After starting Briochette it got me thinking about other projects that would be a good place to start with brioche knitting.
Two colour brioche is easier than one colour as you get used to the combination of slip stitches and yarn overs. Having two colours makes it clearer which stitch to knit/purl and which stitch to slip.
Beginners Brioche Cowl by Lavanya Patricella fits the bill and it's knitted in a chunky yarn so it works up quickly. Very satisfying when you are trying out a new stitch/technique.
I used one ball each of WYS Retreat Chunky (184 Harmony) and Rico Melange Chunky (58 Blue Green).
The pattern specified a 8mm needle, as a loose knitter I used 7mm, but I could have gotten away with 6.5 or 6mm as my cowl came out bigger than the pattern with 8.5 stitches per 4" compared to 12 stitches specified.
And no I didn't do a gauge swatch.
It's such a small project using a new technique, I just wanted to get on with it and learn from the project. I do find I am much looser with chunkier yarns compared to 4plys. So although my Briochette is slightly looser than the pattern specified it's not as far out as this cowl.
Anyway, enough of my loose knitting style!
This tutorial is good for seeing how two colour brioche in the round works:
English Two Colour Brioche in the Round by Andrea Mowry on YouTube
One thing I found is that brioche yarn over abbreviations are explained differently depending on the designer. Keep this in mind in you fall down a brioche rabbit hole on YouTube.
When you watch a range of tutorials it sounds more complicated as it may not match what your pattern has specified even though its the same action. Also check if you're watching a continental or English knitting style video. That can be very confusing in brioche! 😆
The main thing to do is read the abbreviations in the pattern you are using and make sure you know how to work yarn overs (yo) when you are doing a brioche knit row or a brioche purl row.
And trust me, its a lot simpler with the needles and yarn in your hands.
I found this Beginners Brioche Cowl to be very clear, especially as it specifies where to leave the yarn after you work a round - keeping the lines tidy.
The next item I'm planning to make is a brioche hat so I can learn how decreasing works. I'm thinking Daniel's Hat by Ysolda Teague (available to buy on Ravelry) in King Cole Fashion Aran.
Ysolda Teague also offers an online workshop which uses 4 patterns to take you through different brioche techniques. You can read more here.
