Skip to main content

Brioche Rosetta Stone class

Knit-below stitches, brioche stitches, Shaker knitting, and Estonian patent stitches are kissing cousins. Students will practice both methods of making brioche fabrics and produce identical fabrics using disparate methods. They will also learn special techniques for making double brioche (brioche net, honeycomb brioche) fabrics easier to work. If you are planning to make "Exploration Station" by Stephen West, this class may help.

It seems brioche is having a moment, especially in the work of Stephen West or Nancy Marchant. Do the directions look like Greek to you? How do I “bark” or “burp” in knitting? What does it mean to work the right-side twice without turning? What’s knitting in the stitch below? Students will leave ready to work brioche patterns regardless of how they are described.

Skill level is intermediate.
Prerequisite: Students should already know knit, purl, slip, and yarn over.

What you will learn:
how to make check pattern/pearl brioche/pearl patent using the knit into the stitch below method
how to make the same fabric using the yarn-over and slip 1 method
bark and burp
how to translate between the two methods
how to work a small net pattern
how to work the brioche net/honeycomb brioche/double brioche pattern using the knit into the stitch below method
how to work column pattern/brioche pinstripes (if time permits; if not, the instructions are in the handout)

Maximum 20 students.

½ day workshop.

Students receive a handout in booklet form, including the scarf pattern. Booklet includes written and charted instructions for each of the four swatches, plus pictures of both the front and back of each swatch.

No materials fee.

No homework. Experience with the column pattern from Elise Duvekot Knit One Below: One Stitch, Many Fabrics (Sioux Falls, SD: XRX Inc. 2008) is advantageous, but not required.

Supplies:

  • class yarn (smooth, non-splitting, light or bright or medium color) in at least 2 contrasting colors
  • long dpns or circular needles (you need tips at both ends — regular straight knitting needles will not work) one size smaller than what you would usually use to work this yarn
  • another needle a size larger than what you would usually use (just for casting on)

I bring with me the scarf that is the class project (both sides shown in the photograph directly above). I also bring the four swatches (gray and white photograph at top).

No special needs for the room set up. A whiteboard or flip chart is nice to have but not need to have. I have a projector if the facilities can accommodate it. Room set-up should be tables and chairs either facing forward or in a U-shape.

This class or earlier incarnations of it have been taught at
The Whole Nine Yarns, Woodstock GA;
Knitter's Connection 2012, Columbus OH;
Georgia Alpaca FiberFest 2012, Pine Mountain GA;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2012, Fletcher NC;
STITCHES South 2014, Atlanta GA;
Maryland Sheep and Wool 2014, West Friendship MD;
Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival 2015, Dickson TN;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2015, Fletcher NC;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2016, Fletcher NC;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2017, Fletcher NC;
STITCHES United 2019, Atlanta GA (sold out);
STITCHES Salt Lake 2019, Salt Lake City UT;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2019, Fletcher NC;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2021, Fletcher NC;
Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival 2022;
Dallas Fort-Worth Fiber Fest 2022 (sold out);
Carolina Fiber Fest 2023, Raleigh NC;
TKGA 2023 Next Level Knitting Conference, virtual;
Blue Ridge Fiber Fest 2023, Sparta NC;
Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival 2023, Pittsburgh PA;
New York State Sheep and Wool Festival 2023, Rhinebeck NY (sold out).

Comments