When I started thinking about what pieces I wanted to include in my Berroco Ginkgo mini-collection, I knew I wanted a cowl, and thought this yarn would look beautiful in two-color brioche. There was just one problem: I had never tried two-color brioche before!
But I’m not one to step down from a knitting challenge, so I googled around for resources and patterns to try out the technique, and was able to pick it up fairly quickly. This is because two-color brioche is a lot easier than it looks! I found working this technique simpler working in the round than working flat, and luckily, working in the round also lends itself to cowls, and so my Lygia cowl was born. I found this piece so addictive, immediately after finishing the sample I cast on for another one in rosy colors for my own fall/winter wardrobe.
To help you pick up this fun technique, we have created two videos to go along with the Lygia pattern. The first demonstrates the basic two-color brioche stitch, and the second focuses on the increasing and decreasing that give the pattern some additional visual interest and the lovely wavy shape.
Let us know if you’ve knit two-color brioche before, or if you’re willing to give it a try!
It’s beautiful, but too long for me. Could t leave out some of the panels (an even number, I suppose, since they’re paired)? Thanks!
hi Louise, yes it is easy to adjust the length – simply subtract stitches in multiples of 20 and the stitch pattern will remain intact.
Leave out the music and provide narrative on what is happening. I am not able to view the demonstration and read the written info. How about both speaking and written….and did I mention leave out this music. I want to master this stitch
hi Barbara – sorry we weren’t able to provide narration on this video. I would suggest trying again with the sound off, and pause the video as frequently as you need to process the information. Unfortunately recording voice narration of the steps wasn’t feasible this time.
both would be o.k. but I prefer text. – sometimes find it necessary to go back because i miss a word or 2
your videos are always intelligent “keepers”
I’ve only viewed part of the video so far, and I usually have my laptop muted, but I did find I was stopping to read the text a couple times while watching, and will review often when I try this. For me this works but I also understand the other comments. Thanks for using contrasting colors in the video, sample on model did not look 2-color to me.
I’ll be teaching this technique in Sept. 2018. Any tips on teaching and also how to fix mistakes when knitting in brioche?
hi Maria,
I taught a small (4-person) brioche class using my Lygia pattern earlier this year, and had people cast on a much smaller number of repeats (I don’t recall exactly how many offhand) to make a shorter cowl. Even with that smaller number of stitches, though, the participants only got through one pattern repeat in the 3-hour class. So, depending on how much time you have, you may want to try an even smaller project to give the participants more time to get through all the techniques.
We didn’t cover fixing mistakes – I think that’s a much more advanced topic. I was able to figure out how to correct some mistakes for myself while I was knitting the sample, but I think conveying that information to knitters just trying brioche for the first time would be extremely difficult and above the heads of most knitters. It would probably be good, if you have time in your class, to help them figure out how to get their stitches back onto the needles if they have to rip back. Even that can be very tricky!
Good luck with your class!
Alison