GTA-Style Three-Hole Ski Mask

A fitted adult ski mask in hot pink, worked seamlessly in the round from the bottom up. A long 2×2 ribbed neck can be worn as a neck warmer or folded up once. The face is stocking stitch after a short 1×1 rib transition. Two eye openings and one mouth opening are worked as horizontal slits — cast off, then cable cast on on the next round — and reinforced with a picked-up ribbed frame. The crown is shaped with eight symmetrical decrease sections.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Skills: knitting in the round, 2×2 and 1×1 rib, casting off and cable casting on mid-round, picking up stitches, simple decreases.

Sizes and finished measurements

One adult size. To fit head circumference 54–59 cm (21¼–23¼ in).

Negative ease is what keeps the openings over the eyes and mouth. The rib is stretchy enough to pull over the head.

Materials

Yarn: Hot pink worsted or light aran weight yarn, about 170 g / 320 m (350 yds). Buy 200 g / about 400 m (440 yds) so you do not run short — typically 2 skeins of 100 g. A wool or wool-blend fibre helps the rib recover and the openings hold their shape; acrylic is acceptable.

Needles (metric first):

• 4 mm (UK 8 / US 6) circular needle, 40 cm (16 in), for the neck and the opening edgings
• 4.5 mm (UK 7 / US 7) circular needle, 40 cm (16 in), for the face and crown
• 4.5 mm double-pointed needles, or a long circular for magic loop, for the crown when the circumference gets tight
• 4 mm double-pointed needles or a short circular, for the edgings

Notions:

• 1 distinct beginning-of-round marker
• 7 more markers (8 sections in all)
• Optional locking marker for centre front
• Tapestry needle
• Waste yarn, for trying on

Tension (gauge)

• 20 stitches and 28 rounds = 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch on 4.5 mm needles, worked in the round, after blocking.
• 22 stitches and 30 rounds = 10 cm (4 in) in 2×2 rib on 4 mm needles, measured slightly stretched.

Knit a circular swatch. If you have more than 20 stitches to 10 cm in stocking stitch, go up a needle size; if fewer, go down. The stitch count is written for this tension only.

Abbreviations

Cast off is the UK term for bind off.

Notes and special techniques

Centre back and centre front. The beginning of the round is the centre back for the whole mask. Centre front is halfway round, between stitches 52 and 53. A locking marker here makes the openings easier to place. Do not move the BOR marker.

Stretchy cast-on. Use a long-tail cast-on or, better, a German twisted (Old Norwegian) cast-on so the neck will pull over the head.

Cast-off for openings. Cast off knitwise, firmly but not tightly. The loop left on the right needle after the cast-off does not count as a cast-off stitch; it does count as the first stitch of the group you work next. The numbers below already include that stitch. Check the live count at the end of each cast-off round before you continue.

Cable cast-on (reinforced). At the gap, turn the work. *Insert the right needle between the first 2 stitches on the left needle, wrap the yarn as for a knit stitch, draw a loop through, and place that loop on the left needle.* Repeat until you have cast on the number stated. Turn back to the right side and continue. This is firmer than a backwards-loop cast-on and is what reinforces the raw edge of each slit.

What the slits should look like. On the needle each opening is a single-round dash. That is correct. The picked-up rib and blocking draw it into an oval; wearing the mask opens it further. Do not cut the fabric.

Trying on. After the eye cast-on round, slip the stitches to waste yarn and try the mask on. Standard placement is the 8 rounds above the eyes given below. If the eyes sit more than 1 cm low, work 10 rounds instead of 8 before the crown. If they sit more than 1 cm high, work 6 rounds instead of 8. Do not change the opening widths.

Wearing the neck. Leave the rib long as a neck warmer, or fold it once so a double layer sits at the base of the neck.

Pattern

Neck (2×2 rib)

With 4 mm needles, cast on 104 stitches. Join to work in the round, taking care not to twist. PM for BOR (centre back).

Optional: place a locking marker after 52 stitches for centre front.

Rib round: *K2, p2; rep from * to end.

Work in rib until the neck measures 18 cm (7 in) from the cast-on, about 54 rounds at the rib tension. End after a completed round. Do not cast off.

(26 repeats of k2, p2 = 104 stitches ✓)

Transition (1×1 rib)

Change to 4.5 mm needles.

Transition round: *K1, p1; rep from * to end.

Work 4 rounds in 1×1 rib, about 1.5 cm (⅝ in). 104 stitches.

Face to the mouth

Change to stocking stitch. Knit every round.

Knit 8 rounds. About 3 cm (1¼ in) from the top of the 1×1 rib; about 22.5 cm (8¾ in) from the cast-on.

Mouth cast-off round: K43, cast off 18 sts, k to end (43 sts after the gap). 86 stitches live.

(43 + 18 + 43 = 104 ✓. The 18 cast-off stitches are stitches 44–61, centred on centre front ✓)

Mouth cast-on round: K43, turn, cable cast on 18 sts, turn back, k to end. 104 stitches.

The cast-off edge is the lower edge of the mouth; the cast-on edge is the upper edge.

Face to the eyes

Knit 18 rounds in stocking stitch. About 6.5 cm (2½ in) from the mouth slit; about 29.5 cm (11½ in) from the cast-on.

Eye cast-off round: K39, cast off 10 sts, k6, cast off 10 sts, k to end (39 sts after the second gap). 84 stitches live.

(39 + 10 + 6 + 10 + 39 = 104 ✓. Bridge of 6 stitches is stitches 50–55, with centre front between stitches 52 and 53 ✓)

Eye cast-on round: K39, turn, cable cast on 10 sts, turn back, k6, turn, cable cast on 10 sts, turn back, k to end. 104 stitches.

Try on as described in the notes. Then knit the rounds above the eyes: 8 rounds for the standard fit (or 6, or 10, if the try-on showed you need it). About 3 cm (1¼ in) on the standard 8 rounds. About 32.5 cm (12¾ in) from the cast-on to the start of the crown on the standard length.

Crown

The decreases are evenly spaced in 8 sections, aligned to centre front, centre back, and the sides, so the crown is symmetrical.

Remove the optional centre-front locking marker if it will clash with a section marker. Keep the BOR marker.

Place a marker every 13 stitches, treating the BOR marker as the first. 8 sections of 13 stitches (8 × 13 = 104 ✓). The marker after 52 stitches sits at centre front.

Decrease round: *Knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, SM; rep from * to end. 8 stitches decreased.

Plain round: Knit, slipping markers.

Repeat the last 2 rounds 10 more times. 16 stitches remain.

(First decrease knits 11 before each k2tog and leaves 96. Each later decrease round knits one fewer stitch before the k2tog. Eleven decrease rounds remove 11 × 8 = 88 stitches; 104 − 88 = 16 ✓)

Tick list — knit this many stitches before each k2tog:

11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Then:

Final decrease round: *K2tog; rep from * to end. 8 stitches.

(16 − 8 = 8 ✓)

Cut the yarn, leaving a 15 cm (6 in) tail. Thread the tail through the remaining 8 stitches, pull tight, and fasten securely on the wrong side.

Crown shaping is about 8 cm (3¼ in) and 23 rounds. Finished length is about 41 cm (16 in) from cast-on to crown.

Finishing

Reinforce the openings

Use 4 mm needles and the right side facing. Pick up through the edge stitches firmly so the frame does not flare.

Mouth. Pick up 18 sts along the cast-off edge, 2 sts at the end, 18 sts along the cast-on edge, and 2 sts at the other end. 40 stitches. PM and join.

Work 3 rounds in *k1, p1; rep from * to end.

Cast off in rib with medium tension — firm enough to reinforce, loose enough that the opening still stretches into an oval.

Each eye. Pick up 10 sts along one long edge, 2 sts at the end, 10 sts along the other long edge, and 2 sts at the other end. 24 stitches. PM and join.

Work 2 rounds in *k1, p1; rep from * to end. Cast off in rib as for the mouth.

(24 and 40 are both even, so 1×1 rib joins cleanly ✓)

The edging sits around the slit and becomes the reinforced rim. It should frame the hole, not fill it. If your cast-off is stiff, the oval will open fully at blocking.

Close and neaten

Weave in all ends on the wrong side, including the crown tail and each edging tail. Weave edging tails along the rib frame, not across the opening.

Block

Wet-block or steam the mask. Pat it to the finished measurements: head circumference 52 cm (20½ in), length about 41 cm (16 in). Pin the openings into smooth ovals and leave them to dry:

• Each eye: about 4.5 cm (1¾ in) wide and 2.5 cm (1 in) tall
• Mouth: about 7 cm (2¾ in) wide and 3.5 cm (1½ in) tall

Do not stretch the 2×2 rib flat; let it recover so it still grips the neck.

Wear and care

Wear the rib long, or fold it once. The eye ovals should sit on the eyes with the 3 cm (1¼ in) bridge over the nose, and the mouth oval over the mouth.

Hand-wash in cool water and dry flat, reshaping the openings. Do not tumble-dry if the yarn contains wool.

Checkpoint summary

Stitch count is 104 from the cast-on through the last plain face round, except on the two cast-off rounds (86 live at the mouth, 84 live at the eyes), and then decreases as scheduled to 8 stitches.