Sidewinder Beanie: The Ultimate Last-Minute Knitted Gift!

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It’s one week until Christmas and you know what that means: we’re all frantically searching Pinterest for “Last-Minute Knitted Gift Ideas.” (Is that how you ended up here?)

Lucky for you, I’ve got a pattern recommendation for a one-skein wonder hat that you can knit in about two hours using a yarn that is readily available at almost any local yarn store (a.k.a the “LYS”).

And this isn’t just some dinky little handmade gift that your friends will say they love, but then never wear… the finished product is super high-end and on trend. My friend saw a hat just like this in a fancy boutique and it was retailing for $75! Here’s a pic! What do you think?

The pattern is called the Sidewinder Beanie by Aspen Leaf Knits and the yarn is Malabrigo Rasta. Not gonna lie, this yarn is more expensive than what I usually recommend on this blog, but… you waited until the last minute to knit gifts, so no complaining! Like I said, you can find Malabrigo yarns at almost any LYS or, if you plan ahead, you can order it online. You can expect it to set you back about $25.

If your yarn store doesn’t carry Malabrigo Rasta, they might carry Mecha, which is a similar yarn in bulky weight. The Sidewinder Beanie is a 2-in-1 pattern with instructions for super bulky or bulky weight yarns, so you have a little more flexibility when shopping for yarn. Of course, if you’re in a hurry to knit those gifts… the super bulky weight is the way to go!

I don’t recommend substituting just any old super-bulky yarn with this pattern – I’ve tried knitting it with solid-colored plied yarns and it’s not nearly as elegant looking. The roving-style single-ply makeup is perfect for these textured stitches and the Rasta has kind of a pearlescent quality and the subtle watercolor-like color changes are absolutely lovely. If anyone has a recommendation for a similar single-ply yarn that might be more affordable, please drop it in the comments!

Here are some pictures of my attempts to knit this pattern with plied yarns. They are still cool, but they’re missing that extra element of luxury that would make a hat sell for $75, you know what I’m saying?

Here’s a bulky version of Sidewinder knitted up in Knit Picks Mighty Stitch Bulky.

And here’s a super-bulky version that ended up being a cowl because I was playing it fast and loose with my gauge and it ended up being huge!

I don’t do a lot of super bulky knits so I didn’t have the size 13 and 15 needles called for in the pattern. I bought the yarn on WEBS and they had some large-diameter needles on deep clearance, but not 16” ones, so I ended up getting circular needles with longer cables and knitted this hat magic-loop style. This worked, but the pattern uses crossed stitches and it got a little fiddly when those crosses fell on the ends where I split the piece for magic-loop. I managed it just fine, but if you are more of a beginner knitter, I’d strongly recommend using 16” circulars for knitting in the round and not trying to do magic-loop with this pattern.

Finally, the hat wouldn’t be complete without the pompom! I bought a zillion-pack of these 4” furry pompoms on Amazon a while back and they are great to have in my stash. They came a little squished but after you attach them to that hat, you can hit it with a hot blow dryer for a minute or two and they puff right back up. I think a 6” pom would have been extra luxurious, but I used what I had handy.

You can sew these pompoms directly to the hat, but if you ever need to wash it, you’ll probably have to cut the pom off and attach a new one when you are done. It’s best to make them removable. Some poms come with snaps attached to them, which is pretty cool. The pompoms I bought have a small elastic loop on them that you can attach by sewing a button on the inside of the hat and then you pull the elastic loop through with a crochet hook and slip it around the button. (You could probably also get away with using a safety pin instead of a button if you needed to.)

yarn details

Malabrigo Rasta in Whales Road
Super Bulky Weight
100% Wool
Hand Wash / Dry Flat
150 g/ 90 yd skein
Purchased in December 2022

project details

pattern: “Sidewinder Beanie” by Aspen Leaf Knits (purchase on etsy or via Ravelry)
size knit: Super Bulky Size
needles: US size 13 (9 mm) and 15 (10 mm) – both 47” fixed circulars for magic loop
yarn used: 68 yards (113 grams)
duration: December 17, 2023

notes

• The pattern offered two options for the height of the hat, with one option adding a few extra rows in the mix. I made this hat with the first set of instructions, but I had plenty of yarn leftover, so next time I think I’ll use the second set that adds in a few more rows.