Snowman in a Fair-Isle Hat

Fair-Isle knitters work from a charted grid, one square per stitch, color by color. Diamond painting works from a charted grid, one symbol per drill, color by color. Whoever designed this hat presumably did not plan the joke, but it is sitting right there.

The hat comes down over the snowman's eyes in geometric bands of cherry red and frosty teal, finished with a pom-pom and a sprig of holly berries at the brim. Below it: pink cheeks, a scarf, and a tiny silver bell tied where the ends cross. The palette holds to three families the whole way across, red, teal, and the silvery whites of the snowflake background, which is why the patterned bands stay legible instead of turning into noise.

Twenty-three DMC colors from 164 to 3865 is what makes those bands work. Geometric repeats punish a short palette. The red rows have to sit apart from one another, the teal rows the same, or the pattern reads as mush from across the room.

The details

• 45 x 60 cm (approx. 18 x 24 in)
• Full coverage, round drills
• 23 DMC colors, DMC 164 to DMC 3865
• Adhesive canvas with printed symbols and color legend
• Sealed, numbered, DMC color-coded drill packets
• Stylus pen, grooved tray, wax refill and tweezers included
• Kit only, no frame included

Straight talk

Roughly 30 to 35 hours. The banded section of the hat is the densest part of the canvas, with symbols changing every few drills, so work that stretch in daylight and save the plain snow for late evenings when you are only half paying attention. Round drills and full coverage, which is the forgiving combination. The canvas arrives rolled and should be flattened before you start. No frame and no light pad.

Chart, grid, one square at a time. You already know how this goes.