Knitting Brioche - The Basics

Brioche stitches are a bit like the croissant of knitting techniques: airy, impressive, and everyone somehow thinks it's hard to make. Yet, there's not that much magic behind the spectacular look.

When it comes to brioche stitches, knitting needles are divided: some love it for its volume factor, others put it on the "difficult" list right next to intarsia and socks with boomerang heels. But brioche isn't as "patentedly" difficult as its name sounds. Quite the opposite, with a little practice, it knits like a dream.

What many don't know: There isn't just one brioche stitch. There are three, and they are all (almost) just dressed-up 1x1 ribs.

Full Brioche – voluminous and pretty on both sides
Half Brioche – beautiful on one side and a bit more economical
and Mock Brioche – which looks fancy but is easy peasy

And yes, I'll show you all three... for rows and rounds. After that, you'll be well-equipped for scarves, cowls, collars, and anything that can be fluffy.

Want more? Sure, but everything in its own time. In Part 2, we'll look at two-color variations, brioche increases, decreases, and how not to drive yourself crazy with mistakes.

Full Brioche – The Fluffy Original

Full brioche is the most voluminous and coziest of all brioche stitches. It is created by alternately knitting and slipping stitches with yarn overs or by knitting into the stitch below. The result: an identical, thick, elastic rib pattern on both sides that particularly shines in scarves and cowls, and on both sides!

Full Brioche with Yarn Overs

Let's start with a base row of alternating knit and purl stitches, nicely framed by selvedge stitches.

Then comes the real magic trick: the purl stitches are not knitted, but casually slipped with a yarn over, and the knit stitches are knitted as usual – so, super easy at first, no drama.

In the next row (and all subsequent ones), it gets exciting: you knit the yarn over together with the stitch, slip the purl stitch with a yarn over. This creates the fluffy, deep brioche stitches.

With Yarn Overs in Rows:

Row 1: Selvedge stitch, 1 purl stitch, 1 knit stitch alternately, selvedge stitch
Row 2: Selvedge stitch, slip one stitch with yarn over (as if to purl), knit next stitch, alternately, selvedge stitch
Row 3: Selvedge stitch, knit slipped stitch together with yarn over, purl the purl stitch alternately, selvedge stitch
Knit all subsequent rows like Row 3

With Yarn Overs in Rounds:

Round 1: 1 purl stitch, 1 knit stitch alternately
Round 2: Slip 1 stitch with yarn over, knit 1 stitch
Round 3: Purl double stitch (stitch + yarn over) together, slip next stitch with yarn over again
Round 4: Slip stitch with yarn over again, knit double stitch (stitch + yarn over) together
Alternate Rounds 3 and 4

Full Brioche with Stitches Knitted Below

Here, the double stitch, also called brioche stitch, is created not by a yarn over, but by knitting every second stitch into the stitch below. You don't knit into the stitch on the needle, but into the one below it. When knitting, the top stitch practically dissolves and lies over the bottom one. This is like a stitch knitted together with its yarn over.

With Stitches Knitted Below in Rows:

Row 1: Selvedge stitch, (1 purl, 1 knit), selvedge stitch
Row 2: Selvedge stitch, purl purl stitch, knit knit stitches into the stitch one row below alternately, selvedge stitch
Repeat Row 2

With Stitches Knitted Below in Rounds:

Round 1: (1 purl, 1 knit)
Round 2: 1 purl, knit knit stitches into the stitch one row below alternately
Round 3: Purl purl stitches into the stitch one row below, knit knit stitches
Repeat Rounds 2 and 3

Half Brioche

Half brioche is the slimmer, more everyday variant of full brioche. Here, the brioche stitches are worked only in every second row. The result is an elastic, but less thick pattern, where the ribs are only emphasized on the right side. The wrong side looks tighter and wider – ideal for sweaters or hats when you don't want too much volume!

Half Brioche with Yarn Overs

The yarn overs are made only in every second row, making the pattern less thick and using less yarn. The right side shows the typical ribs, the wrong side is flatter and appears more garter-like.

With Yarn Overs in Rows:

Row 1: Selvedge stitch, 1 purl stitch, 1 knit stitch alternately, selvedge stitch
Row 2: Selvedge stitch, slip purl stitches with yarn over (as if to purl), knit knit stitches alternately, selvedge stitch
Row 3: Selvedge stitch, knit slipped stitch together with yarn over, purl the purl stitch alternately, selvedge stitch
Repeat Rows 2 and 3

With Yarn Overs in Rounds:

Round 1: Slip 1 stitch with yarn over, knit 1 stitch
Round 2: Knit double stitch (stitch + yarn over) together, slip next stitch with yarn over again
Round 3: Slip stitch with yarn over again, knit double stitch (stitch + yarn over) together
Alternate Rounds 2 and 3

Half Brioche with Stitches Knitted Below

With Stitches Knitted Below in Rows:

Row 1: Selvedge stitch, (1 purl, 1 knit), selvedge stitch
Row 2: Selvedge stitch, purl purl stitch, knit knit stitches into the stitch one row below alternately, selvedge stitch

Repeat Row 2

With Stitches Knitted Below in Rounds:

Mock Brioche

Mock brioche is practically the quick knit among brioche stitches. It looks deceptively similar to full and half brioche, but is much simpler to knit – no yarn overs, no stitches knitted below. Instead, it uses knit and purl stitches, sometimes with small tricks to make the texture appear more three-dimensional. The result is optically surprisingly close to real brioche, but significantly less complex.

In Rows:

Number of stitches divisible by 4
Row 1: 2 knit, (1 purl, 3 knit), 1 purl, 2 knit
Row 2: 1 purl, (3 knit, 1 purl)
Repeat Rows 1 and 2

In Rounds:

Number of stitches divisible by 4
Round 1: 2 knit, purl (1 purl, 3 knit), 1 knit
Round 2: (1 knit, 3 purl)
Repeat Rounds 1 and 2

You see: Brioche stitches are not as complicated as they often seem. Once you get the rhythm, it flows quite smoothly from the needles. It only gets really tricky if a stitch drops, but even that's not the end of the world. I've already made a video about the Safety Line – you can, of course, watch it here as well.

In the next part, we'll look at two-color brioche and how to elegantly incorporate increases and decreases into the pattern. So, stay tuned!

Your Bianca from Fräulein Gerda