Happy Pi day! To celebrate 3.14 (that gives you a month’s knitting time 
), here’s a pattern for a cute slouchy beret – a hat style that suits almost everyone – with the first 10 digits of pi encoded in bands of reverse stockinette.
An easy knit – skills required are knit, purl, increase (knit front and back), and decrease (knit 2 together, purl 2 together).
You will need:
- 4.5mm circular needle (size 7) and 4.5mm double point needles for crown (of course, you can knit the whole thing on dpns, or use the magic loop method to knit the whole thing on a circular needle)
- Noro Kureyon or other worsted-weight yarn – 130-150m (1 1/2 skeins)
- Stitch marker
- 10″ dinner plate for blocking
- tapestry needle for weaving in stray ends
Band and increases:
cast on 76 stitches, place marker, and join to knit in the round, being careful not to twist.
k2p2 rib until work measures around 1 inch
work increases – (k2, kfb) 25 times, k1 (101sts)
‘Body’:
the first 10 digits of pi (shown in bold) are encoded in the reverse stockinette bands, separated by 2 rounds of stockinette.
knit 1 round
purl 3 rounds
knit 2 rounds
purl 1 round
knit 2 rounds
purl 4 rounds
knit 2 rounds
purl 1 round
knit 2 rounds
purl 5 rounds
knit 2 rounds
Crown:
purl 3 rounds
(p18 p2tog) 5 times, p1 (96 sts)
p1 round
(p14 p2tog) 6 times (90 sts)
p1 round
(p13 p2tog) 6 times (84 sts)
p1 round (total 9 purl rows)
(k12 k2tog) 6 times (78 sts)
knit 1 round
(p11 p2tog) 6 times (72 sts)
purl 1 round (total 2 purl rows)
(k10 k2tog) 6 times (66 sts)
knit 1 round
(p9 p2tog) 6 times (60 sts)
purl 1 round
(p8 p2tog) 6 times (54 sts)
purl 1 round
(p7 p2tog) 6 times (48 sts)
purl 1 round (total 6 purl rows)
(k6 k2tog) 6 times (42 sts)
knit 1 round
(p5 p2tog) 6 times (36 sts)
purl 1 round
(p4 p2tog) 6 times (30 sts)
purl 1 round
(p3 p2tog) 6 times (24 sts) (total 5 purl rows)
knit 1 rounds
(k2 k2tog) 6 times (18 sts)
purl 1 round
(p1 p2tog) 6 times (12 sts)
purl 1 round (total 3 purl rows)
k2tog 6 times
draw yarn through remaining 6 stitches, draw tight and fasten off.
Finishing:
Weave in any loose ends, and block over a 10″ dinner plate.
You could also try knitting the knit rows in one colour and the purl rows in a second colour.
If your ribbing turns out too loose, you could try knitting that section on smaller needles.
You may also like:
[...] See Abigail’s free pi knit hat pattern on her blog. Happy knitting! [...]
You should put in bold the first 10 digits of pie. I didn’t know where to look for them.
knit 1 round
purl 3 rounds <-BOLD
knit 2 rounds
purl 1 round <-BOLD
knit 2 rounds
purl 4 rounds <-BOLD
knit 2 rounds
purl 1 round <-BOLD
knit 2 rounds
purl 5 rounds <-BOLD
knit 2 rounds
*pi ^____^
I’m hungry right now.
That’s not a bad idea, thanks
[...] Pie/Pi BeretCute Noro beret by Abigail’s Craft How To.Find the free beret pattern here: link beret , knitting , Noro Hat No CommentsShareLeave a [...]
You are a total knit/math geek and I LOVE this. I teach middle school math and I will be knitting one of these to wear!
Great idea and thanks for sharing the pattern. I’m pi day blog hopping to see what crafters are up to. Very cute!
.-= Goodnightgram´s last blog ..Happy Pi Day!!! =-.
[...] found a free pattern for a Berry Pie/Pi day Beret at: http://abigailscraftshowto.com/2010/02/berry-piepi-beret-free-knit-hat-pattern/comment-page-1/#comme… Another fun craft project to check [...]
[...] Abigail comes up with a cute entry: “a free knitted hat pattern, with the first ten digits of pi encoded in bands of reverse stockinette.” Check out Berry Pie/Pi beret. [...]
Great information mate. I’ve just bookmarked this page. Will try out this pattern this weekend. Cheers
I found myself inspired to make a matching scarf incorporating the first 50 (approximately) digits of pi. Very cool!
Ooh, would love to see that!
my fiance loves to nit she is going to love this pattern..i can see her face now
omg i love this…
I was looking for patterns for my mother when I found your post, just what I was looking for. Mother will be so happy, thank you!
I’m confused, there’s only 5 digits of pi in the pattern, but it says 10.
Will it be too big if I do the first 10 digits?
This pattern is wonderful!
Although there are only 5 bands of reverse stockinette, there are ten digits – the stockinette bands are digits as well. ie 3 rows in stockinette, 1 in reverse stockinette, 4 in st st and so on
I was just wondering if you would know how to make this with a super bulky weight yarn? I want something with a little more body and warmth, but I love the design. I am sorta inexperienced with going on my own and making changes with these sort of things. Advice appreciated
I just completed my Pi project. It came out so great. Can’t wait to give to my Mom.
Thanks Abigail!
I loved the pattern – thanks for posting!
@ Stacy the idea of having a matching scarf is excellent!
Thank you, both!
Mariana Teagan
Miami – FL
Mariana´s last [type] ..Hemorrhoids
Abigail >> cute hat. thank you for sharing.
Danielle >> i don’t think Abigail answered your question correctly. the first 5 digits in the “body” and the next 5 digits in the “crown” they’re typed in bold; they are the “bumps” on the hat when done.
I was wondering if I could sell some of these if I make them? I didn’t see anything about that on the page, so just figured I’d ask.
I would like to make this for a friend but I don’t know how big it is.
You are a total knit/math geek and I LOVE this. I teach middle school math and I will be knitting one of these to wear!
Jennifer´s last [type] ..Better Jobs