Jennifer Callahan and her husband run a small knitting shop in Barcelona called All You Knit is Love. I’m not going to lie to you. That feels like a dream or fantasy, but it’s true! Also, please don’t hate me that I need to tell you that I’ve got an earworm now for “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles. I know the name of their shop was a play on the name of the song and it certainly works for me.
When I was browsing the internet for knit beauty, I was immediately drawn to Jennifer’s project because I’m so intrigued by brioche knitting. It’s thick and stretchy and squishy, which are all the characteristics I love in knitting, but since it’s got slip stitches, you can work in two colors and get vertical striping. It’s even reversible with a predominant color on one side and one on the other. It’s a beautiful thing!
The Trifasic Cowl is a sampler of sorts and it’s great fun for anyone wanting to learn some new techniques. It’s small enough so it won’t be overwhelming. Do not be afraid. It’s actually a really fun project for knitters who want to break out of their boxes. Remember that knitting is just knit and purl with some variations. You’ve got this!
For this project, you’ll work in the round. What does that mean for you? You won’t have to turn which means you can just do lots of knitting without being interrupted. Yeah, bay-bee! You’ll start off with some ribbing rows in a solid color and then you’ll move into the brioche.
Brioche involves what I’ve learned are “tuck stitches”. This means that you’ll be knitting together a slipped stitch and a yarn over from the row below. We’ve talked about slipped stitches here before. You just insert your hook in the method stated and move the loop to your right hand needle without working it. In this project, you will move your yarn to the front and slip the stitch purlwise, but you’re not making a purled slip stitch. You’re actually making a yarn over because it stays on the right hand needle, just in front of the slipped stitch, not a purl bump. The difference is so subtle that I had to head straight to YouTube to figure it out.
I’ve made purled slip stitches before but this isn’t the same. I had to review lots and lots of YouTube videos before I found one that really made this click for me and I’ll share that video below. Note that the video is brioche worked flat and it’s not straight ribbing because it’s got some gorgeous crossing going on. That’s okay. You’re just going to be reviewing it to see the detail of how to make the slip-yarn over. (Thank you, Susanne Sommer, for the video!)
I really love the effects you can get with slipped stitches. I have an entire book on brioche and just flipping through the pages is incredibly inspirational.
We don’t stop with the brioche, though! After this section, you move right into some lace knitting. Jennifer has provided this section in both written and chart. To complete your project, repeat the 4×4 ribbing you did at the beginning and then bind off.
This project is just fantastic. I wonder whether Jennifer is using it for a class in her shop? It’s got so much going for it.
- Working in the round
- Ribbing
- Two-color brioche ribbing
- Lace
- Working from a chart
This pattern is available in both English and Spanish.
Pick up your free knit pattern download on Ravelry from All You Knit is Love HERE.
See all of Jennifer’s work on Ravelry HERE. Follow her on Facebook HERE.
Enjoy!