Orry Yarn – Darvel Cabled Beanie Knitting Kit
Designed by Tilde Olsen – Orry Yarn
The Darvel Cabled Beanie is a confidence-building hat worked in the round from the bottom up, combining a simple textured stitch with a single repeating C6B cable. It is the pattern we point people at when they say they would like to try cables but are not sure where to start.
The crown is shaped with plain decreases and the cables are decreased out as you go, so the top closes neatly rather than puckering. You move onto double-pointed needles for the last few rounds.
The kit is knitted in Orry Yarn Merino DK, our own soft, springy, ethically sourced merino. It has the stitch definition a cable needs, and it is forgiving enough to unpick if a cable goes the wrong way.
Skill Level:
Easy (Adventurous beginners) ★★ (2 out of 5)
You should be comfortable casting on, knitting and purling, and working in the round. Cables are taught here from scratch. A dropped cable is easy to spot and easy to fix, which is part of why this sits at two stars rather than three.
Size:
One size, designed to fit an average adult head.
The Kit Includes:
- 2 × 50g balls of Orry Yarn Merino DK in your chosen shade
- Printed pattern in English
You'll Also Need:
- 3.25mm circular needles, 40cm long, for the brim
- 4mm circular needles, 40cm long, for the body
- One set of 4mm double-pointed needles for the crown
- Cable needle
- Stitch marker
- Wool needle
A note on the needles:
A 40cm cable is the right length here and a longer one will not work: the stitch count is too low to stretch around 60cm or 80cm without straining every stitch. If you would rather not swap to double-pointed needles at the crown, you can work the last rounds using Magic Loop on a longer 4mm circular instead, though the first few rounds after the switch are fiddly either way.
If you knit with interchangeables, note that 40cm circulars need the short special tips. Standard tips only make up 60cm and above.
Techniques used:
- Casting on and joining in the round
- Knit and purl worked in the round
- C6B cable, worked with a cable needle
- Crown shaping with simple decreases
- Cable decreases, so the cable tapers out rather than stopping abruptly
- Working on double-pointed needles
- Closing the crown and weaving in ends
Why You'll Love It:
- A proper first cable project, with the technique taught rather than assumed
- Finished in a couple of evenings, so the new skill sticks
- A tips and modifications section at the back of the pattern, drawn from years of teaching
- Designed for the yarn in the box, not substituted into it
- Pairs with the Darvel Cabled Cowl for a matching set