Willow Hat

Free Hat Knitting Pattern. You can find a matching cowl pattern in Knitty Winter 2015 issue.

SIZE Adult

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Brim circumference: 19” (48 cm), unstretched; hat stretches to fit most adult heads
Depth: 7.5” (19 cm), measured with cuff turned up.

MATERIALS
Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g color Cornmeal - 1 ball. (LC)
Madelinetosh (affiliate link) Tosh Merino Light fingering weight 100% wool yarn, 420 yards (384 meters), color Crumble - 0.5 skein
Stitch marker

Needles: 1 set of 21” circular US 2 (2.75 mm)


GAUGE
23 sts/34 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch
18 sts/28 rows = 4" in brioche stitch
Note, that 1 row of brioche consists of 1 row of LC and 1 row of DC

PATTERN NOTES

Abbreviations:
Please note that I use Nancy Marchant terminology for brioche stitch. I highly recommend her books Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch and Knitting Fresh Brioche: Creating Two-Color Twists & Turns, as well as her lessons on craftsy.com. Also visit her website at http://www.briochestitch.com/

k – knit
p  - purl
sl – slip st
yo – yarn over
yf – yarn forward
yb – yarn back
wyib – with yarn in back
wyif – with yarn in front
sl1yof – slip 1, yarn over, yarn to front: with working yarn in front, slip the next stitch purlwise, then bring the yarn over the needle and the slipped, then bring yarn back to the front, ready to purl the following stitch.
yfsl1yo - yarn forward, slip 1, yarn over: bring the working yarn under the needle to front of work, slip the next stitch purlwise, then bring the yarn over the needle and the slipped stitch. Leave yarn in back, ready to knit the next stitch.
brk – brioche knit: knit the stitch together with its yarn over
brp – brioche purl: purl the stitch together with its yarn over
brsssk (left slant 2-stitch decrease) – work to marked st, slip the next 2 sts (the marked st with its yarn over and the next single st) knitwise, one at a times, onto the right needle. Bark the following st, then pass the 2 slipped sts over.
brk2tog (right slant 2-stitch decrease) – work to 2 sts before the marked st. slip 2 sts knitwise (st with yarn over and single st) and knit (bark) them together. Return this st to the left needle and pass the marked st (st with yarn over) over. Move this st to the right needle.

LS – light side
DS – dark side
LC – light color
DC- dark color


Two-Color Brioche Stitch in rounds

Please note that one brioche round consists of 2 rounds, one worked in LC and the other in DC.

Set up row (LC): *k1, yfsl1yo, repeat from * to the end of the round. Bring the LC yarn forward and leave it hanging in front of the work.
Round 1 (DC):  yf, *sl1yof, brp1, repeat from * to the end of the round.  Bring the DC yarn back.
Round 1 (LC): yb, *brk1, yfsl1yo, repeat from * to the end of the round. Bring the LC yarn forward and leave it hanging in front of the work.
Repeat round 1 (DC and LC)

Two-Color Double Knitting in rounds

Please note that one double knitting round consists also of 2 rounds, one worked in LC and the other in DC.

Round 1 (LC): *k 1, sl 1 wyib, repeat from * to the end of the round.
Round 2 (DC): yf, *sl 1 wyif, p1, repeat from * to the end of the round.
Repeat round 1.


Hat

The hat is knitted bottom-up, in rounds, one round in LC and another round in DC.

Using larger needles and LC loosely cast on 96 st, join and continue to work in rounds. Place marker at the beginning of the row.

Set up row (LC): *k1, yfsl1yo, repeat from * to the end of the round. Bring the LC yarn forward and leave it hanging in front of the work.

Attach DC yarn

Round 1 (DC):  yf, *sl1yof, brp1, repeat from * to the end of the round.  Bring the DC yarn back.

Round 1 (LC): yb, *brk1, yfsl1yo, repeat from * to the end of the round. Bring the LC yarn forward and leave it hanging in front of the work.

Repeat round 1 (DC and LC) 15 times. That means that you have to work 15 LC rounds and 15 DC rounds.

Work 5 rounds (5 LC rounds and 5 DC rounds) in double knitting pattern in rounds:
Round 1 (LC): *k 1, sl 1 wyib, repeat from * to the end of the round.
Round 2 (DC): yf, *sl 1 wyif, p1, repeat from * to the end of the round.

Work another 26 rounds in Two-Color Brioche (26 LC rounds and 26 DC rounds)

Set-up of decrease row:
Place markers on the 1st, 23rd, 25th, 47th, 49th, 71st, 73rd, 95th stitches. These are decrease stitches. It will be a good idea to used markers in different colors for left-slanted decrease (1, 25, 49, 73) and right-slanted decrease (23, 47, 71, 95) sts

Decrease round (LC): yb, *brsssk, work in pattern to 2 sts before the next marked st, brk2tog, repeat from * 3 more times, end with yfsl1yo.

Decrease round (DC): work as established.

Work 3 rounds Two-Color Brioche stitch as established for 3 rounds (3 LC and 3 DC)

Continue to work 1 decrease round (LC and DC) and 3 rounds in pattern without decreases (LC and DC) 4 more time. Total 5 decrease rounds.

In the last decrease round work left-slanted decrease with both marked stitches (as you have only 16 sts left). Work DC round.

Cut LC yarn, leaving a 10" (25 cm) tail. Pull through all the remaining sts and secure.

FINISHING
Weave in ends.

Enjoy!