Brioche knitting is a family of knitting

patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

involving tucked stitches, i.e.,

yarn over In knitting, a yarn over is technique in which the yarn is passed over the right-hand knitting needle. In general, the new loop is knitted on the next row, either by itself (producing a hole) or together with an adjacent stitch (e.g., in "tucked" ...

s that are knitted together with a slipped stitch from the previous row. Such stitches may also be made by knitting into the row below (equivalent to the slipped stitch) and dropping the stitch above (equivalent to the yarn over). The tucked stitches may form a second layer of knitting in front of the first layer, resembling an array of arches or (seen upside-down) of fish scales. Brioche knitting may have originated in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. However, the term "brioche" seems to have derived from French slang for "mistake". The name might be a reference to the brioche dinner roll, which is formed of two pieces, one stacked atop the other. Brioche Stitch is included in

Barbara G. Walker Barbara G. Walker (born July 2, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author and feminist. She is a knitting expert and the author of over ten encyclopedic knitting references, despite "not taking to it at all" when she first learn ...

's ''A Treasury of Knitting Patterns '' and in

Elizabeth Zimmermann Elizabeth Zimmermann (9 August 1910 – 30 November 1999) was a British-born hand knitting teacher and designer. She revolutionized the modern practice of knitting through her books and instructional series on American public television. Thou ...

's ''Knitting Without Tears.'' Nancy Marchant introduced several varieties of the brioche stitch to American knitters with her book ''Brioche Knitting,'' inspired by the brioche knitting she found very prevalent in the Netherlands. The brioche stitch can be used to knit any kind of garment or project that regular knitting can be used for, but will be double-thick. Nancy Marchant standardized brioche-knitting abbreviations and terminology so that knitters worldwide could share patterns and understand the abbreviations. Marchant has attempted to standardize and simplify the terminology for the stitch. She defines the basic stitch of brioche knitting as the brioche-knit stitch, which she calls the "bark" stitch (abbreviated "brk"), which consists of a knit-stitch knitted together with its "wrap," a yarnover from the previous row. The brioche-purl stitch (or the "burp" stitch (abbreviated "brp") is the purled version. Each bark or burp stitch is followed by a yarn-front, slip-one, yarnover (yf-sl1yo). This sets up the bark and burp stitches for the next row. In brioche knitting, it takes two "passes" to complete a single row of knitting, since only half the stitches are knitted each time. The other half are slipped. For this reason, it takes more conscious effort to be able to count rows and stitches and measure gauge.

References

* Walker, Barbara G. (1968) ''A Treasury of Knitting Patterns'', Charles Scribner's Sons, pp 45–46. * Zimmermann, Elizabeth (1971)''Knitting Without Tears'', Charles Scribner's Sons, pp 95–97. (Cloth), (Paper) * June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) ''The Principles of Knitting'', Simon and Schuster, pp. 29–32, 85–86. * Nancy Marchant, 1949- "Knitting Brioche: the essential guide to the brioche stitch" (pbk) * Nancy Marchant, 1949- "Knitting Fresh Brioche", Sixth&Spring books, 2014, * Nancy Marchant 1949- "Leafy Brioche", self publication, 2016, Knitting Stitches (textile arts) {{textile-arts-stub