Juniper Moon Farm Hat Knitting Pattern

Juniper Moon Farm Brynne Boyfriend Hat

What Is Being Made

The Brynne Boyfriend Hat is a classic, unisex knit hat designed by Melissa Leapman as part of the Berkshires Collection. This hat features a relaxed, boyfriend-style fit with a finished circumference of 20½ (23¼) inches and a height of 9½ (10) inches, making it suitable for a range of head sizes. The design offers two size options to accommodate different wearers, with the smaller size providing a snug fit and the larger size offering additional ease.

Techniques Used

The Brynne Boyfriend Hat is constructed using several key knitting techniques that create both visual interest and structural integrity:

• Worked in the Round: The hat is knitted seamlessly in the round using circular needles and double-pointed needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, continuous fabric.
• Bottom-Up Construction: The hat is worked from the ribbed brim upward toward the crown, allowing for easy adjustments to length and a natural progression from fitted ribbing to the body of the hat.
• Striped Colorwork: The design incorporates horizontal stripes created by alternating between two colors of Bluefaced Leicester yarn—Graphite (A) and Jasper (B)—with strategic color changes and knit rounds that create distinct visual bands throughout the hat.
• Seamless Crown Shaping: The crown is shaped using strategic decreases (ssk and k2tog stitches) worked in a structured pattern across multiple rounds, gradually reducing the stitch count from 112 (128) stitches down to 14 (16) stitches before finishing.

Stitches Used

The Brynne Boyfriend Hat employs a focused selection of fundamental knitting stitches:

• Knit Stitch (K): The primary stitch used throughout the hat body and crown shaping.
• Purl Stitch (P): Used in the ribbed sections to create texture and elasticity.
• Rib Pattern: A repeating multiple of 8 stitches worked as *K2, p4, k2; repeat from * around. This pattern is used for the brim and continues through the body of the hat, creating vertical columns of texture that provide stretch and a classic finished appearance.
• Slip, Slip, Knit (Ssk): A left-leaning decrease used extensively in the crown shaping rounds to gradually reduce stitch count while maintaining a balanced appearance.
• Knit Two Together (K2tog): A right-leaning decrease paired with ssk throughout the crown to create symmetrical decreases and shape the top of the hat.

Materials and Tools

The Brynne Boyfriend Hat is designed to be knitted with premium natural fiber yarn and appropriately sized needles:

• Yarn: Two 100-gram hanks of Juniper Moon Farm Bluefaced Leicester—one in color 01 Graphite (A) and one in color 06 Jasper (B). Bluefaced Leicester is a lustrous, fine-wool yarn known for its softness, elasticity, and beautiful stitch definition, making it ideal for projects that showcase both colorwork and stitch texture.
• Needles: Size US 7/4.5mm circular needle measuring 16 inches long for working the brim and body, paired with size US 7/4.5mm double-pointed needles for the crown shaping when stitches no longer fit comfortably on the circular needle.
• Notions: One stitch marker to denote the beginning of each round.
• Gauge: 22 stitches and 28 rounds over 4 inches in the Rib Pattern, slightly stretched. Achieving proper gauge is essential for obtaining the correct finished measurements.

Construction Overview

The hat begins with casting on 112 (128) stitches and joining in the round. The brim is worked in the Rib Pattern with color changes creating horizontal stripes: the pattern begins with Graphite, transitions to Jasper, returns to Graphite, and finishes with Graphite for the body. After approximately 9 to 9½ inches of total height, the crown shaping begins with a series of seven decrease rounds that progressively reduce the stitch count. Each crown round maintains the rib pattern structure while incorporating decreases at regular intervals, eventually closing the top of