GENEie - The Next Generations

Update: The GENEie Hat Collection now has 5 different knitting patterns, including a Pussyhat and a headband for warmer climates.  

Earlier this month, I released GENEie, the DNA Beanie Thinking Cap for Scientists. These free knitting patterns come in two versions: the cable GENEie and the stranded colorwork GENEie.  I designed these patterns in support for the upcoming March for Science on Earth Day, April 22, 2017.  I have received an AMAZING response to the GENEies on Facebook, and take all of the suggestions you have given me seriously.  On the original pattern posts I hinted at the evolution of the GENEie, and I am pleased to present today GENEie - The Next Generations!

I started designing and knitting the samples for the first GENEie hats before a date for the March for Science had been announced.  Full wool hats might be too warm for April but some knitters were discussing knitting them in cotton.  (Wool hats might be perfectly fine in Boston, but are rarely fine in other parts of the county!)  The original GENEies would not work well as a headband since it would truncate too much of the design, so I wanted to flip the chart 90 degrees and tweak it a bit to form GENEie - The Next Generations.  

The Adult L Headband on Keith - 23.5" head

The entire knitting patterns for the GENEie Next Generation headbands and hats are available in this post for free.  The entire pattern is written in this post.  The PDF with full line-by-line written instructions is coming as soon as it has been tech edited.

Materials

• Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm) double pointed needles (or circular needles long enough for magic loop.)  
• Yarn: Worsted weight yarn in two colors.  The Adult L headband sample was knit with KnitPicks Comfy Worsted in Marlin (Teal; 24 g, 52 yards) and Ivory (6 g, 14 yards).   The toddler hat sample was knit with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Winter Night (Blue; 29 g, 64 yards) and White (6 g, 15 yards).  I do not have yardage estimates for the Adult Hat at this time but would estimate over 110 yards for the MC and ~20 yards for CC. 
• Gauge (unblocked): 22 sts/4", 12 rows/2" over colorwork
• Notions (optional): Stitch markers to note beginning of round, tapestry needle. 
• Finished Sizes:
• Adult L Hat - 21.5" around, 8.5" deep.  
• Adult L Headband - 21.5" around, 3.25" wide.  
• Toddler Hat - 16" around, 6.5" deep.  
• Toddler Headband - 16" around, 3.25" wide

GENEie the Next Generations, The Adult (L) Headband and the Toddler Hat

Model Head Measurements & Fit notes - The Models (AKA the ChemKnits family) have the following head sizes:

• Keith - 23.5".  The Adult L headband fits with negative ease (stretches to fit the head.) 
• Rebecca - 22".  The Adult L headband fits easily with no stretching.  The Toddler fits on top of her head but ends well above the ears. 
• "Lucky" (3 years old) - 20" - Fits well into the toddler hat but could use some more rounds.  
• "Rowdy" (1 year old) - 18.5" - Toddler hat fits perfectly.  

The toddler hat on Rowdy - 18.5" head

Abbreviations Used in this Pattern - If you need more help with the techniques, I have a whole playlist of videos to help with the construction of the GENEie collection. Make sure you check out an introduction to stranded colorwork for help creating these designs.

• MC – Main Color (The background color.)
• CC – Contrasting Color (The color of the DNA Helices.)  
• K – Knit
• P – Purl
• Sts – Stitches
• K2tog– Knit 2 together (decreasing one stitch)

Sideways DNA Helix Knitting Chart

GENEie - The Next Generation DNA Knitting Chart.  The round markers are in red to the right of the chart and stitch numbers are below the chart in gray.  This knitting chart is 28 sts wide and 12 rows tall.  

Chart Key

Line-by-line Written Instructions for the DNA Helix Knitting Chart

1. *K8-MC, K3-CC, K7-MC, K3-CC, K7-MC* repeat from * around
2. *K6-MC, K2-CC, K3-MC, K2-CC, K3-MC, K2-CC, K3-MC, K2-CC, K5-MC* repeat from * around
3. *K5-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K4-MC* Repeat from * around
4. *K3-MC, K2-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K2-CC, K2-MC* Repeat from * around
5. *K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC* repeat from * around
6. *K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC* repeat from * around
7. *K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC* repeat from * around
8. *K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K5-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC* repeat from * around
9. *K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K5-MC, K1-CC, K3-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC* repeat from * around
10. *K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K7-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K2-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC, K1-CC, K1-MC* repeat from * around
11. *K3-MC, K2-CC, K3-MC, K2-CC, K9-MC, K2-CC, K3-MC, K2-CC, K2-MC* repeat from * around
12. *K5-MC, K3-CC, K13-MC, K3-CC, K4-MC* repeat from * around

Knitting Instructions: GENEie - The Next Generation Headband (Toddler, Adult L)

• Cast on (84, 112) sts in MC. Place marker and join to knit in the round.
• Knit 3 rounds of 2x2 ribbing (*K2, P2* around) 
• Knit 1 rounds MC (K every stitch) 
• Join CC and Knit the 12 rounds of the knitting chart. Follow the chart from the bottom up, right to left. The 28 chart stitches are repeated 3 times each round for the toddler size and 4 times each round for the adult size. Break CC after Chart Round 12. 
• Knit 2 round in MC. 
• Knit 2 rounds of 2x2 ribbing (*K2, P2* around) 
• Bind off in ribbing pattern. (This is the third round of ribbing.)  
• Weave in loose ends. Block if desired.

The Adult L Headband on Rebecca - 22" head

The Adult L Headband on Lucky - 20" head

What is a headband if not the bottom of a hat?  I was knitting the toddler hat sample as I released the original GENEies.  As soon as people started discussing headband possibilities I knew that it would be easy to create both versions from with this single DNA knitting chart.  

Knitting Instructions: GENEie - The Next Generation Hat (Toddler)

• Cast on 84 sts in MC. Place marker and join to knit in the round. 
• Knit 5 rounds of 2x2 ribbing (*K2, P2* around) 
• Knit 2 rounds MC (K every stitch)
• Join CC and Knit the 12 rounds of the knitting chart. Follow the chart from the bottom up, right to left.  The chart will be repeated 3 times in each round.  Break CC after chart round 12.  
• Knit 6 rounds in MC or until the hat measures 4” from cast on edge.
• Next Round: *K19, K2tog* around (80 sts) 
• Knit 2 rounds in MC
• Begin crown decreases as follows:
• *K6, K2tog* around (70 sts) 
• K around 
• *K5, K2tog* around (60 sts) 
• K around 
• *K4, K2tog* around (50 sts) 
• K around 
• *K3, K2tog* around (40 sts) 
• K around 
• *K2, K2tog* around (30 sts) 
• K around 
• *K1, K2tog* around (20 sts) 
• K around 
• K2tog around (10 sts) 
• K2tog around (5 sts) 
• Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches with CC. Weave in loose ends. Block if desired.

Toddler Version on Rowdy (1 year) - 18.5" head

Toddler Version on Lucky (3 years) - 20" head

Toddler Version on Rebecca (33 years) - 22" head

Knitting Instructions: GENEie - The Next Generation Hat (Adult L), not pictured.

• Cast on 112 sts in MC. Place marker and join to knit in the round. 
• Knit 5 rounds of 2x2 ribbing (*K2, P2* around) 
• Knit 2 rounds MC (K every stitch)
• Join CC and Knit the 12 rounds of the knitting chart. Follow the chart from the bottom up, right to left.  The chart will be repeated 4 times in each round.  Break CC after chart round 12.  
• Knit 14 rounds in MC or until the hat measures 6” from cast on edge.
• Next Round: *K54, K2tog* twice (110 sts) 
• Knit 2 rounds in MC
• Begin crown decreases as follows:
• *K9, K2tog* around (100 sts)
• K around 
• *K8, K2tog* around (90 sts)
• K around 
• *K7, K2tog* around (80 sts)
• K around 
• *K6, K2tog* around (70 sts) 
• K around 
• *K5, K2tog* around (60 sts) 
• K around 
• *K4, K2tog* around (50 sts) 
• K around 
• *K3, K2tog* around (40 sts) 
• K around 
• *K2, K2tog* around (30 sts) 
• K around 
• *K1, K2tog* around (20 sts) 
• K around 
• K2tog around (10 sts) 
• K2tog around (5 sts) 
• Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches with CC. Weave in loose ends. Block if desired.

Three balls of yarn into two hats.  Rowdy is wearing the GENEie Next Generation toddler size hat and I'm wearing the GENEie Colorwork Version hat. 

Notes on the samples:

At the time of writing this post, I have only knit two samples of the four pattern options.  After knitting the toddler size hat I removed one row from the knitting chart to create the version published in this post.  While the DNA helix is slightly different the total row count remains the same.  The GENEie Next Generation Adult Headband shows the published version of the chart.  

I ran out of yarn when knitting the headband adult (L) sample so the sample is two yards short.  The size measurements reflect the size of the headband as written in the pattern, not the one shown in photos.  The yardage calculation reflects the amount I would have needed to knit those last two rounds.  

I hope you enjoyed these DNA Helix knitting patterns!  Don't forget to check out the first generation GENEie DNA Beanie Hats - the GENEie Cable Version and the GENEie Colorwork Version.  

GENEie - The Next Generation Colorwork Hat & Headband Knitting Patterns © 2017 ChemKnits & Rebecca Roush Brown.  This pattern is available for free via www.ChemKnits.com for your personal or charity use.  You are not to copy or distribute this pattern without the permission of the publisher, ChemKnits.


This post contains some KnitPicks affiliate links.  I became an affiliate in October 2018 after using KnitPicks yarns for many years.  All yarn selections and options are my own.