Tag Archives: syncopated brioche

Syncopated brioche tutorial

Posted on March 24, 2020 | 3 comments

Planning for a Minerva KAL cast on tomorrow, which is Wednesday. Is anyone else having issues of not knowing what day it is, while working from home? What yarn are you using? Color changing? Or do you want to do stripes and sew in all those ends? Knitter’s choice!

While you’re off picking yarn for Minerva, let’s have a look at some brioche. You know brioche is never far from my mind.

If you’ve become comfortable with 2 color brioche rib, you may be wondering what else can you do with it. Let’s syncopate!

What is syncopated brioche? It’s a simple switching from brioche knit to brioche purl, or vice versa, within the row or round. What happens when you do that?

This! See where I changed from knitting with the blue yarn in the rib stitches, to purling with the blue yarn at the leafy border? The blue purl stitches sink into the background in the border. And I switched from purling with the yellow yarn in the ribbing to knitting with the yellow yarn at the leafy border. The knit stitches always stand out more than the purl stitches in brioche rib, so the knit stitch yarn will be your featured color.

Here’s the back of that same sample.

And here’s where two edges meet on my Syncopation Shawl, the leafy side border and the wide ending of this asymmetric triangle shawl.

Here it is in the scarf version of Syncopation.

I made a little video tutorial to explain what happens at that dividing point in syncopated brioche.

Let me know if you find it helpful. And if you’re not a knitter, you can just listen to me yammer soothingly while we all practice social distancing!

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New class: Syncopation

Posted on December 18, 2019 | 2 comments

I’ve been having a lot of fun with my 2 color in-the-round brioche classes, Petite Brioche (free pattern) and Brioche Pastiche. Petite Brioche is plain 2 color brioche rib; Brioche Pastiche introduces increases and decreases.

Now I want to teach a class that tackles 2 color brioche knit flat, and adds in syncopation (switching MC and CC color) mid-row.

I taught syncopated brioche with my Hopscotch pattern last month at Twisted, but I really want to use my Syncopation shawl/scarf for the next class. It’s a little more ambitious, because it also includes increasing/decreasing. If you’ve knit brioche rib in the round, it’s a do-able next step. The new class debuts at Twisted on February 22.

Planning a new class is fun; it requires organization like a general! Or someone hosting Thanksgiving guests for an entire weekend. (Menu planning, I won!) How can I best lead you down the garden path to a positive outcome?

Here’s how I plan to structure the class:

Brioche knitting is the current “it knit” and there are so many ways to play with it, once you understand the basic brioche rib stitch. We’ll review basic brioche rib, then practice syncopating (swapping main color with background color in the same row), and finally learn an increase and 2 decreases. Voilà, it’s a gauge swatch, and then we can cast on for the real deal!

3 hours, intermediate. You should already be familiar with knitting brioche rib; this is not a beginning brioche class.

Sound enticing? February 22 at Twisted, be there or be square!

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Introducing Syncopation shawl and scarf!

Posted on September 26, 2019 | 12 comments

Syncopation adds so much to music, and to brioche knitting, too!

My Syncopation is a brioche asymmetric triangle shawl or scarf, knit from narrow end to wide end. The interplay between the dark rib and light edging is enhanced by the playful dance of the leafy border. It’s knit in fingering weight yarn in 2 coordinating colors, one skein of each.

I designed the shawl first. It’s a deep triangle, slightly off center due to its asymmetry. Gravity makes it feel like it’s knit on the bias, with that lovely bias swing.

After I finished the shawl, I wanted to design a scarf with the same yardage, so it could be longer to easily wrap twice around my neck. Making it longer means it’s also narrower/shallower because it doesn’t grow in width (depth) as quickly.

I wasn’t sure how it would wrap until it was off the needles and blocked; it’s so long and skinny for much of it. But it does exactly what I wanted. I love it when that happens.

I’m really happy with both pieces!

Size is easily adjustable, simply by using more or less yardage. I used Hazel Knits Entice MCN for both shawl and scarf.

Options are given for plain or fancy endings; I love the syncopated rib ending with the single leaf point at the corner. Knitter’s choice!

Syncopation is a great way to take a next step in brioche knitting. This pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It’s 10% off through October 3, no coupon code needed.

Thanks to tech editor Meaghan Schmaltz, and test knitters Ann Berg, Tami Hawes, Jacqueline Lydston, Eden Scheans, and Jardee Worcester.

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Introducing: Hopscotch!

Posted on August 2, 2019 | 1 comment

You know how much I love brioche knitting. I’ve fallen so far down the brioche rabbit hole, first with 2 color brioche in the round, then increases and decreases. What’s next? Flat brioche. Flat brioche, syncopated. If you swap the knits and purls in a brioche rib column, you get a reversal of color pop! Now I want to share how to do that with you.

Hopscotch is a syncopated brioche scarf, knit from end to end. It’s knit with two 100g balls of worsted weight yarn in contrasting colors. Gradients make an especially nice Hopscotch scarf. This version is in Knit Picks Chroma Worsted, Drawing Room and Natural.

The playful interchange between brioche knit and brioche purl stitches within a column of brioche rib creates a delightful quilt block inspired pattern. Reverse image right side and wrong side are equally handsome; choose two contrasting colors and jump right in!

Hopscotch is a great way to take a next step in brioche knitting. Some prior experience in brioche knitting is helpful; I recommend my free Petite Brioche pattern for learning two color brioche rib in the round.

The Hopscotch scarf pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It’s 10% off through August 9, 2019, no coupon needed. Newsletter subscribers will receive a coupon code for 20% off in today’s newsletter.

Test Knitter Ann’s Hopscotch in Pegasus and Natural, Knit Picks Chroma Wosrsted.

I’ve just scheduled a Hopscotch syncopated brioche class at For Yarn’s Sake on October 20. I’m also teaching this at Twisted on November 16. Come knit with me!

Thanks to tech editor Meaghan Schmaltz, and test knitters Ann Berg, Laura Caudle, Melinda Davis, Chris French, and Eden Scheans. I hope they all had as much fun as I did!

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