Dyea is a quick and simple colorwork hat, great for beginner knitters or gift knitting. It is named for Dyea, Alaska, a former Gold Rush town in the Klondike that is now a ghost town.

The pattern has short floats and easy to memorize repeats, making it an excellent first colorwork project! It is also a good project for experienced knitters as a quick gift knit or stash buster. The pattern is written with the option of the folded or unfolded brim.

The sample pictured is knit in Lang Cashmere Light which is a very light, airy chainette yarn that could be knit in many gauges for different projects. I chose to knit it in a gauge that equals a DK yarn, making it easy to substitute your preferred DK weight yarn for this design. A great substitution is Pishkun from The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers optionally held together with their Mighty Mo (mohair) to replicate the soft halo of the cashmere. You can also check the projects of my test knitters to see what yarns they used for inspiration!

I designed this pattern while teaching at Hill Country Weavers in Austin, Texas. This yarn was on display and was so unusual and luxurious that I couldn’t resist buying some and impulsively casting on a new design right there! If you are looking for the exact yarn used in the original sample I would check with them!

Sizes
S (M, L)
Un-stretched circumference: 18 (20, 22)“ 46 (51, 56) cm

MATERIALS
Yarn
Lang Cashmere Light
88% Cashmere/ 12% Polyamide
25 g, 93 yards 85 m}

Colors used sample
C1: 8536 (pale grey)
C2: 8011 (black)
C3: 8419 (medium grey)

Yardage:
Unfolded Brim
C1: 108 (120, 132) yards 99 (110, 121) m
C2: 45 (50, 55) yards 42 (46, 51) m
C3: 18 (20, 22) yards 17 (19, 20) m

Folded Brim
C1: 117 (130, 146) yards 107 (119, 134) m
C2: 45 (50, 55) yards 42 (46, 51) m
C3: 18 (20, 22) yards 17 (19, 20) m

Needles:
—One 16” circular needle, US size 4/ 3.5 mm (or one size smaller than needle required to get gauge)
—One 16” circular needle, US size 6/ 4.0 mm (or size required to get gauge)
—US size 6/ 4.0 mm DPNs or a longer circular needle for Magic Loop method for crown shaping

Gauge in colorwork pattern, over 4” after blocking:
20 sts and 26 rounds

Other notions:
Stitch markers, darning needle, scissors, pompom (optional) balloon or bowl for blocking