Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

I friend showed me her brioche shawl last night, and I am head over heels for the squishiness and the texture of the fabric. I've been knitting a lot of fades and simple shawls lately, but have not yet given brioche a chance- it seemed troublesome and I like more comforting projects. Do you have suggestions for a simple brioche starter project? Or one that you loved making so much that you kept on going even though it was a bit confusing?

Do you have any other advice to pass on to me that might help me give this a real chance instead of a fleeting one? Any ideas or tips or tricks would be great.

Thanks ever so much!

-Beginning Briocher 

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Comments

[Beth L]

Use lifelines for your first project! I've helped people do brioche repairs before and it is confusing. It would have been so much easier to just rip back to a lifeline, get it back on the needles, and know that the next row is Row X.

[Melissa]

When I took a class at my LYS, the beginning brioche project was the Wild Fiber cowl: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wild-fiber

For the more advanced brioche class, they used the Autumn Vibes hat: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/autumn-vibes

If you're looking for something flat with shaping, I think the pattern my LYS owner suggests is Brioche Basix: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brioche-basix-scarf

[Diane]

I just took a beginning brioche class because I, too, was intrigued by the fabric, how squishy it is and the look. We did the DK Brioche Bandana Cowl by Lavanya Patricella. It was a very good first introduction to brioche, as it wasn't a huge project, and we learned how to do brioche in both the round and flat. Once you get it in your head that a brioche stitch is ONE stitch but consists of TWO threads, it will make sense. So when we were decreasing, we knit together a brioche stitch and a regular stitch, which was 3 threads instead of 2.
I decided to practice tinking it backwards and did that successfully, then also managed to take it off the needles and rip a few rows back and successfully get it back on the needles. A lifeline would help, as well as practicing doing it, to see the construction and understand what it looks like and how it comes apart and goes together.

[RedDaLeftyKnitter]

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/helix-brioche-hat

This is the PERFECT learning project for Brioche Knitting. His instructions are very clear, and the hat pattern works up quickly. Bonus, it is a FREE pattern! I am a Truly Left Handed Knitter, and it was super easy for me to follow! Dive in and give it a shot!

[Alice Faber]

Two-color brioche is much easier than one color, because it's easier to see mistakes soon enough that you can fix them without tinking. My first project was a squooshy, snuggly scarf. I've since done hats and shawls, because it's so much fun!

When you start, it's a lot like lace in that you can't really see how it's going to look until you've done a few rows.

[Tara]

Deco Mug Mat by Knit Graffiti. It’s a nice, small introduction to Brioche. The pattern is both written and charted so you can use the method that works the best for you.

[Holly Beam]

I did Andrea Mowray's What the Fade. I had never done brioche before, but caught on quickly. It is a beautiful shawl and brioche is a small part of the pattern. It was fun to learn and each section kept the knit interesting. I did do a practice swatch on the brioche just to get the hang of the stitch. I would agree to use a life line just in case.

[Aimee]

I’ve only knit one brioche project, the Peacocks Pride shawl (free on Ravelry).

Brioche isn’t hard at all, so don’t left anyone or yourself scare you away from it. It’s slightly time consuming since you basically knit the same row twice but the stitches themselves are easy. You basically knit, purl, slip a stitch, and do yarn overs. Nothing any knitter doesn’t already know how to do, you just do the yarn overs at the same time as you slip one. Easy peasy.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who won’t try something because they say it’s too hard. Well how do you even know it’s hard if you haven’t tried it? Or they convince themselves they can’t do something before they even try it.

[Karen]

If your nervous about Brioche, start with a “Tuck Stitch”, more of an all-over pattern stitch than traditional Brioche. There is a free scarf pattern on Ravelry, _80_Errata scarf, by Nancy Marchant.
The key to great Brioche is a proper cast on, sometimes called Italian.

[Lynn]

My first brioche project was a cowl. I watched a couple of YouTube videos, and got started. I did have to restart a couple of times until I got the rhythm of the stitch. Once I got it it was pretty easy.

[Jenn]

I have a few hats and the mock brioche scarf saved on Ravelry, but the small ornament November Mood by Katrin Schubert is a truly quick knit that won't use much yarn. It gives you a FO and lets you know if you are up for something bigger.

[ElizabethD]

Valin cowl. I find, weirdly, that 2-color in-the-round brioche is the most straightforward.

[Megan]

I second the suggestions for a simple cowl in 2-color brioche as your first project, so you don’t have to worry about increases/decreases or the wrong side. There are quite a few free patterns on Ravelry at different weights of yarn.

Because it can get a little mindless once you catch on, I’d also suggest using a gradient or striping yarn for at least one of your colors, so the changes can keep you interested. I made my first with Spincycle Dyed in the Wool for both colors and it was such fun to see the two colors interact.

If you want to purchase a pattern, I’ve made several of these Garter Snake cowls as I like the contrast in textures and colors:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garter-snake-cowl