There are many patterns for brioche stitch hats, but I have not found one that was worked from the top-down. Therefore I decided to write my own.

This is (as far as I can conceive it) the simplest possible pattern for a not-too-slouchy beret, knitted top-down and in the round in brioche stitch, with a 1x1 rib brim.

Instructions are given for two-colour brioche (which is very simple to do because each round is knitted in a single colour). Two-colour brioche is reversible, so you get two looks in one hat.

Questions or comments? Contact me through Ravelry and I will be happy to help.

A note for brioche beginners: the pattern is very easy, but knitting from a centre point is not the easiest thing to do. I suggest to practice brioche stitch in a small round swatch before attempting the pattern (brioche is such a simple stitch to work, you will soon get the hang of it).

Note: in a previous version of this pattern, the top of the hat was worked in simple ribbing, which avoided the use of brioche increases. However, the combination of simple ribbing and brioche was not ideal and brioche increases are quite easy. Therefore, this new version uses brioche stitch everywhere, except for the brim (where the strength of plain ribbing is required).