Learn the Basics of Brioche Knitting

Brioche knitting has been popular for a while now, and it’s easy to see why. This squishy, stretchy fabric is fun to knit and not actually that difficult once you get the basics down.

But like a lot of things in knitting, it has its own language and particular techniques that you need to get comfortable with before you take on a big project.

Over at Our Daily Craft I wrote up an overview of the basics you need to know to knit simple, one color, flat brioche knitting, plus a simple headband pattern to try while you’re getting used to the movements. Or you can check out the video version below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovHF7eMgxLY]

Once you’ve gotten that little project under your belt (it will really only take a couple of hours) you can move on to more complex brioche if you like.

Have you knit brioche before? I think this is the year I finally knit a brioche sweater!

Looking for Brioche Patterns? Check these out on Etsy

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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