Brioche Increases & Decreases
Increases and decreases
Once you have mastered the basic Brioche stitches , SL1YO , BRK's and BRP's to create some scrunchy knits then you will want to venture into creating intricate patterns from increasing and decreasing stitches. Some videos & instructions will help you through the process.
Brioche increases here we come!
To maintain the integrity of the brioche stitch, increases should be worked in pairs of stitches – adding one “sl1yo” stitch and one “brk” stitch. To do this work from your swatch and designate the central column of knit stitches on the right side of the work for placement of the increase. This will be referred to as the marked stitch or marked column (stick a stitch marker in it) .
brkyobrk - 2 stitch increase
Two stitches spring out of the center of one stitch (the marked stitch) with this increase. In the marked stitch: work a brkyobrk as follows: brk1, yo (yarn forward under needle then over needle to back), then brk1 into same stitch. 2 sts inc’d.
On the following row you need to do something special with that 1 stitch that doesn’t have a corresponding shawl (yarn over) stitch. Just knit this stitch (you can’t brk it) as you did in your set up Row.
Left leaning brioche decrease (like SSK)
Work up to a brioche knit, slip this double stitch knitwise. Knit the next stitch (appears like a purl stitch) and the following double stitch (so 3 stitches in total) together. Now pass the double-stitch you slipped over the three stitches you knit together.
Right leaning brioche decrease (like k2tog)
Work up to a brioche knit, slip this double stitch knitwise. Knit the next stitch. Pass the slipped double stitch over the one you just knit. Slip the resulting stitch back to the left needle purlwise.Now pass the double stitch on the left over the first stitch. Slip the remaining stitch to your right needle purlwise.
This video shows all the decreases and increases performed in the heat wave cowl. The Right Slant decrease, then the 4 stitch increases and then the Left slant decrease.
Happy knitting x