Patternum Novum :: Ios Beanie

The idea for this next design came a very, very long time ago. We were living in San Francisco and Daniel was a baby, and it feels like that was another lifetime. Anyway, I had this skein of Malabrigo Lace and was playing around with it. (Wait a sec, that sounds familiar!) I was doing some chevron-y lace in a long strip and noticed that if I folded it in half, the eyelets all lined up and it created this really nice, cushy, three-dimensional lace that (I thought) looked really cool. I was pretty sure I was going to make some sort of infinity scarf with it. Well, I didn't, and that swatch sat around for quite some time. Until one day when Daniel grabbed it, as babies do, and started playing with it. And somehow it ended up across his forehead. And then a lightbulb went on.

Ios - $5 via Ravelry (no account required)


Ios (Ancient Greek for dawn) is a lightweight beanie with a simple lace brim and just the least bit of slouch. The hat begins with the chevron-like lace brim that my brilliant son invented, which is knit flat, then folded in half to create its three dimensional appearance. The rest of the hat is worked up from the brim with the yarn held double stranded (so soft and squishy), and I've provided a little photo tutorial for picking up stitches from the doubled lace brim. This is a very quick knit that is a perfect use of a single skein of soft laceweight yarn and provides just the right amount of warmth on chilly mornings, as rosy-fingered dawn is making her appearance.

The specs...

Sizes/finished measurements: 18.25 (19.75, 21.5)” / 46.5 (50, 54.5) cm to fit heads up to roughly 20 (22, 24)” / 51 (56, 61) cm around; 8 (8.25, 8.75)” / 20.5 (21, 22) cm from edge of brim to top

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Lace (100% Merino; 470 yds/430 m per 50g); 1 skein in color 130 Damask; Or 285 (315, 345) yds / 260 (290, 315) m of a similar laceweight yarn

Needles: US 6 (4 mm) 16-20” / 40-50 cm long circular needle and same size needles preferred for working a small circumference in the round (e.g. circular needle long enough for Magic Loop, dpns)

Gauge: 23 sts & 33 rows = 4” / 10 cm in Stockinette st, yarn held double stranded; 22 sts & 29 rows = 4” / 10 cm in lace patt, yarn held single stranded

For more information on Ios, you can check it out on Ravelry here.  And if you'd like to knit along with others and/or share photos, come join the Ios discussion in my Ravelry group, The Yarniad's Symposium.