Oooh, a super soft and cozy hat that slips right over your ears and makes you feel all safe and snuggly… Now that’s a hat!

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

Our Classic Brioche Hat is one such hat thanks, in part, to the brioche stitch. Basically a rib pattern that incorporates yarn overs, brioche stitch is exceptionally lofty, extra squishy, and insulating, too!

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

If you’ve never knit brioche before, here is a very good place to start! Practice very basic one-color brioche until you get to the crown, then learn basic right- and left-leaning brioche decreases. Our video tutorials walk you through every step, first with one for brioche stitch itself, then with one for basic brioche decreases… Both techniques are fun to learn and even more fun to know!

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

Okay, brioche stitch, check. Now add to that our Cashmere Merino Bloom, and you’re in ultimate hat territory! Extra fine merino lends durability and elasticity, while cashmere boosts the coziness and provides a soft and very beautiful bloom, like a warm halo.

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

To knit up any size Classic Brioche Hat from baby to adult large, you’ll need just one skein of Cashmere Merino Bloom. One skein? Amazing!

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!

Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoClassicBriocheHat, and #PurlSohoCashmereMerinoBloom. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho

For our samples we knit the following sizes in the following colors (NOTE: Some of these colors are no longer available…

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  • Baby: Wheat Flour
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  • Kid: Crocus Bud
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  • Adult Small: Blue Jeans

Gauge

16 stitches and 24 rounds = 4 inches in brioche stitch

22 stitches and 32 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Sizes

Baby (Kid, Adult Small, Adult Large)

Finished Circumference: 15 (18, 21, 24) inches

Finished Height: 6½ (7½, 8½, 9½) inches

Notes

Slip Stitches

Slip all slipped stitches purlwise with yarn in back.

Brioche Abbreviations

YOS (yarn over slip): Bring yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, bring yarn over right needle.

BK2TOG (brioche knit 2 together): Knit the next stitch together with its paired yarn over.

BP2TOG (brioche purl 2 together): Purl the next stitch together with its paired yarn over.

For tips on working the steps of Brioche Stitch, please visit our Brioche Stitch Tutorial!

Brioche Decreases

Left Leaning Brioche Decrease

BSK2P (brioche slip knit 2 pass): Slip 1 brioche stitch with its paired yarn over knitwise, k2tog (the next purl stitch with the following knit stitch and its paired yarn over), pass the slip stitch and its paired yarn over together over and off the right needle. [2 stitches decreased]

Right Leaning Brioche Decrease

BK3TOG (brioche knit 3 together): K2tog (the next knit stitch with its paired yarn over and the following purl stitch), slip the resulting stitch back to the left needle, pass the following stitch (a knit stitch and its paired yarn over) over the first stitch on the left needle and off the left needle, move the resulting stitch back to the right needle. [2 stitches decreased]

For tips on working the steps of Brioche Decreases, please visit our Brioche Stitch: Basic Decreases Tutorial!

Pattern

Body

Cast on 60 (72, 84, 96) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place unique marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Set-Up Round: *K1, YOS (see Notes), repeat from * to end of round.

Round 1: *YOS, bp2tog (see Notes), repeat from * to end of round.

Round 2: *Bk2tog (see Notes), YOS, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until piece measures 5¼ (5¾, 6½, 7¼) inches from cast-on edge.

Crown

NOTE: Change to double pointed needles when necessary.

Set-Up Round: *[YOS, bp2tog] 10 (12, 14 16) times, place marker (pm), repeat from * to end of round.

Round 1: [Bsk2p (see Notes) *YOS, bk2tog, repeat from * to 5 stitches before next marker (not counting yarn overs), YOS, bk3tog (see Notes), YOS, slip marker] 3 times. [12 stitches decreased]

Round 2: *YOS, bp2tog, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 3: *Bk2tog, YOS, repeat from * to end of round.

Round 4: Repeat Round 2.

Repeat Rounds 1-4 three (4, 5, 6) more times, ending with Round 4. [12 stitches remain]

Cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Thread tail through remaining stitches. Pull taut and bring tail to inside of hat to weave in.

Weave in the ends and block as desired.

Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho
Classic Brioche Hat | Purl Soho