A Budget-Friendly Colorwork Hat Pattern You’ll Love to Knit

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly colorwork hat pattern that is enjoyable to knit and doesn’t require a big yarn investment, the Tremblant Toque by Dianna Walla for Espace Tricot is hard to beat.

I knit mine using Cascade Yarns 220 Fingering, and I loved every minute of it.

This pattern uses just three colors, making it an excellent introduction to stranded colorwork. The motifs are easy to memorize, the floats stay short and manageable, and the project moves along quickly. Before long, you’ll have a beautiful hat ready to wear or give as a gift.

A Quick Knit That’s Perfect for Gifting

One of my favorite things about the Tremblant Toque is how quickly it comes together.

While I was knitting it I had in mind holiday knitting, making a birthday gift, or simply treating myself, this lightweight wool hat is both practical and stylish. It’s warm enough for cool weather outdoors while remaining comfortable to wear indoors.

An Affordable Project

I used three 50g balls of Cascade Yarns 220 Fingering, which I carry at The Yarny Way for just $6 each.

That means the entire hat cost only $18 in yarn.

Cascade Yarns 220 Fingering is a 100% Peruvian Highland Wool that offers excellent stitch definition, beautiful colorwork, and a soft yet durable finished fabric. Each 50g ball contains 278 yards, making it an exceptional value for fingering-weight wool.

Yarn Requirements

For my hat, I used three colors in Texas Tech Red Raider shades.

After finishing the project, I weighed the remaining yarn:

❤️ Red: 48g remaining
🖤 Black: 43g remaining
🩶 Gray: 33g remaining

Yes—you’ll have plenty of yarn left over! One 50g ball of each color is more than enough for this pattern, leaving lots of yarn for another project or a second hat with a different color combination.

Make It Your Own

This pattern would be beautiful in other color combinations, and now I’m making a list of more colors to add to the inventory at the shop and online.

• Winter blues and silvers
• Rich jewel tones
• Warm autumn colors
• Holiday reds and greens
• Soft neutrals
• High-contrast modern combinations

You can also substitute another favorite fingering-weight yarn like Heritage, but I kind of like the non-superwash feature of a traditional wool and 220 Fingering offers an outstanding balance of quality, color selection, and value.

A Little Blocking Goes a Long Way

Once I finished knitting, I wove in the ends and gave the hat a gentle soak. Then I laid it flat on a blocking mat with just a few pins to smooth the edges and let the stitches relax.

The photo above shows the hat during blocking, alongside the yarn I used and the original pattern. I’ll share another photo once it’s completely dry—and one of me wearing it!

Would You Like to Knit One Together?

As I worked on this hat, I kept thinking how much fun it would be as a workshop here at The Yarny Way.

If you’ve been wanting to try stranded colorwork, improve your tension, or simply enjoy a relaxing project with other knitters, I think the Tremblant Toque would make a wonderful class.

If you’d be interested in a Tremblant Toque workshop this fall, let me know in the comments

If enough people are interested, I’ll put it on the calendar. We already have a wonderful selection of Cascade 220 Fingering in the shop, and I’d love to help you choose a color combination that’s uniquely yours.

Happy knitting!

— Marni