Brickwork Hat

Brickwork Hat by Terry Morris

What Is Being Made

The Brickwork Hat is an adult-sized knitted hat designed by Terry Morris that creates a striking visual effect resembling a brick or masonry pattern. Despite its complex appearance, this is a deceptively simple hat to knit, making it an excellent project for knitters looking to create something that appears more advanced than the construction process actually is. The finished hat is sized for Adult Medium/Large and works well as a practical accessory or a creative way to use up leftover yarns from other projects.

Techniques Used

The Brickwork Hat employs several key knitting techniques that work together to create its distinctive appearance. The primary technique is slip stitch colorwork, which allows the knitter to work with only one color at a time while creating the illusion of a complex multi-color pattern. This method is much simpler than traditional stranded colorwork because it eliminates the need to manage multiple yarn colors simultaneously. The pattern also uses stranding of the main color between pattern rounds, with the important instruction to keep these strands loose at the end of rounds to prevent puckering. The hat begins with ribbed edging worked in a 2x2 rib (knit 2, purl 2) pattern, which provides elasticity and a professional finish at the brim.

Stitches Used

The Brickwork Hat pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches that are accessible to advanced knitters. The primary stitches include:

• Knit stitch – used in the main rounds of the brickwork pattern
• Purl stitch – incorporated into both the ribbed edging and pattern rounds
• Slip stitch – the key technique that creates the brickwork effect by slipping vertical stitches to build the pattern
• 2x2 Ribbing – a combination of knit and purl stitches worked in alternation to create the elastic cuff

The pattern involves working in the round on circular needles, which requires understanding how to work seamlessly in circular knitting and manage stitch markers to track pattern repeats.

Materials

The Brickwork Hat is designed to work with Sport to DK weight yarns, offering flexibility in yarn selection. The pattern requires approximately 150 yards of Main Color (MC) yarn, which serves as the "mortar" between the color bricks in the pattern. An additional 150 yards of Contrasting Color(s) yarn is needed, allowing knitters to use multiple contrast colors or plan deliberate color changes throughout the hat. The hat shown in the pattern was knit from handspun yarns, demonstrating the pattern's versatility with different yarn types. The pattern calls for US size 5 circular needles (16" length) for working the main body of the hat in the round, and US size 5 double point needles for the crown decreases as the hat narrows toward the top. A stitch marker is required to track the beginning of rounds.

Pattern Construction

The Brickwork Hat begins with casting on 128 stitches in the main color or any color choice. The first section involves working 2x2 ribbing for 1 inch, during which 8 stitches are increased evenly spaced across the final round, bringing the total to 136 stitches. This increase provides the proper gauge and circumference for the adult-sized hat. After the ribbed cuff is complete, the knitter begins the Brickwork Pattern, which is worked in rounds. The pattern structure involves alternating rounds of knit and purl in the main color, interspersed with rounds worked in contrasting colors where the slip stitch technique creates the brick pattern effect. The main color is never broken between pattern rounds, and the stranding technique is used to carry it along the inside of the hat between color sections.