A step-by-step tutorial on the basic way for increasing brioche stitches in one or two colors, or in the round.
I love the Brioche stitch. It’s seriously one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns ever. It turns every yarn into a luxuriously soft fabric with an easy two-stitch repeat. But there is one question that pops up among beginners quite often: How do you increase the brioche stitch?
Maybe you’ve tried and noticed that using typical knitting increases just doesn’t work properly. And this is where a lot of books and websites turn brioche knitting into science, using tons of abbreviations and lingo when I actually believe it is perfectly suitable for beginners.
There is only one thing you need to know: Brioche stitches are actually a form of double knitting. It’s probably better to call it a double 1×1 rib pattern – like a natural evolution of the double stockinette stitch. And that’s why you can only increase with double increases.
When paired with a decrease, the resulting fabric actually looks a lot like cables, and there are tons of fun knitting patterns that make use of it.
Let’s dive right into it, eh?
Note: Check out this post if you’d like to know how to decrease the brioche stitch. Also, be aware that these increases work for the half brioche stitch as well.
How to knit the basic brioche stitch increase
How to knit the basic brioche stitch increase step by step. In knitting patterns, you'll often find the abbreviation brkyobrk which stands for brioche knit, yarn over, brioche knit again.
Instructions
- Step: Knit up to the position you want to place the increase, specifically to a place where you normally would k2tog/brk and slip one yarn over (Sl1yo) combination of the previous round. Knit it together like you normally would. But don't drop the stitch yet and keep it on the left needle instead.
- Step: Do a yarn over.
- Step: Knit a k2tog into the double stitch one more time. Now you can drop the stitch off the needles.
- Step: Continue knitting until you reach the beginning of these three stitches in the return row. Sl1yo into the first of the three stitches as normal.
- Step: Now, normally, you would brioche knit together the next stitch, but in this case, you only have to knit this stitch because you don't have a paired yarn over yet.
- Step: Continue knitting the regular repeat. So, another (Sl1yo) .
Notes
If you are afraid of missing the place where the increase starts on the return row, you may consider placing a stitch marker right after it. This can be helpful if you are knitting a pattern with a lot of increases.
You should also know that this is a centered increase. It's neither left- nor right-leaning. You can use it wherever you want and you don't have to pay attention (unlike with brioche decreases). It will always appear like one rib symmetrically branches out into two.
One thing you need to be aware of is the fact that this is not exactly a reversible increase. It WILL look a bit differently on the other side. It will look clean and neat but different. Here, two of the purl ridges will appear to be branching out. You will have to plan your increases in a way that they all are knit from the same side, otherwise, it may look a bit weird.
Doing a double increase
You can use the very same technique to increase by more than 2 stitches. You can also let one rib branch out into three ribs. That’s actually the very same technique with two slight modifications.
Step 1: Knit a regular brioche stitch increase, but don’t drop the yarn.
Step 2: Do another yarn over and knit into the double stitch a third time, then drop it off the left needle.
Step 3: On the return row, you only have to knit the second and fourth stitches of the 5 increased stitches you created.
Theoretically speaking, you could even increase further. Do know, however, that two things will happen when you are knitting a double brioche increase (it’s actually a quadruple increase).
- You will stretch out the initial stitch quite a bit, and this will create a little eyelet
- The resulting fabric will bulge out a tiny bit. As the brioche stitch is very elastic, you will usually not notice it. Still, you are essentially creating a little bobble here.
Note: Here’s a post about the corresponding brioche double decrease.
The classic two-colored brioche increase
You can also increase a two-colored brioche stitch in a very similar manner. There’s virtually no difference in the first row. You only need to adjust the “return row”, or rather, the way you knit across in the second color.
This increase only works on a right-side row in the dominant color.
Step 1: Knit a k2tog, yo, k2tog into the same double stitch (where you did a Sl1yo in the previous round in the second color) and continue knitting until the end of the row.
Step 2: When you knit across in the second color, knit [Sl1yo, purl 1, Sl1yo] across those three stitches.
As I already said, the basic brioche increase is not exactly reversible. When you knit in one color, it’s not all that noticeable. In two colors, it’s a different story.
You are adding two knit stitches in the dominant color with this increase. This creates purl stitches for the second color, and they will be offset by one row. It will “destroy” the cabled charm of the brioche stitch and essentially means you have to think in terms of the wrong side and right side when planning out your pattern.
Reversible brioche double increase
Now, it’s important to stress that most brioche patterns rely on the standard double increase. However, that doesn’t mean you have to live with the fact that your pattern stops being fully reversible. There are two ways to achieve a smooth and seamless transition on the wrong side, and it’s not even all that harder!
Here’s how to knit a reversible brioche double increase
The Brioche increase in the round
The brioche stitch can easily be knit in the round as well. Experienced knitters might already know that there is no difference between the repeat for a two-colored brioche and knitting it in the round (except you may or may not be using two colors).
So, if you want to increase a brioche stitch in the round, you have to do exactly the same steps. And just like before, you can only do the increase in a round with k2togs.
Step 1: Knit a k2tog, yo, k2tog into one double stitch.
Step 2: Sl1yo , purl, Sl1yo
It’s really that simple.
Theoretically speaking, you could also work this increase in a p2tog round by doing a p2tog, yo, p2tog into the same double stitch. But then you wouldn’t get the neat optical illusion of one of the knit stitch ridges branching out. So, probably just an academic thought experiment.
Anyway, that’s how you knit the brioche stitch increase. Feel free to comment below in case you have any questions.
Oh Norman, how I wish I’d met you several years ago.
Your site is so well done. The videos are produced so clearly.
Thank you.
Hey Patricia,
so glad to hear that! Feel free to comment if you need any further help )
I haven’t done enough brioche for this to make sense to me just now. I plan to save it for when I get time to practice. Thanks for the illustrated instruction. Words and pictures together work wonders for understanding.
Hey Shirely,
happy to hear that the illustrations work out! Feel free to comment again in case you need further help 🙂
The vÃdeo is very good. I learned a lot.
By half brioche, do I make the increases the same way?
Thank you very much.
Aida
Hey Aido, yeah, you can more or less increase half brioche in the same way
Where did my comment go. I asked on my increases pattern says to increase by 1 on both sides I end up with 2 extra increases why is that. I can’t figure it out HELP
you commented on my post on the half brioche and there I answered 😉
Hi Norman, I’m not Judy but this is the only place I could find to send you a message. Thank you so much for your excellent tutorials, I would never have managed the brioche increase without your explanation of what to do on the row following the increase row. So I’ve one enough practice now and im about to start knitting my garment BUT – I don’t know what to do if I make a mistake and need to take out some of my knitting. During practice I had to take it off the needles and pull it all out back to the beginning, which I obviously don’t want to do while knitting a garment. Trying to undo stitches leaves me with lots of flapping loops of wool that I don’t know what to do with. If you understand what I mean, can you send instructions on how to undo and go back to a mistake and restart from there?
I would definitely recommend using a lifeline. There are ways to fix brioche but when it comes to increases and decreases it tends to become a mess. Lifeliens and and partially unraveling is probably the easier and neater option.
Thank you so much for your excellent tutorials! So glad I found your site!
The hat pattern that I am working calls for a 4 stitch increase, having no issue with the technique of the increase but I am left with a really loose stitch on either side, there is this actually big gaps that not sure will even that out. Do you have any suggestions on how to minimize this?
hm..not really…i mean..try to work on the tip of your needles, try not to stretch out the adjacent stitches, and in general, brioche looks better with relatively small needles.
Other than that, I’d have to see what exactly you re doing.
Hello Norman, thanks so much for your very clear tutorials, I really appreciate having photos and text as I don’t learn well with videos. Your site has taught me so much over the years and I’m really grateful.
I had a question about the return row after doing an increase in two colors – instead of a knit stitch (as it would be for one color), you say to purl that middle stitch. I haven’t been able to find any other tutorials that even mention the return so I can’t confirm what the reason is for that difference. I think you explain that it’s a visual thing between the colors (maybe to keep the ribs consistent?) but I’m not sure I’m understanding correctly.
Does this mean that, on the return row after an increase, the center (or any equivalent stitch in the case of a larger increase), in two colors, should always be purled? Or are there instances where it should be knit?
Well, basically you simply continue your normal brioche stitch repeat (so *sl1yo, k2tog*/*sl1yo, p2tog*). Since the increase does not leave behind a sl1yo combination but just a normal stitch (so a sl1), you basically treat it as if there was and either k2tog or p2tog depending on which row you are in.
Typically, you increase the way I’ve showed you in this tutorial. However, there are theoretical instances where you’d have to knit that stitch. However, then the increases will not create this pattern (at least not on the front side).
Thank you, but then why is the two-color version different from one color?
There really is no difference. The only difference is that you are knitting with a different color. Or where do you see a difference?
I might be misunderstanding your instructions above then. For both one- and two-color, the first step is the row with the increases. Then, for one-color, the next row it says that it should be (yarn over) slip, knit, slip. But for two-color, it says the next row is slip, purl, slip.
If I’m understanding your replies correctly then I guess the center stitch of the increase should just always be what the rest of the row is, correct? In a row of brks, it would be a knit stitch, in a row of brps it would be a purl?
Yes, exactly, just continue the repeat as normal. Of course, in one color, you turn around, in two colors you don’t. That’s why the central stitch is handled “differently”.
Hello Norman,
I hope you can help, am I right that when doing a half brioche increase it has to be on the Bkr, p side.
I am struggling to incorporate my increase stitch into the half brioche pattern on a sleeve.
Row 1 (RS) k1 m1 sl1yo k1….stay in brioche pattern to last stitch sl1yo m1 k1
Row 2 (WS) k1 p1 brk1 p1 rep to last 2 stitches p1 k1
Row 3 (RS) k2 sl1yo k1 to end k2
If you could help me understand how I make the stitch become part of the brioche that would be great.
Thanks so much
Emma
Please do not ask questions twice. I deleted the first one. thank you for your understanding.
Hello Norman,
I totally understand and this was an accident, I did not think the first one had posted.
Sorry for any misunderstanding, if you could help that would be great.
Take care
Emma