Tritone Beanie

Tritone Beanie by Sally Yanita

What Is Being Made

The Tritone Beanie is a knitted hat designed by Sally Yanita featuring a striking three-color colorwork design. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a finished beanie with a circumference of 42.5 cm (17 inches) and a depth of 18 cm (7 inches), making it a versatile hat suitable for various head sizes. The beanie showcases a modern aesthetic by combining three distinct colors—black, gray, and white—in a coordinated tritone palette.

Techniques and Construction

This intermediate-level knitting project employs brioche stitch as its primary technique, a sophisticated stitch method that creates a highly elastic and textured fabric with excellent drape and recovery. The brioche technique involves working with slipped stitches and yarn overs in a coordinated manner, resulting in a fabric that appears more complex than the actual stitch count suggests. The pattern utilizes color changes across the three yarn colors to create visual interest while maintaining the structural integrity of the brioche construction.

The beanie is worked in the round using either an 8-inch circular needle or double-pointed needles (DPN), a common approach for hat knitting that eliminates the need for seaming. This method allows for seamless construction and even tension throughout the crown and body of the hat.

Stitches Used

• Brioche Knit (BRK) – knitting the slipped stitch together with its yarn over to create the characteristic brioche texture
• Brioche Purl (BRP) – purling the slipped stitch together with its yarn over for reverse-side brioche work
• Slip One, Yarn Over (Sl1YO) – slipping a stitch with the working yarn in front and creating a yarn over, counted as one stitch in brioche construction
• Brioche Right Slant (BrRsl) – a two-stitch decrease in brioche that slants to the right, created by knitting three stitches together
• Knit (K) – basic knit stitch for foundational rows
• Purl (P) – basic purl stitch for foundational rows
• Yarn Over (YO) – creating new stitches for lace or texture elements

Materials and Gauge

This pattern requires DK weight yarn, with 50 grams and 125 meters needed for each of the three colors. The sample shown in the pattern was created using Mochi cotton acrylic yarn in black, gray, and white, providing a soft blend suitable for comfortable wear against the head.

The recommended needle size is 5.00 mm / US 8, or whatever size is necessary to achieve the correct gauge. The pattern specifies a gauge of 18 stitches and 20 rows over a 10 cm (4 inch) square in brioche stitch after blocking. Achieving proper gauge is essential for this project, as brioche stitch can vary significantly depending on tension and needle size; knitters are advised to adjust their needle size as needed to match the specified gauge before beginning the main project.

Additional materials include a stitch marker for tracking pattern repeats and position changes, a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends, and blocking supplies to set the brioche fabric to its final dimensions and texture.

Pattern Format

This is a free downloadable PDF pattern from independent designer Sally Yanita, making it an accessible option for knitters interested in exploring brioche stitch techniques and colorwork in hat construction.