Alchemist's Moon

We know we present brioche differently than others - we've spent a lot of time researching, exploring, and testing with knitters. We didn't change things just to do them differently - we want to present brioche in a way that lowers the barriers to learning, and based on our extensive tests, we're thrilled with the results! Many of those new to brioche prefer its presentation in Knitrino, saying things like  "I've tried brioche knitting a few times before and never been able to get the hang of it, but with Knitrino I had the hang of it after a few rows!" Questions? Get in touch at support@knitrino.com. If you're new to brioche or you're looking for troubleshooting videos, you may want to see the general article on brioche. 

The Stitches

There are 3 (or 4 depending on your philoshophy) stitches that are fundamental to brioche. They are:

	Slip 1 yarnover ( slip 1 yo in Knitrino or sl1yo, yfsl1yo, sl1yoyb, and all kinds of other abbreviations in other patterns): Bring the yarn to front if not already there, slip the next stitch purlwise, then move the yarn to the correct location for the next stitch.
	Brioche knit ( brioche k1 in Knitrino or brk in traditional patterns): Knit the next stitch and its yarnover together as if one stitch.
	Brioche purl (  brioche p1 in Knitrino or brp in traditional patterns): Purl the next stitch and its yarnover together as if one stitch.

Construction

This hat is knit from the crown to the brim and is worked in 3 colors - 2 for the brioche rib and one for the brim. Beginning with a magic circle cast on, it is worked in the round, increasing dramatically at first, and then knit in brioche rib to the brim. The stockinette brim is folded over and grafted into place, making this a truly reversible hat!  

Joining Color B

After casting on using one of the methods shown, you'll need to join the second color. It's always a little awkward, but we usually just lay the new color over the needle to get started, as shown in the video below.

Swatching in the Round with the Long Float Method

We start with a brioche swatch using the long float method. This will not only help you measure gauge, but will also help those newer to brioche to understand the fundamental stitches. We strongly encourage swatching for this pattern!

This video shows the first 4 rows of the swatch, and introduces you to the Brioche Purl, Slip1 Yarnover, and Brioche Knit stitch, as well as the long float method.

Magic Circle

The hat begins with a "magic circle" cast on - you crocheters out there will likely be familiar with this approach! Using the tails, you'll make a loop with both yarn colors, then using only Color A, you'll alternate between drawing a loop through the circle and yarning over. Once the correct number of stitches have been cast on, you'll pull the tails to draw the circle closed. 

This video shows the first 4 rounds being worked, and introduces you to almost all the fundamental stitches & techniques: Magic Circle Cast On, Slip 1 Yarnover, Brioche Purl, Brioche Knit, and Brioche M3-From-1. 

Common Mistakes

Probably the two most common mistakes are (1) forgetting to bring your yarn to the front of the work when doing the slip 1 yarnover and (2) missing a yarnover. 

1. Forgetting to bring your yarn to the front: Once your crown is underway, turn it inside out and make sure you can see the brioche knit stitches (they should look like Vs) on both sides. If the inside doesn't look tidy like the outside, you probably have your yarn in the wrong position when working the slip 1 yarnover. On both brioche knit and brioche purl rows, ALWAYS BRING THE YARN TO THE FRONT before working the slip 1 yarnover. 

Outside of hat	Inside of hat

2. A missing yarnover: This leaves a bar of the opposite color across the brioche knit stitches. These are actually pretty straightforward to fix! It's scary at first but once you try it a few times, you'll see it's not too bad. There's a video in the troubleshooting section of the brioche guide showing how to drop down and fix it.