Brioche Stitch

The Brioche Stitch (or combination of stitches) creates a pretty, flat, double-sided fabric. The video below demonstrates both the one-color and two-color Brioche Stitch. Written instructions are available as a free Ravelry download.

EDITED TO ADD: I get a lot of questions regarding fixing mistakes in Brioche Stitch. Here is a common question, plus my answer below:

Q: Staci, I’ve made a mistake in Brioche Stitch, and I’ve ripped my work back so that I can correct the mistake. I’m having a problem getting the stitches back on the needle. Can you help?

A: Sorry you’re having trouble! Yes, it is very difficult to pick up stitches in Brioche Stitch after you’ve made a mistake, even for an advanced knitter. I recommend that you thread “proactive” lifelines in your work every few inches or so, so that if you do have to rip back, all of your stitches (including yarn-overs) are safely held on the scrap yarn, and easy to pick up again.

It sounds like you’ve already made a mistake. The best thing you can do is to rip back below the mistake, and do your best to pick the stitches back up again on the needle. I’m sorry, there isn’t much more help than this I can offer you without actually helping you fix your work in person. You might also try visiting your local yarn shop for help.
Good luck!

121 comments on “Brioche Stitch

  1. Hello!

    Im trying the single colour Brioche stick and seem to be getting it…
    However, I am gaining stitches on one end, and don’t know that I’m doing wrong… :S
    I have jumped from 25 to 36 stitches in 5 rows….

    Is there a common mistake that I’m making???

    Thankyou!

  2. Kelsie – I don’t know of a common mistake you’re making, but because you’re increasing, I have to assume that you’re either missing decreases (k2tog) or adding too many increases (yf). Just keep good count as you work across the row!

    S t a c i

  3. aren’t there yarn overs involved in the stitch pattern? if you k2tog without a YO, you will be reducing 2 stitches into one continually through each row until you are left with less stitches than originally cast on.

  4. I mentioned brioche stitch to a sighted friend I knit with. Although she’s a long-time knitter, she has never heard of it. She uses her computer to read email, but she won’t surf the web or watch videos. Too bad for her – and me! I downloaded the .pdf document explaining brioche stitch. For YF, should we read YO? Thanks for providing an accessible captcha.

  5. Hi Kathy, thank you for the note. Yes – YO and YF are usually interchangeable terms. In the video, I explain why I use YF in this case, it just seems to be more fitting with this stitch.

    S t a c i

  6. Is there an reversible seam to use with Brioche so that I can make a sweater reversible. I have used google with no result. Thanks

  7. Hi,

    I LOVE your website. I taught myself to knit a year ago, in a huge part by watching your tutorials! I was wondering if you would ever consider doing a video showing how to cast on and begin working the 2 color brioche. I have spent about an hour watching videos on youtube and can’t find one which shows both how to cast on and how to continue in the 2 color brioche pattern. I really want to try a cute headband in this pattern, but I can’t piece together the written instructions and the videos enough to give it a go. For example, the written instructions don’t really explain how to go from CO in the MC to incorporating the CC strand to begin the setup row. Thanks again for what you do. You’re fabulous!

  8. Hi there,

    I’m still a beginner but really want to learn a two color brioche stitch. I have looked everywhere and can’t find a video of the stitch from cast on to bind off. I have found videos of the cast on, and then videos of the stitch already in progress. The problem I’m having is with the first couple of set up rows. If at all possible, do you think you could do a cast on, a couple of rows, and then maybe cut to the bind off? I know you get a lot of requests but I’m really struggling and I love the way you explain things.

    Thanks so much!
    Wendy

  9. Hi, thank you so much for your video tutorials and written instructions. They are so easy to understand for a beginning knitter like myself. I am wondering how to decrease stitches for a hat in the brioche stitch now. If you could put up a tutorial for that I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge!

  10. Oi, gostei muito do seu blog! achei o tema muito bem alinhado.

    estou escrevendo um blogue no mesmo tipo de conteúdo e gostaria de ver se você tem alguma dica para
    quem está começando a escrever sobre isso. valeu!!

  11. I really love the way you teach. Your videos are some of the easiest to understand that I have found. I have also fallen in love with this stitch! I love the fabric that it produces and, after a short learning curve, I have found it to be a fairly easy stitch to master. 2-color brioche is kind of driving me crazy though! You made it look much easier than anyone else I have watched, but unfortunately you video begins on what appears to be the 10th row of your work. So many of the videos I have seen show casting on with both colors, but your work was only one color cast on. Your second color joins the work in some mysterious unexplained way. Also, the videos that cast on both colors suggest either the Italian style cast on – which, after much frustration, I finally got – or the symmetrical cast on, which I still haven’t got! What finally seemed to work best for me was just doing long tail cast on but just alternating the colors. I discovered that I could vary this method by either twisting one color off to the side while I do the other color, or I can split the working and tail end of the color I just cast on with the 2 ends of the color I need to cast on next. I would love to see a video showing how you introduced the 2nd color into your scarf and also, possibly a video about the method of casting on 2 colors that I have described here. I don’t even know if they have a name! Thanks so much for your excellent, excellent site and videos! A huge fan here!

  12. Hi, for this brioche stitch, what cast on and cast off would be most suitable?
    I’m attempting knitting a scarf with this pattern and I do not want the end to flare out like with my other knitted rib project.
    Any help is appreciated!

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