There's no need to be intimidated by brioche knitting: this technique is actually quite simple, once you get the hang of the somewhat-wacky abbreviations (brk? brp? what??) found in most patterns. If you can yarn over and knit or purl two stitches together, you absolutely CAN knit a gorgeous brioche project!
Brioche knitting produces a wonderfully squishy fabric that looks especially cool when you use two colors of yarn. Believe it or not, two-color brioche is actually a bit easier than single-color brioche because it helps you see where you are in the pattern. And here's another surprising fact about brioche: it's actually easier to work in the round, rather than flat!
Here's why: when working flat, you typically work two right-side rows followed by two wrong-side rows, which means that you work the first right side row, then slide your work back to the other end of your circular needle so that you can work the second right side row across all of the same stitches, then repeat for both of the wrong side rows. For a beginner, that can be a little confusing! However, when you're working in the round, all you need to do is alternate between two rounds of instructions, which are worked similar to stripes if you are using 2 colors of yarn.
There are a lot of great (free!) patterns out there, but one I keep returning to is Emma Galati's Brioche for Beginners. It's easy to follow along and while it doesn't use the "traditional" brioche abbreviations, it explains the technique well (I've knit it several times at this point!).
Recently, I got a chance to try out a brand new yarn called Boca Chica Fingering, which is available exclusively at A Good Yarn (a yarn shop in Sarasota, FL). Each skein is hand-dyed in a color inspired by the Florida keys, and I used a skein of Tarpon and Gator to knit this lovely cowl using the free pattern linked above!
Next week, I will share a photo tutorial to walk you through the basics of Brioche knitting. See you then!
Brioche knitting produces a wonderfully squishy fabric that looks especially cool when you use two colors of yarn. Believe it or not, two-color brioche is actually a bit easier than single-color brioche because it helps you see where you are in the pattern. And here's another surprising fact about brioche: it's actually easier to work in the round, rather than flat!
Here's why: when working flat, you typically work two right-side rows followed by two wrong-side rows, which means that you work the first right side row, then slide your work back to the other end of your circular needle so that you can work the second right side row across all of the same stitches, then repeat for both of the wrong side rows. For a beginner, that can be a little confusing! However, when you're working in the round, all you need to do is alternate between two rounds of instructions, which are worked similar to stripes if you are using 2 colors of yarn.
There are a lot of great (free!) patterns out there, but one I keep returning to is Emma Galati's Brioche for Beginners. It's easy to follow along and while it doesn't use the "traditional" brioche abbreviations, it explains the technique well (I've knit it several times at this point!).
Recently, I got a chance to try out a brand new yarn called Boca Chica Fingering, which is available exclusively at A Good Yarn (a yarn shop in Sarasota, FL). Each skein is hand-dyed in a color inspired by the Florida keys, and I used a skein of Tarpon and Gator to knit this lovely cowl using the free pattern linked above!
Next week, I will share a photo tutorial to walk you through the basics of Brioche knitting. See you then!
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