Knitting this sweater has given me the push I needed to finally learn Brioche knitting. I watched several instructional vids and began my own practice sample on a circular needle several times. I scrapped that very sample just as many times, never certain that I was actually doing it right. I had some confusion about whether or not the last stitch of the round should end with the same stitch that it began with (it didn’t have to). As I mentioned in a previous post, I ran a lifeline thread through the last bottom row of the sweater, so that if I needed to rip back from errors, my last stitches before the brioche would be saved.
And although I wasn’t technically getting anywhere with my sample, I was still learning from trial and error, and I was memorizing the pattern in the process.
I decided to bite the bullet and try it out on the sweater itself: after all, it did have a lifeline: I couldn’t really fail. It was worth a try.
I began my starter row, and as with my sample, I was confused. I wasn’t sure how to proceed because the instructions didn’t seem to match with what I’d just knit. Then it dawned on me: the previous round was a setup round, it was different from the actual pattern repeat. I was able to continue from there and establish the pattern, and once I did, I found it to be surprisingly intuitive and fun!
I mentioned on my Instagram page that I’d make a video once I learned, and I’m reposting it here on WP, since I was recently gifted my own domain by my husband for my birthday 🙂
This is the first time any of you have heard my voice, I hope you enjoy the video!
It was a great feeling to learn something new in knitting, especially something I’d put off for so long. There definitely was a hurdle for me in learning this, but once I got past that and got the breakthrough, the aha! moment, it was smooth sailing from there.
Here’s a pic of the finished hem:
Take care and thanks for reading 🙂
Now I can’t recommend Brioche enough. I was almost sad when I had to stop to make the hem, that’s how much fun it was!
Sewcoordinated 