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Book: Knitting Fresh Brioche: Creating Two-Color Twists & Turns
Author: Nancy Marchant
Publisher: Sixth & Spring Books
I was very excited to receive my reviewer’s copy of Nancy Marchant’s newest book, Knitting Fresh Brioche: Creating Two-Color Twists & Turns. It’s equal parts brioche step-by-step guide and stitch dictionary, with a focus on two-color designs.
Knitting Fresh Brioche is packed with information. There are step-by-step photo guides for the basic brioche stitches, increase, decrease, cast-on, and bind-off. Marchant even shares her trick for maintaining tidy edges on brioche fabric as well as help on how to handle mistakes. I love Marchant’s note calling a brioche knit stitch (abbreviated brk) a “bark” and a brioche purl stitch (abbreviate brp) a “burp”. I’m adding those to my list of favorite knitting slang. After explaining how to read two-color brioche charts, the book moves into the stitch patterns.
Knitting Fresh Brioche has 75 unique stitch patterns, written and charted, that use only basic two-color brioche fabric with increases and decreases. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the lovely variations that can be made with just these stitches. While Marchant encourages you to use these stitch patterns in your own creations, you can wet your palate by trying out one of the lovely scarf or wrap designs included in the book. I love Sister Janie and the light and airy Miss B.
© Sixth&Spring Books/Nancy Marchant
© Sixth&Spring Books/Nancy Marchant
Overall, Knitting Fresh Brioche is a great book for Brioche newbies and enthusiasts alike. Beginners will find that using two colors makes it easier to tell if they’re doing things right, while experienced brioche knitters will enjoy exploring the stitch patterns as a spring board to their own designs. I definitely recommend it.
