Autumn Vibes

After the success of my first attempt at Brioche I decided to try something with a bigger range of Brioche stitches. I have LOTS of Brioche patterns in my library and I came across this hat whilst looking through them. Knit Graffiti (also known as Lesley Anne Robinson). I have followed Knit Graffiti on Instagram for quite some time. She has lots of gorgeous patterns out there and I am proud to say that I have bought quite a few of them. But also ashamed because until now I have knitted none of them. You can learn more about the designer on ravelry and on her webpage knitgraffiti. 

This hat seemed like the perfect project for a beginner. Which it was. I haven’t blocked it here which is why it doesn’t look particularly neat but I love it. There are a few mistakes in there but I have learned from them and I’m not bothered by them. Unlike the cowl I did have to go to YouTube to learn the decreases and increases. The increases were easy once I saw how it was done. However, I struggled with the decreases. Mainly because I kept forgetting which decrease matched the correct direction. As a sock knitter you would think that this would be easy to remember. I had to watch those YouTube videos a large number of times just to show me the direction (forgetting that the pattern tells you). In the end I wrote myself a cheat sheet. This is purely me so please don’t let that put you off. This is a perfect pattern for anyone wanting to learn a bit more in Brioche.

I used Drops Karisma unicolour DK for the hat. 50g of each. I actually thought that I would have plenty to spare left. Maybe enough for another hat. Not a chance. In the end I stayed up to 2am finishing the hat in a game of yarn chicken. Thankfully I had plenty but wasn’t sure until the reducing rounds for the crown. If I have one piece of advice for people it is to remember that Brioche is a yarn eater. The yarn is 100% wool and I picked white and turquoise (although the blue is darker than what I normally think of as turquoise). It makes for a lovely cosy knit and the hat is very warm and snug.

The crown would be so much more impressive if I wasn’t so lazy/impatient. I wanted to wear it straight away. However, I think that you can still see the pattern. In the last few months since discovering more designers I have definitely grown to appreciate a design that takes the crown into consideration. I would love to see this hat with a Pom Pom but at the same time I wouldn’t want o hide this. My sister has mentioned that she loves this hat so maybe I will put a Pom Pom on the one I make for her.

I have another Brioche project on the pins and I am loving it. I will definitely be trying on of the more adventurous in the future and who knows, maybe one from my copy of Nancy Marchant’s new book!