Beginner’s Brioche Cowl

One of my challenges this year was to learn new techniques. Brioche has been at the top of my list for a long time. There are so many lovely patterns out there. I even have a fair few in my ravelry library. A large number of those are by my favourite designer Stephen West. Yet I have knit a total of zero. I mentioned in my last post that I was inspired by Fruity Knitting’s latest podcast and interview with Nancy Marchant. I had hoped to join the lace brioche knit along but I’m realistic enough to realise that’s not going to happen. It did encourage me though to finally give brioche a try.

I picked out a pattern called Brioche for Beginners by Emma Galati which is a free to download on ravelry. I had lots of leftover yarn from my hat and my sister’s socks. Both Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn. I thought they would go well together although I assumed I would have nowhere near enough to do a full cowl. Thankfully I was wrong and my sister now has a new cowl. The pattern is very easy to follow and the instructions are very clear. I didn’t have to go to YouTube to understand what I was doing. So if you want to learn Brioche and are looking for a very simple pattern I highly recommend this. You can even do what I did and use up your scraps.

I actually had to start again a few times with this pattern. Nothing to do with the design. The first time my yarn loving cat had managed to open my zipped knitting bag and she created a pull in it so large there was no way I could fix it. Unusually the yarn was left undamaged as she found a leftover ball of yarn to play with so the cowl was left largely ignored after that (I’m assuming). My second cast on was actually a lot neater so she did me a favour, I suppose. I then got halfway back to where I had been when a stitched dropped off the end of one of my DPN’s. Normally I would be able to fix this but not with something this new to me. So I switched to a circular needle which was one size bigger than the pattern stated. It meant that my stitches were looser and the cowl is a little untidy looking. I’m not sure blocking would fix it. I’m not bothered by it though as I did it purely to learn and getting a full cowl out of my leftover yarn was a bonus. I hadn’t expected.

Overall I am pleased with the he result. Next step is to try some of the more complicated patterns I have purchased over the last few years. There are a lot more brioche stitches out there that I need to learn.

First of Challenge Done

So my first project for this years challenge is finished. If you can’t remember I have challenged myself to knit garments for myself other than socks. The aim is to have eventually filled up my wardrobe with hand knits. I am starting off easy and began with a hat. Felt it was only right since my last hat lasted all of a day (thank you Molly). Also, while I have knit many hats for my sister I don’t actually have any myself.

The pattern I chose is Cannetella by Woolly Wormhead. You can find it on ravelry if you are interested. Woolly Wormhead is famous for her hat designs. She plays around with stitches to come up with the most interesting designs. Her hats are also famous for being perfect for those who love to knit with indie dyers variegated yarns. They have that perfect balance where both the design and the colour way are highlighted. I have found that most designs one almost always overpowers the other. If you fancy learning new techniques on a smaller scale I would go an pick one of her designs.

I didn’t go for any of those because I really wanted a slouchy hat. I wear my hair all tied up in a tight bun at the top of my head for work. So beanie hats are a no no. I would look like a cone head. In any case I love a slouchy hat and I love a lace pattern which is why this one was so perfect for me. The pattern is easy to follow. It has a repeat that is fairly easy to remember so you can work out quickly where you are. How many times have we put down a lace pattern and come back to it a few days later with no idea where you are in the pattern. It’s easy to work out with this one (although I do tend to track in my notebook). It comes in many sizes too so you can chose one to suit yourself. I went for the largest because I wanted a good slouch on it. I would recommend using circulars rather than DPN’s. I am a DPN girl normally but a few times the stitches came off the end and I started the hat twice as a result of this. Next time I will get the circulars. Mind you, if you go with a smaller size you might be okay.

I used the yarn that I picked up in Amsterdam almost two years ago. It’s by Hedgehog Fibres and the colour is called Salty Tales. I have said recently that for the most part I will be a project knitter but I had the yarn picked out before I found the pattern I wanted (although I had a rough idea of what kind of pattern I wanted). The good thing is that the yarn came from my stash so I did a little stash busting. This yarn is beautiful. The colour changes are subtle and they pick up well in the light. At the moment I am in love with greys and I am especially in love with greys that have other colours through them like this one. Beautiful to knit with and perfect for this slouchy hat. Mind you it would have been perfect for socks too or a light jumper if you had enough of it.

I have ordered the yarn for the next project in my challenge and it’s a scarf. Also in grey to match the hat although the project is not lace. Looking forward to picking it up and starting it.