Knit a Fun Hat with Tons of Colorful Brioche

We have established that I’m trying to bring more whimsy into the world with my work and my life and the things that I share here. I know not everyone goes for the wild or offbeat designs, but I hope you can still appreciate the beauty and craft that goes into them, even if it’s not something you’d ever knit yourself.

Example: the BriocheCrown Hat form Raina K. The sample hat is bright and looks pretty wild and tall and has a pompom. It also looks like a lot of fun, even if it’s maybe not something you would knit for yourself. And maybe I’ve just introduced you to your new favorite hat; who can say?

The hat uses two-color brioche and is worked in the the round from the bottom up. It uses DK weight yarn and can be made with or without stripes, so you can use as few as two or as many colors as you like. The projects section on Ravelry can show you lots of different versions with more or less striking color changes.

The bottom edge is zig-zaggy and meant to be folded up into a brim, and thanks to the stitch pattern the hat is reversible. The pattern includes two versions but the pattern notes don’t really indicate what the difference is. The hat fits an average adult and you can make it longer or shorter depending on how you feel about brims and/or slouchiness.

The designer says the pattern is suited for an adventurous beginner, and once you get the hang of brioche knitting it’s not any harder than regular ribbing (and working with two colors actually makes it easier to see what’s going on). Increasing and decreasing can be a little tricky, but practice your skills on a swatch if you haven’t done these things before and you’ll be ready to go in no time.

You can grab the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Raina K]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

Have you read?