Spiral Into Lace: Phyllotaxis Hat Interweave Knit-along

The Phyllotaxis Hat Interweave Knit-Along featured a one-skein project that is a delight to knit, and a beauty to see come off your needles. This knit-along started Monday June 1, 2020 and wrapped up at the end of June. However, you can still purchase the pattern and get our best tips for success below!

Buy the Phyllotaxis Hat pattern, choose your skein, and get stitching!

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About the Pattern

The Phyllotaxis Hat by Marie Godsey was originally published in Interweave Knits Summer 2015. Find a DK-weight yarn in your stash (more on yarn choice below) and get ready to join in! Need some further details and input from other knitters? Take a look at the Ravelry page, or read an Interweave team member’s finished object blog about this hat.

Be sure to jump in on social media, whether it’s Facebook or Instagram. Use the hashtag #phyllotaxiskal to share your project, even after the official knit-along has ended. If you want to knit a lace hat but aren’t sure about the Phyllotaxis, here are the other hats we were considering for that knit-along!

An Airy Aesthetic

The open leaf lace and slightly elongated shape give the Phyllotaxis Hat just enough slouch for style, while not reaching beret status. The original design calls for one skein of hand-dyed cashmere, but we understand limited resources. Dig into that stash for your favorite DK weight yarn, and get ready to knit in the round with other Interweave fans and friends.

Essential Techniques

Recommended Cast-Ons:

The Phyllotaxis Hat doesn’t specify a cast-on, but you’ll want to make sure that you use one with some stretch to it, that will flow into the k1, p1 rib that starts off the hat. You could use a simple long-tail cast-on, but it’s a great place to elevate your approach. While you could go as far as to use a tubular cast-on, a simple, stretchy method will work without necessitating a provisional cast-on!

German Twisted Cast-On

We love the German Twisted Cast-On for this project, as it creates a neat edging that is very stretchy and attractive.

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Allison walks you through the German Twisted Cast-On and shows why it’s great for this project!

Alternating Cable Cast-On

The Alternating Cable Cast-On is great for this project, creating a stretchy edging with the illusion of the ribbing wrapping around the edge.

Reading Charts

The Phyllotaxis hat uses a very simple lace chart, but you will need to be able to read lace charts to work the pattern. If you need to brush up your skills, we have a chart reading workshop here on Interweave!

Lace Knitting

Kathleen put together some tips for lace knitting that will help you will everything from easy projects like this one, on up to more advanced lace projects like garments and shawls.

One tip, if you’re feeling less than confident, is to use a lifeline so that no mistake can ever really be *that bad.

We Are Interweave

Our team had so much fun knitting along! Check out our finished objects here!

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What will your Phyllotaxis Hat look like?
We can’t wait to see!

Use the hashtag #phyllotaxiskal to share your WIP photos!