Brioche Trim Vest

Two color Latvian braid (search for video on youtube) is used to finish all edges of this vest. The bottom and neck bands are knit with 2-color brioche knit in the round.

This vest is knit in the round upto the arm shaping. Bust shaping is achieved by short rows.

Ganache - a mosaic vest

Mum made this vest using a Barbara Walker mosaic pattern. The trickiest bit was to keep the pattern going despite the neck and armhole shaping. The back of the vest is knit in a simpler color-work pattern, highlighting the lone band of Barbara's mosaic at the very bottom. The other detail in this vest is the dark-chocolate color of the neckband and armholes while the rest of the vest is knit with brown-gray and milk-chocolate. I can see this vest enjoying a fulfilling life of wear.

Shower of Lace

While browsing through the patterns in Ravelry, I came across Murcia, a free download shawl pattern by 'They Call Me Stacey'. The lace pattern of that shawl is what I used to make this curtain. The tension rod is a 14 dollar purchase and fits snugly in the shower window.

For the cast on, I used the Estonian method, but with single strand of yarn, following it up with 2 rows of knit stitches. I mimicked the look in the bind off by creating a similar garter band before casting off.

Here is a video demonstrating the cast on method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frc5_9AIVy0

Recipe
Cast on stitches for N repeats of the pattern + 4. Use Estonian method to cast on.
2 stitches on each edge are knit in garter for the selvage. Determine the number of repeats for required width, given your specific gauge.

Continue knitting in lace pattern to achieve desired length. End with WS. Purl all stitches the next 2 rows to create the ridge. Bind off in purl and weave in ends.

Weave the tension rod through the holes in the lace.

Neck-Turtle

I was in Vancouver last November. The snow, the coffee, more snow and oh the coffee - I had to knit, darn it! I located an LYS, bought some yarn and a circular needle and knit this up free-form, with no notions whatsoever, not even tape measure. I loved this project every stitch of the way; it completed my picture: snow, coffee and knitting. Perfect!

Recipe
This project is knit top-down, flat and seamed in the end. Check the gauge on a swatch of 2x2 ribbing. Cast on enough stitches so when the ribbing is relaxed, the total width is 10 inches. It should stretch to over twice that for it to accommodate the head circumference while wearing it.

My pattern has 3 rib columns create a single section that is repeated around for symmetry. So my CO number of stitches is a multiple of 6.

Knit 2x2 ribbing. Continue for 5 inches. Start the increasing. I used cable cross-overs to add interest while increasing with yarn overs and make one stitches. The key is to repeat the pattern in sections around.

Continue increasing over the next 3-5 inches depending on the length you need. Picot bind off adds a ruffle-like finish.

Tri-oche Scarf

Brioche is fascinating. It looks deceptively like stockinette and yet, conspicuously like not. Strong and architectural visually, yet squishy and stretchy to wear. BriocheStitch.com was my go-to reference for this scarf. I used soft Valley Yarns merino in worsted weight.

Mum knit this scarf so beautifully. It was to be a gift for my sister. Greedy pays - its mine now. :)



Recipe
Select 3 colours that have a fair amount of contrast to create a bold look. Mine were gray, blue and coffee.
CO an even number in coffee
Next row: knit the regular brioche stitch in gray
Next row: knit the regular brioche stitch in blue
continue knitting in brioche with every row a different color. Drop the color you knitted the row with, pick up the other yarn available on that side (there will only be one other yarn on that side) and continue knitting.
Continue for about 55 inches. The scarf builds slowly as it takes 2 rows of knitting to create 1 row of brioche. Bind off with the same color that you cast on with. Weave in ends.