Celebrate Star Wars with this hat designed to look like the top of the droid BB-8. It's easier than it looks, with just four rounds of stranded knitting, a few color changes and a bit of duplicate stitch detailing to finish it off.

What you need

one ball medium weight cotton in white (I used Lily Sugar’n Cream, I used about 92 yards)

about 5 yards each medium weight yarn in gray and orange

small amount of medium weight yarn in black

size 7 US (4.5 mm) double-pointed needles and/or a short circular needle or two (I used two circulars throughout)

yarn needle

Gauge:

18 stitches and 26 rounds per 4 inches/2.5 cm in Stockinette Stitch in the round

Size:

Finished hat is about 19 inches/48 cm around and 8.5 inches/20 cm tall, to fit a child. It can stretch to fit an adult but it’s a tight fit.

Instructions

With gray yarn, cast on 88 stitches.

Join to work in the round, and work in k2, p2 ribbing for 1 inch/2.5 cm.

Change to white and Stockinette Stitch and knit 2 round.

Next round, k24 in white, 1 in orange, 1 white, 5 orange, 1w, 1o, 5w, 1o, 1w, 8o, 1w, 1o, 1w, 3o, 1w, 2o, 1w, 8o, 1w, 1o, 1w, 8o, 1w, 3o, 1w, 3o, 2w, 10.

Repeat this round 3 times, stranding the orange and catching it in the back every few stitches through the long white part.

Work in white until hat measures 6 inches/15 cm.

Work 3 rounds in orange.

Work 2 rounds in white.

Change to gray. *K6, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

*K5, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

*K4, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

*K3, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

Change to white. *K2, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

*K1, k2tog. Repeat from * around.

K 1 round.

k2tog around.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread onto yarn needle, slip remaining stitches onto yarn, pull tight and weave in the end.

The black dots are worked in duplicate stitch; use photo for placement and relative size. With each one I started with three stitches, adding a stitch on each side of each row as I worked up. The small one is 9 stitches across at its widest point; the larger is 11 stitches across. I worked 3 rows at the full width before working 1 fewer stitch on each side of each row to get back to 3 stitches.

Weave in ends. Block if you like to smooth out the colorwork.