Through 8am on Sunday, September 13, get a draft/early personal use copy of this pattern for free! No coupon code required. After this offer expires, the pattern will be available for a small fee, which helps support my work and allows me to make more designs available in the future. Enjoy!

Knit the Brioche Balaclava in worsted weight! This heavier version follows the same lines as the original lightweight design, but expands the pattern to work with dk/worsted weight yarn. The flexibility of brioche rib makes it both very stretchy and form-fitting. The opening tends to stay close to the face no matter how you adjust it, and the design itself is pretty nice and simple.

It’s knit from soft wool yarn (merino wools are going to be perfect for this), so you have a full range of options from plain and traditional to the most wildly variegated or ostentatious neon you can find or dye. The design uses unorthodox decreases with standard brioche, and this pattern makes two sizes—a s/m and m/l—which should work for most average-sized adults and larger kids.

A lightweight version is available here.

Materials:

• 220-280278 yards of DK/worsted yarn; the main samples are shown mostly in scraps of Malabrigo Yarn Worsted, Washted, and Rios in various colorways
• 1 16” circular needles in US7/4.5mm, or size needed for gauge
• 1 set of DPNs in the same size needed for gauge
• tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• 4 removable stitch markers

Gauge:
Gauge is 14 sts and 16 rows over 4”/10cm of brioche rib stitch, worked in the round and blocked lightly.

Measurements:
This balaclava pattern features small/medium and medium/large sizes for the worsted weight options—these two options should fit most adults, as the design is pretty flexible. Keep in mind that this is a very stretchy fabric measured with no tension; the numbers are going to look small because ribbing draws in.

The small/medium size should fit head circumferences of 20-22”/50-55cm. The medium/large should fit 22-24”/55-61cm. The finished balaclavas are 15.5-17.5“/40-44cm tall by 8(9)“/20(23)cm across, measured flat.