Knit any of four different rainbow fades hats in any of four sizes with this cute baby hat knitting pattern!
I think few things make me happier than rainbows. This Rainbow Fades Hats knitting pattern was a labor or love and honestly, it was really a blast to design four different takes on a rainbow fade. I love them all. Let’s meet them! Here’s Diamond Fade:
Cross Fade:
Arrow Fade:
Dotted Fade:
This really has been a weird year but while have lived in our current house for a significant number of years, we had probably seen only one or two rainbows that entire time. And this year, we have seen tons. It’s a good reminder that things may be chaotic but nature just keeps on doing it’s majestic thing.
I thought this would a good pattern to talk a little bit about choosing yarn colors. It can be really tricky when you have to choose more than one color and a wrong choice can totally affect the pattern. The colors need to go together.
I think it would be helpful to explain some color theory words because these ideas are particularly important when choosing rainbow yarns that all go together.
- Hue: Hue is the pure color, the basic primary and secondary hues are red, blue, yellow, orange, green and purple. Basically hues are the colors you learn in kindergarten.
- Tint: A tint is the any hue mixed with white. So basically it’s a lighter version of a pure color. Pastels are tints.
- Shade: A shade is any hue mixed with black and will make a pure color darker.
- Tone: A tone is a pure color mixed with gray and this changes the intensity of the color. So if you see a muted version of a color it is a tone.
When you’re picking yarn colors for a project like these rainbow fades hats, you should make sure that your both your tones and your tint/shade values go together. For example, if you choose 5 light pastel tints, and then one dark green shade, the green will stick out like a sore thumb.
In the same way, if you choose 5 pure bright hues and then one dusty muted purple tone, that purple yarn that is less intense than the other colors will also stick out.
I usually just lay my skeins out in a row to see what looks good together but you can also choose to knit a rainbow striped swatch if you really want to make sure they look good together.
Your color choices will also really affect the mood of your projects. I knit most of these rainbow fades hats samples in pastel tints, but I knit two of them in much brighter tones so you could see how different colors choices dramatically changes what the patterns look like. Take a look at the Diamond Fade and the Arrow Fade knit in two separate color schemes. Can you believe the difference?
Do you see what I mean? The two versions are the exact same pattern with different yarn choices and they look SO different. I honestly like them both, it just depends on your own personal preferences. But imagine if you swapped any one color between the two versions, it just wouldn’t work!
For bright rainbow colors, I like Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice or Loops and Threads Impeccable worsted (at Michaels). And for pretty pastel rainbow colors, my favorite is Paintbox Simply Aran.
Anyway, let’s get knitting!
Rainbow Fades Hats Knitting Pattern
(includes Sizes 0-3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 2T+)
Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches
(If you need help, my favorite knitting reference book for everyone from beginners to advanced knitters is THIS ONE!)
This cute pattern is available for sale only. When you purchase this pattern, you’ll get an instant download PDF pattern in a few nicely formatted easy-to-print pages that includes written instructions and step by step photos. This pattern is available in my Etsy shop or on Ravelry where it will also be permanently stored in your Ravelry pattern library.
Happy Knitting!
If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…
- Gingerbread House and Gingerbread Man Knitting Patterns - December 13, 2024
- Peppermint Candy Cane Wreath Knitting Pattern - December 9, 2024
- Gingerbread Wreath Knitting Pattern - December 9, 2024
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