole fam! Choose three colors and alternate the order for each of them, or dive into your stash for bits and pieces to make each one super unique.

This is an intermediate level knitting pattern and the techniques involved are knitting, purling, m1L and m1R increases, K2tog decreases, making an i-cord, stranded colorwork and reading from a chart, and working both flat and in the round.

MATERIALS

1 skein each Lion Brand Yarn Hue + Me in Salt (617-098AS) for color A, Harbor (617-106BH) for color B, and Werewolf (617-152AB) for color C
(bulky, weight 5; 137yds/125m per skein)

Size US 10.5 (6.5mm) circular knitting needles, 16”/40cm long
Stitch holders
Tapestry needle
Large (3”/8cm) pompom maker

GAUGE

12 sts + 14 rows = 4”/10cm in stockinette in the round

FINISHED DIMENSIONS

Sizes: child (adult small, adult large)
Suggested negative ease: 2-4”/5-10cm
Pictured in size adult small on model with 21”/53.5cm head

Circumference: 16”/40.5cm (18”/46cm, 20”/51cm)
Height: 8”/20.5cm (8.5”/21.5cm, 9.25”/23.5cm)

ABBREVIATIONS
*All Two of Wands patterns are written in standard US terms.

CO – Cast on
K – Knit
K2tog – Knit 2 together
M1L – Make 1 left
M1R – Make 1 right
P – Purl
Rep – Repeat
Rnd(s) – Round(s)
St(s) – Stitch(es)

STITCH EXPLANATION:

M1L (make 1 left) – Pick up the horizontal bar between the previous stitch and the next stitch with the left needle from front to back and knit it through the back loop.

M1R (make 1 right) – Pick up the horizontal bar between the previous stitch and the next stitch with the left needle from back to front and knit it through the front loop.

Notes: Hat is worked from the bottom up. Opposite color is stranded behind work on rounds with more than one color. Keep floats very loose to ensure hat can still stretch. Pattern is written for three sizes: child (adult small, adult large).

EARFLAP 1:

Begin i-cord:

With color A, CO 3 sts.

Slide sts to other end of needle, and without turning, K across the row. The working yarn will be pulled up the back of the work since it is now at the bottom of the sts.

Slide sts to the other end of the needle, and again without turning, K across the row. By doing this you are forming a tube called an i-cord. Continue in this manner until the i-cord measures 12”/30.5cm.

Begin earflap:

After last row of i-cord, turn rather than sliding sts to other side of needles.

Row 1 (WS): K 1, m1r, K 1, m1l, K 1. (5 sts)

Row 2 (RS): K.

Row 3: K 1, m1r, K to last st, m1l, K 1. (7 sts)

Rows 4-7 (9, 9): Rep rows 2 and 3, 2 (3, 3) more times. (11 (13, 13) sts)

Next 4 (6, 6) rows: K.

Earflap should end with a WS row. Do not bind off. Cut yarn, leaving a tail. Place earflap on a holder and set aside.

EARFLAP 2:

Work as for earflap 1, but end with 5 (7, 7) K rows rather than 4 (6, 6).

Earflap should end with a RS row. Do not bind off or cut yarn. Continue to body of hat.

HAT BODY:

Using backwards loop, cable cast on, or another method of choice, CO 13 (14, 17) sts, place earflap 1 back on left needle and K across it, CO 13 (14, 17) sts, join in the round, and place marker for beginning of round. (48 (54, 60) sts)

Rnd 1: P.

Rnd 2: K.

Rnds 3-6: Rep rnds 1 and 2, 2 more times.

Change to color B.

Rnds 7+8: K.

Begin chart, working in stranded stockinette (K every round), at bottom right corner, rnd 1. All rnds are read right to left on the chart.

Work chart through rnd 17. Continue only with color B.

Rnd 18: K.

Rep rnd 18 until hat body measures 8”/20.5cm (8.5”/21.5cm, 9.25”/23.5cm).

Next row: K2tog around. (24 (27, 30) sts)

Cut yarn, leaving a tail. Thread tail onto a tapestry needle and draw through remaining sts, removing them from the needles. Pull like a drawstring to close hole at top of hat. Secure on interior of hat and weave in all ends.

TASSELS:

Cut twenty-eight 10”/25.5cm lengths and four 12”/30.5cm lengths of color C. Divide the 10”/25.5cm lengths into two groups of 14. Tie each bundle at the middle point with one of the 12”/30.5cm lengths. Fold each bundle in half so that the tie is at the tip of the loop created with the fold.

Tie crosswise around each folded bundle about 1”/2.5cm below the top of the fold with the remaining 12”/30.5cm lengths. Wrap the tails of the ties around and around the bundles and then thread them inside and down the middle of the bundles with a tapestry needle. Tie the tops of the tassels onto the two ends of the i-cords and knot to secure. Thread the tails inside and down the middle of the tassels using a tapestry needle. Trim tassels to desired length.

POMPOM:

With color C, use pompom maker to make pompom, wrapping yarn approx. 90 times around. Keep tails used to tie pompom long. Thread tails to interior of top of hat and knot to secure. Trim ends.

Purchase the printable, ad-free pattern here.

Purchase the kit from Lion Brand here.

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Hue + Me: Belleayre Earflap Hat