We can’t get enough of the brioche knitting trend - although it’s an older technique, brioche is seeing a resurgence in tons of new designs for hats, cowls, shawls and sweaters. In today’s post we’re going to show you the basics so that you can give this technique a try.
First, let’s talk about what brioche actually is: this technique creates a lofty, reversible, ribbed fabric created by accomplished by slipping stitches and creating yarnovers in one row that are then knit together with stitches in the following rows. Many patterns use two colors of yarn, which can be easier especially when you’re first starting out, but you can also knit 1-color brioche as well.
For the purpose of today's discussion, we’ll focus on 2-color brioche so that you can clearly see the technique. Brioche has its own language so we’re going to first define a few abbreviations and terms:
Sl1yo stands for slip 1, yarnover, and it is a stitch you’ll be using on every row. You’ll need to slip the next stitch from your left needle to your right needle, while simultaneously wrapping the yarn around your needle from front to back. This slipped stitch and its corresponding yarnover will be treated as 1 stitch in the subsequent row.
Brk stands for brioche knit, and you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as the “bark stitch.” When you see a brk stitch, you will be knitting the next stitch together with its corresponding yarnover that was created on the previous row.
Brp stands for brioche purl, and you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as the “burp stitch.” When you see a brp stitch, you will be purling the next stitch together with its corresponding yarnover that was created on the previous row.
The second slightly tricky thing to understand about 2-color brioche is that to create a reversible fabric, each row is actually knit twice: once with Color 1, and once with the Color 2 - so for each 2 rows of knitting, you are actually knitting 4 rows.
Essentially, each side of your piece will have a color that is dominant on it. If we’re talking about Color 1, a light color, and Color 2, a dark color, let’s say that the Right Side of your work will have Color 1 as the dominant color and the Wrong Side of your work will have Color 2 as the dominant color.
On each Right Side row, you will first knit and slip stitches across in Color 1. Then, without turning your work, you will slide the stitches back to the beginning of the row you just worked and you will purl and slip stitches across in Color 2. You have now completed the first, Color 1 dominant side of your brioche.
On each Wrong Side row, you will first purl and slip stitches across the row with your Color 1. Then, without turning your work, you will slide the stitches back to the beginning of the row you just worked and you will knit and slip stitches across with your Color 2. You have now completed the second, Color 2 dominant side of your brioche.
Now that we have defined the terms, and talked about the order in which the rows are knit, we hope you’ll begin to understand what the following rows signify:
Row 1 (RS/Color 1): *Sl1yo, brk; repeat from * to end.
Row 2 (RS/Color 2): *Brp, sl1yo; repeat from * to end.
Row 3 (WS/Color 1): *Brp, sl1yo; repeat from * to end.
Row 4 (WS/Color 2): *Slyo, brk; repeat from * to end.
You may see patterns written slightly differently, or using slightly different abbreviations, but these are the basic stitches that make up all brioche patterns.
Brioche Knitting Pattern Inspiration
As we mentioned at the beginning, there are hundreds of brioche knitting patterns to choose from these days! Here, we’ll spotlight a few favorites to try, starting with Lisa Hannes’ All About that Brioche. This triangular shawl combines garter stitch blocks with sections of brioche knitting to create a wearable accessory that is also a great introduction to the technique!
If you’re looking for a free pattern on Ravelry to practice your brioche, we recommend Emma Galati’s Brioche for Beginners cowl. Emma uses slightly different abbreviations than we have here, but her pattern is a simple 2-color brioche cowl designed for beginners, and because it’s knit in the round, you may have an easier time mastering the technique without becoming confused about which side is the right or wrong side of your fabric.
Once you’ve conquered the basics, there are even more fun patterns to try, such as Andrea Mowry’s Ramble (below left) or Leslie Ann Robinson’s Sizzle Pop (below right).
You can find more information about brioche knitting on Nancy Marchant’s wonderful site Brioche Stitch. For a few tips and tricks about brioche, check out this post from Ann Shayne of Mason Dixon Knitting.
We look forward to seeing your brioche knitting projects on social media - don’t forget to tag us in your post!
First, let’s talk about what brioche actually is: this technique creates a lofty, reversible, ribbed fabric created by accomplished by slipping stitches and creating yarnovers in one row that are then knit together with stitches in the following rows. Many patterns use two colors of yarn, which can be easier especially when you’re first starting out, but you can also knit 1-color brioche as well.
 |
| Knitting a Brioche swatch with needles from our new Ginger Special Interchangeable set. |
For the purpose of today's discussion, we’ll focus on 2-color brioche so that you can clearly see the technique. Brioche has its own language so we’re going to first define a few abbreviations and terms:
Sl1yo stands for slip 1, yarnover, and it is a stitch you’ll be using on every row. You’ll need to slip the next stitch from your left needle to your right needle, while simultaneously wrapping the yarn around your needle from front to back. This slipped stitch and its corresponding yarnover will be treated as 1 stitch in the subsequent row.
Brk stands for brioche knit, and you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as the “bark stitch.” When you see a brk stitch, you will be knitting the next stitch together with its corresponding yarnover that was created on the previous row.
Brp stands for brioche purl, and you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as the “burp stitch.” When you see a brp stitch, you will be purling the next stitch together with its corresponding yarnover that was created on the previous row.
The second slightly tricky thing to understand about 2-color brioche is that to create a reversible fabric, each row is actually knit twice: once with Color 1, and once with the Color 2 - so for each 2 rows of knitting, you are actually knitting 4 rows.
Essentially, each side of your piece will have a color that is dominant on it. If we’re talking about Color 1, a light color, and Color 2, a dark color, let’s say that the Right Side of your work will have Color 1 as the dominant color and the Wrong Side of your work will have Color 2 as the dominant color.
On each Right Side row, you will first knit and slip stitches across in Color 1. Then, without turning your work, you will slide the stitches back to the beginning of the row you just worked and you will purl and slip stitches across in Color 2. You have now completed the first, Color 1 dominant side of your brioche.
 |
| Right Side of brioche swatch - Color 1 dominant |
On each Wrong Side row, you will first purl and slip stitches across the row with your Color 1. Then, without turning your work, you will slide the stitches back to the beginning of the row you just worked and you will knit and slip stitches across with your Color 2. You have now completed the second, Color 2 dominant side of your brioche.
 |
| Wrong Side of brioche swatch - Color 2 dominant |
Now that we have defined the terms, and talked about the order in which the rows are knit, we hope you’ll begin to understand what the following rows signify:
Row 1 (RS/Color 1): *Sl1yo, brk; repeat from * to end.
Row 2 (RS/Color 2): *Brp, sl1yo; repeat from * to end.
Row 3 (WS/Color 1): *Brp, sl1yo; repeat from * to end.
Row 4 (WS/Color 2): *Slyo, brk; repeat from * to end.
You may see patterns written slightly differently, or using slightly different abbreviations, but these are the basic stitches that make up all brioche patterns.
Brioche Knitting Pattern Inspiration
As we mentioned at the beginning, there are hundreds of brioche knitting patterns to choose from these days! Here, we’ll spotlight a few favorites to try, starting with Lisa Hannes’ All About that Brioche. This triangular shawl combines garter stitch blocks with sections of brioche knitting to create a wearable accessory that is also a great introduction to the technique!
If you’re looking for a free pattern on Ravelry to practice your brioche, we recommend Emma Galati’s Brioche for Beginners cowl. Emma uses slightly different abbreviations than we have here, but her pattern is a simple 2-color brioche cowl designed for beginners, and because it’s knit in the round, you may have an easier time mastering the technique without becoming confused about which side is the right or wrong side of your fabric.
Once you’ve conquered the basics, there are even more fun patterns to try, such as Andrea Mowry’s Ramble (below left) or Leslie Ann Robinson’s Sizzle Pop (below right).
You can find more information about brioche knitting on Nancy Marchant’s wonderful site Brioche Stitch. For a few tips and tricks about brioche, check out this post from Ann Shayne of Mason Dixon Knitting.
We look forward to seeing your brioche knitting projects on social media - don’t forget to tag us in your post!
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