Big, Fluffy Brioche Cowl

Now that the holidays are over and my handmade gifts have been delivered I can start posting some more patterns.

Earlier this winter I became mildly obsessed with the brioche stitch. I found this lovely tutorial and pattern for a cowl and I came up with a simple headband/turban using the same stitch.

I took it one step further with this fluffy, scrumptious stitch and decided to make an oversized cowl using larger needles and a wider width. Not only is it super cozy, but you can stretch part of it over your head for a makeshift hood. You can wear it looped around your neck twice or have it hang loosely. It’s a versatile piece that happens to be trendy.

Big Fluffy Brioche Cowl

Materials:

• 250 grams of heavy worsted yarn such as Lamb’s Pride (I used 2.5 skeins of Loops & Threads Wool to Wash)
• Size  US 13 straight needles
• Darning needle

Directions:

I highly recommend watching this video tutorial fromHandsOccupied.com as the brioche stitch is much easier to understand visually.

1. Cast on 40 stitches.
2. Foundation row: YO before you even start knitting (this is the strange part where it’s easier to understand visually), slip the first stitch purlwise, k1. Repeat YO, sl 1 pw, k1 till the end of the row.
3. Row 2: *YO, slip 1 purlwise, knit the 2 criss-cross stitches together. Repeat * to end of row.
4. Repeat row 2 until your work wraps around your neck twice. I didn’t measure the length. It’s really up to you. I used about 2.5 skeins of yarn that was 157 yards per skein.
5. Bind off all stitches, treating the criss-crossed stitches as one stitch. I didn’t have any specific method to binding off. I just did what worked. Cut yarn leaving an 18-inch tail.
6. Make one or two twists in your piece and then whip stitch the two ends together. Weave in any remaining tails.

*Alternative pattern*

If you find the brioche stitch too confusing you can simply cast on 60 stitches and knit 1, purl 1 rib across all rows until the piece is to your preferred length.