Hinagiku: A Textured Hat Knitting Pattern in Schachenmayr Soft & Easy

May 13, 2021

I feel as though I already wrote about the amazing textured hat knitting pattern than is the Hinagiku Hat. But I cannot find any evidence that I did so? I must be thinking of the notes I wrote in my Ravelry project for this pattern. Anyways, let me tell you about this super gorgeous free pattern from 87knit! You can find a link to the pattern at the bottom of today’s post.

About the Hinagiku Textured Hat Knitting Pattern

The Hinagiku Hat is a uniquely textured, oversized slouch hat. Worked in the round with dk weight yarn, the construction is completely seamless. You may think, “most knit hats are seamless”, and you’d be right. I believe the designer chose to call this out because the daisy stitch is typically shown worked flat so the directions are a bit different when working in the round.

Hinagiku Hat in Schachenmayr Soft & Easy — In this photo you can really see the slouch of the Hinagiku Hat.

The daisy stitch is what provides the absolutely gorgeous texture. Not only does it look beautiful, it FEELS beautiful too.

The Daisy Stitch MAKES this Textured Hat Knitting Pattern

I had originally tried knitting the Hinagiku Hat in April of 2020 with a skein of Nako Vals that I had purchased at Joann. Needless to say, the roving style of the yarn ply could NOT handle the number of wraps required to knit the daisy stitch! So I tabled the pattern, just waiting for the right yarn to come along.

Enter the Ultimate Acrylic Yarn Comparison and the yarn I finally chose….. Schachenmayr Soft & Easy. Soft and Easy is a very scrumptious yarn with a very nice ply that held up to the crazy daisy stitch. Don’t let my yarn selection issues deter you from trying this pattern — any high quality, plied yarn and needle can knit this beauty at an intermediate skill level.

dralon low pill acrylic schachenmayr soft & easy — Schachenmayr Soft & Easy originals in color 32. This yarn is a low pill acrylic fiber made by dralon.

The daisy stitch results in a very thick (read: WARM) fabric, so yarns with more drape will be best if you’re looking for the perfect slouch effect.

Wearing the Hinagiku Hat

Because this pattern is free, I honestly cannot complain. I really, TRULY love this hat. But in spite of meeting gauge, it turned out larger than I would prefer. Here is what I would do differently:

I would make the brim shorter. The length in the pattern is perfect for folding, but folding the brim would absolutely draw attention away from the beautiful design.
I would consider fewer row repeats so the hat doesn’t turn out quite so large.
I would actually consider decreasing the number of stitches cast on. I’m actually struggling with many hats these days, where even if they fit great MOST of the time, they’re sliding into my eyes while I shovel snow. If I made them just a little smaller, I think I could solve this problem.
Maybe I would leave the brim and overall hat length alone if I used a different yarn with better drape. But I would still probably cast on fewer stitches.

All in all, if you’re looking for a truly eye catching free hat knitting pattern, try the Hinagiku Hat!

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modeled hinagiku hat brim — As you can see from this photo, the brim on the Hinagiku Hat is very thick. If I were to knit it again, I would make it a bit smaller.

Hinagiku Hat by 87cafe

Download for Free today! I knit mine using Schachenmayr Soft & Easy, but just about any DK weight yarn will do! If you adjust the number of cast on stitches, you can even get away with a thicker yarn like Lion Brand Heartland. Just check out these Ravelry projects and see!