My son asked me to make him a hat. He had a list of requirements which included being slouchy, soft, textured, and “not girly”. He wanted a somewhat loose fit on the body so as not to mess up his hair. The gray prototype I created for him has been his favorite hat for 3 years, so I figured it was time to turn my notes into a pattern. Since I heard his requirements “loud and clear”, I’ve named this Five By Five Slouch. 5 by 5 is a radioman’s term for maximum signal strength and maximum clarity, aka loud and clear.

This pattern is for a unisex, slouchy hat. The brim is slightly fitted and stretchy, while the body of the hat is knit with a looser knit stitch, giving it increased ease.

The pattern calls for the hat to be knit on a 40 peg large gauge (3/4”) loom with #3 or #4 yarn held double. A single strand of bulky yarn may be substituted. The ribbed brim can be adjusted for a different peg count or hat size.

Caron Simply Soft was used. It takes about a half skein to make the hat. As the yarn is held double at this gauge, either work from both ends of the skein, or divide the skein in half ahead of time, or work from 2 different skeins.