Milk Tea Hat Knitting Pattern

Milk Tea Hat is a simple beanie with some easy colorwork. The brim is made of a modified broken rib stitch using slip stitches to add some color and the main body includes garter ridges in a contrasting color. You can purchase an inexpensive PDF from my Ravelry store here, which contains instructions for eight sizes from preemie to adult. The instructions for the preemie size are provided here for free.

Skill Level:
Easy

Materials:
• US 4 (3.5 mm) DPNs and/or circular needles
• Sport yarn in 4 colors (see chart on page 2 for amounts)
• 8 stitch markers

Gauge:
24 sts x 32 rows to 4” (10 cm) in stockinette after blocking
* Be sure to check your gauge

Size:
Hat circumference for preemie size: 10” (25 cm)
Other sizes available on the PDF are: Newborn: 12” (30 cm); 3-6 Months: 14” (36 cm); 6-12 Months: 16” (41 cm); Toddler: 18” (46 cm); Child: 20” (51 cm); Teen: 21.3” (53 cm); Adult: 22.7” (58 cm)
* Worn with 1-2” (3-5 cm) of negative ease

Size Chart:
See below for the finished size of the hat compared to head size.

Age	Head Circumference	Hat Circumference	Hat Length
Preemie	11-12” (28-30 cm)	10” (25 cm)	4” (10 cm)
Newborn	13-15” (33-38 cm)	12” (30 cm)	5” (13 cm)
3-6 Months	15-17” (38-43 cm)	14” (36 cm)	5.5” (14 cm)
6-12 Months	16-19” (41-48 cm)	16” (41 cm)	6.5” (17 cm)
Toddler	18-20” (46-50 cm)	18” (46 cm)	7” (18 cm)
Child	19-21” (48-53 cm)	20” (51 cm)	7.5” (19 cm)
Teen	21-22” (53-56 cm)	21.3” (54 cm)	8” (20 cm)
Adult	23-24” (58-61 cm)	22.7” (58 cm)	8.5” (22 cm)

Yarn Amounts:
See below for approximate yardage of each color needed.

Size	MC1	CC1	MC2	CC2
Preemie	11 yd (10 m)	< 5 yd (5 m)	34 yd (31 m)	7 yd (6 m)
Newborn	13 yd (12 m)	< 5 yd (5 m)	46 yd (42 m)	11 yd (10 m)
3-6 Months	15 yd (14 m)	< 5 yd (5 m)	59 yd (54 m)	16 yd (14 m)
6-12 Months	17 yd (16 m)	5 yd (5 m)	74 yd (68 m)	22 yd (20 m)
Toddler	19 yd (17 m)	6 yd (5 m)	90 yd (82 m)	28 yd (26 m)
Child	22 yd (20 m)	7 yd (6 m)	100 yd (91 m)	32 yd (29 m)
Teen	23 yd (21 m)	8 yd (7 m)	115 yd (105 m)	38 yd (35 m)
Adult	25 yd (23 m)	8 yd (7 m)	131 yd (120 m)	46 yd (42 m)

Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
sl1p = slip 1 purlwise
wyib = with yarn in back
k2tog = knit 2 together
st(s) = stitch(es)
rep = repeat
rnd = round
CO = cast on
BO = bind off
MC = main color
CC = contrasting color

Notes:
When working with two colors, be sure to twist the strands of yarn when changing colors.

The ribbing for the brim is not very stretchy. You can change to smaller needle if you want a stretchier brim.

Instructions:
Brim:
With MC1, CO 60 sts. Join in the rnd and place marker.
If the CO and rnd 1 color change is tricky, you can CO an extra st and then join the first and last sts with k2tog in MC1. Count it as the first sl1p in rnd 1.
Rnd 1: With CC1, *sl1p wyib, k1, rep from * to end.
Rnd 2: With MC1, *k1, p1, rep from * to end.
Rnd 3: With MC1, k all.
Rep rnds 1-3 for a total of 4 times and then rnds 1-2 once more.

Body:
Change to MC2, and work in stockinette (k all) for 6 rnds.
Rnd 7: Change to CC2, k all.
Rnd 8: With CC2, p all.
Rnd 9: Change to MC2, k all.
Rnd 10: With MC2, k all.
Rep rnds 7-10 for a total of 3 times.

Crown:
Continue with only MC2.
Setup Rnd: k all, placing a marker every 7 sts. At the same time, work the setup row as follows: *k13, k2tog, rep from * to end. 56 sts
Rnd 1: *k to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, rep from * to end.
Rnd 2: k all.
Rep rnds 1-2 for a total of 4 times.
Rep only rnd 1 2 more times.

Finish:
Cut yarn, draw tail through remaining 8 sts. Weave in ends and block.

You may make and sell products from my pattern but please credit me and/or link back to my post and use your own photos.

Have fun with it!

Rainbow Swirl

I made a hat years ago following this pattern. I recently had the idea to make another one but with the stripes in different colors.

I didn’t have worsted weight yarn, so I ended up working with two strands of yarn. This gave me a chance to use even more colors! I worked it out to 7 gray/white stripes and 7 stripes in rainbow colors. I also had to borrow a pair of 5mm needles since I don’t usually work with this weight of yarn.

I modified the pattern a bit by changing the first row of each gray/white stripe to knit instead of purl. This way, the stripe transition looks smoother. I also did a provisional cast on, so that I could graft it together at the end.

For all the color stripes, I left an extra long tail. The tails were on the side that would become the top of the hat. After I grafted the beginning row to the last row and gathered the top, I used all those tails to knit a ball to replace the pompom.

I ended up making the brim a few rows shorter than the pattern. It seemed like a good length before binding off.

My next project is going to be something with fingering yarn. I love how this hat turned out, but it reminded me that I really prefer working with thinner yarn.

Milk Tea and Test Knits

About two weeks ago, I started knitting a baby cardigan for a friend. She had requested neutral colors, so I was looking at some beige and brown yarn. I was also drinking a milk tea at the time, and ended up picking colors that looked very much like my drink.

I used this pattern for the sweater, which I have used before and liked a lot. I changed colors for those garter ridges and for the cuffs and bands. I ended up choosing brown for the bands, beige for the body, and a caramel color for the garter ridges. I also modified the ribbing to add some black peeking through so they would look like boba balls.

I loved how it turned out. While working on this, I also thought of making a matching hat since I would have extra yarn. Using the same colors and the same stitches, I came up with this.

The crown decreases took a lot of research and a bit of frogging, but I think it worked out fine. I don’t have access to a head in this size, so we will have to wait and see if it will fit. I ended up calculating the math for several sizes, so now I’m looking for test knitters. Check my yarnpond for details.