One-Colour Brioche Stitch
About this stitch
Set-up (RS): *yo, sl1 wyif, k1; rep. Row 1: *yo, sl1 wyif, k2tog (the slipped st and its yo); rep. A spongy, fully reversible columnar fabric.
Brioche fabrics are roughly twice as thick (and use roughly twice as much yarn) as plain knitting at the same gauge. Excellent for cowls, hats, and statement scarves where loft and reversibility matter.
Further reading A primer on swatching Brioche for accurate gauge.
Stitch chart
Read RS rows right-to-left, WS rows left-to-right. The bottom-right cell is row 1, stitch 1.
Row-by-row written instructions
- Set-up (RS): *yo, sl1 wyif, k1; rep
- Row 1: *yo, sl1 wyif, k2tog (the slipped st and its yo); rep
- A spongy, fully reversible columnar fabric
Abbreviations used
- k knit
- p purl
- sl slip purlwise
- yo yarn over
- brk brioche knit
- brp brioche purl
- wyif with yarn in front
Knitter's tips
- Use a smooth, slightly elastic yarn — superwash merino at a loose gauge is the gold standard.
- Brioche is unusually forgiving of "tinking" (un-knitting one stitch at a time) but very hard to rip back en masse — install a lifeline every 10–20 rows.
- Two-colour brioche reads as colour-A on the RS and colour-B on the WS — choose your contrast accordingly.
Editor's pick Why every knitter should keep a swatch journal.
Recommended materials
This stitch is most flattering in DK-weight yarn on 7 (4.5 mm) needles, at a working gauge near 18 stitches and 28 rows over four inches in stockinette. Open the yarn weight reference or the needle conversion chart for substitutions.