This beginner friendly (written and charted) hat pattern recreates the delicious symmetrical pattern of waffle squares (or syrup pockets as their referred to in my house) with an easily memorized and texture-filled stitch design. An almost vanilla hat with just a drizzle of peach sauce for interest. Perfect for any head and any yarn – tonal, speckle, or variegated – and would even be an amazing scrappy hat, with striping of colors throughout. The stretchy nature of the pattern makes for a perfect gift knit as the sizing is super forgiving!

Gauge is 24 st X 36 rows of Stockinette on a US5 (3.75mm) needle in the round. 

While the pattern is written for DK weight yarn, you can literally knit this at whatever gauge you would like! The pattern of the body is a multiple of 8, and the lace can be easily adjusted with extra knit stitches on the side of the main repeats, so if you want to make a worsted weight hat, a lace weight hat, or a hat for your hedgehog, just do it! Figure out the circumference of your head and figure out how many stitches your swatch gets per inch. Multiply that many stitches by the number of inches you need and cast on that amount!

This pattern is perfect for any yarn, including any random odds and ends lying around? Striping or even single rows of random colors can have a really fun effect on the textures of this hat. If you’re looking for a simpler hat (and let’s face it, less ends to weave in) this pattern would be perfect for a fingering weight and laceweight held together to create a soft and delicate hat. A tonal yarn would allow the beauty of the texture to shine through, while a variegated or speckled yarn would dance around the texture to create a truly one-of-a-kind hat.

You will need a circular needle or DPNs, stitch marker, darning needle, and any other notions you prefer for sock knitting.