This hat developed out of a need to hide helmet hair. Whether I’m riding a bike or my horse, I wear a helmet, and I’m always left with really dorky hair. I wanted one of those slouchy hats that would be quick to knit, not too slouchy, with texture to provide interest. The brioche stitch creates wonderful texture, and the super bulky yarn makes it quick. If you are comfortable with the Brioche stitch, this hat can be finished in just a few hours. If you are new to Brioche, this is a good project to practice.

I’ve used brioche terms and abbreviations as standardized by Nancy Marchant in her book Knitting Brioche. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in brioche and its many variations. Much information and help on brioche stitch techniques can also be found on Nancy’s website – www.briochestitch.com

This hat is constructed from the bottom up in the round. Use your favorite technique for knitting in the round (circs + dpns, magic loop, or 2 circs).

A revised version of this pattern was issued on 10-13-2010; thanks to great feedback from Raveler tinpins. A new version of the pattern incorporating all changes was issued 11-15-2010. If you still have the 10-13 version here are the changes: set up and increase round 1: set-up for Brioche stitch and increase 16 sts as follows:(yfsl1yo, k1)x2, yfsl1yo, k1yok1, repeat from * 8 times to end of round. 64 sts. Set up round 2 - “sly1yof” should be “sl1yof”.*

A video is available on www.verdigrisknits.com (brioche tutorials page) demonstrating the end of round transition and the increase technique