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Chill Out Winter Fair Isle Knit Hat Pattern

Some hats you throw on and forget about. This one you’ll want to wear where people can see it. Chill Out Winter is a Fair Isle colorwork hat that builds a bold, snowflake-like motif round by round, finished off with a Latvian braid at the brim that adds a little extra texture and a lot of visual interest.

Worked in the round from brim to crown, this hat uses two contrasting colors that trade places constantly as you knit, so the pattern seems to almost build itself as you go. It’s the kind of project that keeps your hands busy and your eyes rewarded.

Whether you’re knitting it for yourself, gifting it to someone who appreciates a handmade piece with real detail, or adding it to your winter market lineup, this hat earns its spot in a cold-weather rotation.

What You’ll Love About This Pattern
A true stranded colorwork project that builds real Fair Isle skills
Charts provided for both the hat body and the crown decreases
A decorative Latvian braid detail you won’t find on a basic beanie
Video tutorial support for key techniques like the braid and Fair Isle colorwork
A satisfying, visible progression as the motif takes shape round by round

Pattern Format and Support

This pattern includes full written instructions plus charted colorwork for both the hat body and crown decreases, so you can work from text or chart depending on what you prefer. Video tutorials are included for techniques like the knit stitch, purl stitch, long tail cast-on, how to tink, how to bury ends, adding a lifeline, the Latvian braid, and the Fair Isle technique.

Pattern Details
Designer: Marly Bird
Craft: Knitting
Skill Level: Adventurous Beginner / Intermediate
Project Type: Hat
Construction: Worked in the round, brim to crown
Size: One size fits most adults
Finished Measurements: Circumference 21¾“ 55 cm
Yarn Weight: CYCA #4 Worsted
Needles: US 6 4mm 16” circular, US 8 5mm 16” circular, and a set of 5 double-pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Gauge: 18 sts = 4” 10 cm in Fair Isle pattern
Skills You’ll Practice
Fair Isle (stranded) colorwork
Latvian braid
Working from a chart
Knitting in the round with double-pointed needles
ssk and k2tog decreases

Why You’ll Enjoy Making It

There’s a rhythm to stranded knitting once you get going, and this hat gives you plenty of it. Watching the snowflake motif emerge round after round is genuinely satisfying, and the Latvian braid at the brim gives you a small technique win before you even get to the main colorwork. By the time you reach the crown decreases, you’ll have a hat that looks a lot more advanced than it felt to make.

Get the Pattern

Chill Out Winter is available as a downloadable pattern here in the Marly Bird Ravelry shop.

Winter hats come and go, but this one has enough personality in the details, the braid, the chart, the color play, that it won’t just sit in a drawer once the season’s over. Cast on and let the colorwork do the talking.

P.S. Prefer to knit it free first? You can find Chill Out Winter on the Marly Bird blog here: https://marlybird.com/blog/chill-out-winter-hat-free-knit...