I'm in full fall market prep and have been for over a month now! Trying to plan a product inventory for the 2022 Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival has been very exciting, at least a little stressful, and includes a healthy dash of guess work. This is of course because it's my first time doing such a big market.
Mostly though I'm excited to share all these wonderful lush knits and some of my best paintings to date with everyone over the course of the 3 day market.
Last week I was thinking about what I have so far after placing yet another yarn order and it hit me: I wanted to make some more 2-color Honeycomb Brioche Scarves. I made one for myself about 2 years or so ago which was my first introduction to the stitch and sparked my very first ever pattern; The Thick as Honey Cowl.
My first attempt at doing a Honeycomb Brioche Stitch in two colors was based off a lovely tutorial by KnittyCat's Knits on Youtube. She was making a flat scarf for the video and I decided to attempt my own with a lighter weight Rios stash yarn that was left from another project. It's become a fall/winter favorite for me since; the blue and green colors I picked remind me of Dragon scales. With Fall fast approaching and the spooky season upon us I thought I would share a link to that original video as well as write up the details of the pattern for both Malabrigo Rios and Malabrigo Mecha yarns.
There are a few YouTube videos on the Honeycomb Brioche stitch, its varying dupes, and the different methods of doing it in one color or 2-colors but I found the KnittyCat's Knits tutorial most helpful in this instance. I've provided a link to that video here as its a better example than I can likely explain in a blog pattern and she of course deserves credit.
Rios (worsted weight) 2-color Honeycomb Brioche Scarf (flat)
scarf measures approximately 6 in. by 78 in.
Supplies:
US 7 (4.5 mm) DPNs (2) or Circular Needle
one Skein of Malabrigo Rios (or another worsted weight yarn) in chosen Main Color -you will need the full 210 yards depending on desired length
One Skein of Malabrigo Rios (or another worsted yarn) in chosen Contrast Color - will need less than the 210 yrds but may choose to use the left over yarn for tassels/trim
Tapestry needle or Crochet hook for weaving in ends
optional- row counter, stitch marker, notebooks for tracking rounds
Skills:
Recommended level - high intermediate to advanced would be best. Familiarity with brioche stitches will make this pattern greatly easier.
Knit, purl stitches, yarn overs, brioche knits, Brioche purls
knitting flat with 2-colors for brioche work - you will only be turning the work every other round and will instead slide the piece across the needles to work the other color- hence the DPNs/circular needles being necessary
Its very important to keep track of which round you are on as well as ensuring you are using the correct color strand. This can be confusing at first but soon you'll be able to tell exactly what to do based on the locations of the working yarns, etc.
Abbreviations:
Sl1- slip one stitch purlwise
K1- knit one stitch
P1- Purl One Stitch
YO- yarn over
MC - main color yarn
CC- Contrast color yarn
YF- bring yarn forward (as if you were preparing to purl)
BrP- Brioche Purl (purl the stitch with its paired yarn over)
BrK- Brioche Knit (knit the stitch with its paired yarn over)
Sl1wYIF- slip one stitch (purlwise) with Yarn in front (generally followed by a knit or BrK to create a YO)
With the US 7 Needle, cast on 27 stitches* with your Main Color Yarn using the Long tail method or other preferred cast on. This yarn will make the "v" shapes on the front as well as bordering the sides.
*if you would prefer a wider scarf simply cast on a few more stitches, making sure the total remains an odd number. My very first version had 35 stitches cast on for a width of 9 in. but is substantially shorter at about 51 in. long.
Complete the set up row using this Main color: *K1, Sl1wYIF* repeat to last stitch, K1
continue with 4 row Repeat for pattern:
1. (CC): Sl1, "Knit the paired stitch and slip the yarn over, K1* repeat from * to last stitch. slip the last MC stitch
slide work back to the left instead of turning
2. (MC): K1, *BrP, Sl1, Yo*, repeat from * to last two stitches. BrP, K1
turn work as normal for next round
3. (CC): Sl1, *P1, slip the Yo and Purl paired stitch* repeat to last two stitches. P1, S1
slide work back to left needle
4. (MC) K1, *YF, Sl1, BrK* repeat to last 2 stitches. YF, Sl1, K1
Continue in pattern until the scarf reaches your desired length, ending on Round 4 with the main color. Turn work and complete a knit row with main color, treating the brioche stitches and a single knit stitch. Turn work once more and complete a typical bind off still in the main color. Cut both yarns and weave in ends.
Mecha (light bulky) 2-color Honeycomb Brioche Scarf (flat)
scarf measures approximately 7 in. wide by 52 in. long (without any fringe)
Supplies:
US 9 (5.5 mm) DPNs (2) or Circular Needle
Two Skeins of Malabrigo Mecha (or another light bulky weight yarn) in chosen Main Color - you will want approximately 160(+) yards depending on desired length/ if you decide to add fringe with the left over
One Skein of Malabrigo Mecha (or another worsted yarn) in chosen Contrast Color - you will want the whole 130 yards -if you prefer longer scarves or just don't like playing yarn chicken you may want to grab 2 skeins of the contrast color as well
Tapestry needle or Crochet hook for weaving in ends
optional- row counter, stitch marker, notebooks for tracking rounds
Skills:
Recommended level - high intermediate to advanced would be best. Familiarity with brioche stitches will make this pattern greatly easier.
Knit, purl stitches, yarn overs, brioche knits, Brioche purls
knitting flat with 2-colors for brioche work - you will only be turning the work every other round and will instead slide the piece across the needles to work the other color- hence the DPNs/circular needles being necessary
Its very important to keep track of which round you are on as well as ensuring you are using the correct color strand. This can be confusing at first but soon you'll be able to tell exactly what to do based on the locations of the working yarns, etc.
Abbreviations:
Sl1- slip one stitch purlwise
K1- knit one stitch
P1- Purl One Stitch
YO- yarn over
MC - main color yarn
CC- Contrast color yarn
YF- bring yarn forward (as if you were preparing to purl)
BrP- Brioche Purl (purl the stitch with its paired yarn over)
BrK- Brioche Knit (knit the stitch with its paired yarn over)
Sl1wYIF- slip one stitch (purlwise) with Yarn in front (generally followed by a knit or BrK to create a YO)
With the US 9 Needle, cast on 23 stitches with your Main Color Yarn using the Long tail method or other preferred cast on. This yarn will make the "v" shapes on the front as well as bordering the sides.
Complete the set up row using this Main color: *K1, Sl1wYIF* repeat to last stitch, K1
continue with 4 row Repeat for pattern:
1.(CC): Sl1, "Knit the paired stitch and slip the yarn over, K1* repeat from * to last stitch. slip the last MC stitch
slide work back to the left instead of turning
2. (MC): K1, *BrP, Sl1, Yo*, repeat from * to last two stitches. BrP, K1
turn work as normal for next round
3. (CC): Sl1, *P1, slip the Yo and Purl paired stitch* repeat to last two stitches. P1, S1
slide work back to left needle
4. (MC) K1, *YF, Sl1, BrK* repeat to last 2 stitches. YF, Sl1, K1
Continue in pattern until the scarf reaches your desired length, ending on Round 4 with the main color. Turn work and complete a knit row with main color, treating the brioche stitches as a single knit stitch. Turn work once more and complete a typical bind off still in the main color. Cut both yarns and weave in ends.
Since I only used one skein of the contrast color I had a lot of main color leftover and ended up knitting up a matching Faux Shizzle Beanie as well!
I almost didn't have enough yarn so this beanie is slightly shorter than the pattern calls for but I think it worked out.
That's it Folks! Happy Crafting and I'd love to see your versions of this lovely pattern. Don't forget to give Knittycat's video tutorial some love too if you found it helpful. And if you're in the market for another beanie pattern I can't recommend the Faxu shizzle beanie enough from RosiePosie Design Co.
And no, I'm not getting payed to say that.
Later my Crafty Witches,
Em