Brioche Tutorial 3 – Increases and Decreases

Refer to my posts Brioche Tutorial 1 and Brioche Tutorial 2 for terminology and other general information.

Many of the wonderful brioche designs available these days use a variety of increases and decreases to achieve striking effects where the columns of brk stitches converge or branch out to form leafy or geometric patterns. Due to brioche being a type of ribbed fabric, any increase or decrease in single (as opposed to double) brioche has to add or remove stitches in a multiple of 2 in order to maintain the rib pattern. The basic increases and decreases described below do this on a single row, although there are some methods which used more than one row. This tutorial is primarily concerned with increases and decreases worked on the right side of the fabric using the columns of brk stitches. This tutorial includes step-by-step written instructions but is not a full photo tutorial.

Contents of this post:

Two-stitch Increase
Four-stitch Increase
Left-leaning Decrease
Right-leaning Decrease
Four-stitch Decrease
Purl Increases
Double-brioche Increases and Decreases (overview only)

1. Two-stitch Increase ‘brkyobrk’

This increase produces 3 stitches out of one brk stitch so that the column of brk stitches on the right side of the work diverges into two columns of brk stitches. If working two-colour brioche, the increase is worked using the yarn colour which is dominant on the right side of the work.

The increase is worked into a brk stitch (i.e. a stitch together with its yarnover) as follows (assuming this is on the right side of the work):

brk the stitch (i.e. knit it together with its yarnover) without slipping the stitch from the passive needle,
perform a yarnover (by bringing the yarn between the needles and back over the working needle),
brk a second time into the same stitch (with its yarnover), before slipping it off the passive needle.
on the next row if working flat in one colour (i.e. on the wrong side of the work), the 3 stitches are worked as ‘sl1yo, k1, sl1yo’. If working in two colours (whether flat or in the round) the stitches will be worked next on the right side of the work using the opposite colour using the sequence ‘sl1yo, p1, sl1yo’.
on subsequent rows/rounds the additional stitches are incorporated into the brioche rib as normal.

This increase is not reversible as shown in the photos above, however it can be worked on the wrong side of the work depending on the desired effect. In that case, the following row would be worked (on the right side of the work) as ‘sl1yo, k1, sl1yo’.

2. Four-stitch Increase

It is possible to create several increases out of one column of brk stitches by increasing the number of additional pairs of yarnover and brk stitches worked (i.e. repeating steps 2 & 3 above a number of times).

Thus, for example, by working a brkyobrk, but then repeating steps 2 & 3 once more before slipping the stitch off the passive needle, it is possible to create 5 stitches out of one, resulting in 3 brk columns branching out of one, as shown in the photo below. This stitch is known as ‘brkyobrkyobrk’.

3. Left-Leaning Decrease

Unlike the basic increase described above, the basic two-stitch decreases appear to ‘lean’ to the right or left in a similar way to a ‘k2tog’ or ‘ssk’ stitch in basic stockinette, due to the way that one column of brk stitches sits on top of the other brk column when the decrease is worked. The decrease is worked on the right side of the work, using the yarn colour dominant on that side, over a series of 3 stitches comprising two brk columns together with the purl stitch in between. There are two marginally different ways of working the decrease depending on the order of the stitches within the decrease. In a left-leaning decrease, the first brk stitch will always sit on top when the three stitches are combined, but the order of the other two (as to which one sits in the middle and which one is at the back) depends on the method of working the decrease.

The ‘brsssk’ decrease:

This decrease is worked as follows:

slip the next stitch (with its yarnover) knitwise to the working needle,
slip the second stitch knitwise to the working needle,
brk the third stitch (i.e. knit it with its yarnover),
pass the slipped stitches (including the yarnover) over the stitch just worked
on the next round/row the resulting single stitch is worked as a sl1yo and incorporated into the brioche rib as normal on subsequent rows/rounds.

This results in the three original stitches stacked on top of each other with the original brk stitches at the top and bottom of the stack.

The ‘brLsl dec’ or ‘brsk2p’ decrease:

This is sometimes referred to as ‘brsk2p’ or ‘bsk2p’ as it is worked in a similar way to the ‘sk2p’ decrease in stockinette stitch. I tend to prefer ‘brsk2p’ for this reason, and to follow the convention of preceding the stitch abbreviation with the letters ‘br’ to denote that it is a brioche version of the basic stitch (i.e. incorporating the related yarnovers).

This decrease is worked as follows:

slip the next stitch (with its yarnover) knitwise to the working needle,
brk the following 2 stitches together (i.e. knit both together with the yarnover on the second stitch),
pass the slipped stitch over the stitch just worked,
on the next round/row the resulting single stitch is worked as a sl1yo and incorporated into the brioche rib as normal on subsequent rows/rounds.

The photos show both these types of decrease on the right side and wrong side. They look very similar from the right side, although the brsssk may result in marginally more of the dark colour yarn being visible at the point where the two brk columns converge. However, there is a more noticeable difference on the wrong side. The choice of which decrease to use may depend on the type of yarn being used and how necessary it is for the central purl stitch in the contrasting colour to be hidden behind the two brk stitches rather than being sandwiched in between. When using laceweight yarns, it is unlikely that any difference in methods will be noticeable.

4. Right-leaning Decrease

The general points made above for left-leaning decreases also apply to right-leaning decreases. There are two key methods of working a right leaning decrease over three stitches (two brk columns and the intervening purl stitch) on a single row.

The ‘brk3tog’ decrease:

This is the mirror of the brsssk decrease and is worked as follows:

brk the next 2 stitches together (the knit stitch with its yarnover and the purl stitch),
slip the stitch just worked back to the passive needle,
pass the second stitch on the passive needle (the knit stitch with its yarnover) over the first stitch,
slip the stitch from passive to working needle,
on the next round/row the resulting single stitch is worked as a sl1yo and incorporated into the brioche rib as normal on subsequent rows/rounds.

An alternative way of working this decrease is as follows:

brk the next stitch,
slip the stitch just worked back to the passive needle,
pass the second and third stitches on the passive needle (the purl stitch and the knit stitch with its yarnover) over the first stitch,
slip the stitch from passive to working needle,
on the next round/row the resulting single stitch is worked as a sl1yo and incorporated into the brioche rib as normal on subsequent rows/rounds.

Both methods result in the three original stitches stacked on top of each other with the original brk stitches at the top and bottom of the stack and the purl stitch sandwiched in between. When slipping stitches at steps 2 & 4, this is usually done purlwise in order not to change the orientation of the stitch on the working needle.

The ‘brRsl dec’ decrease:

This is the mirror of the brLsl dec and is worked as follows:

slip the next stitch knitwise, with its yarnover, to the working needle,
knit one stitch,
pass the slipped stitch over the stitch just worked (note: steps 1 to 3 can alternatively be worked in the same way as ssk – i.e. slip 2 stitches individually knitwise, insert passive needle purlwise through both slipped stitches and k2tog through back loop),
slip stitch just worked back to passive needle,
slip second stitch on passive needle over the first stitch,
slip stitch from passive needle to working needle.
on the next round/row the resulting single stitch is worked as a sl1yo and incorporated into the brioche rib as normal on subsequent rows/rounds.

This decrease swaps the order of the 2^nd and 3^rd stitches so that the original stitch which was in the middle of the three (i.e. the purl stitch between the two brk columns) now sits at the bottom of the stack of three decreased stitches. When slipping stitches at steps 4 & 6, this is usually done purlwise in order not to change the orientation of the stitch on the working needle.

As with the left-leaning decreases, the two decreases look slightly different from each other with the difference more obvious on the wrong side, as shown below:

5. Four-stitch Decrease ‘br4st dec’

This decrease is worked over five stitches (three brk columns and the two intervening purl stitches) and decreases these to one stitch. I think of it as the brioche equivalent of a centred double decrease (i.e. ‘cdd’ or ‘s2kp2’) in non-brioche knitting, so that the central brk column sits on top of the four eliminated stitches. It does involve the use of a cable needle or removable stitch marker to hold the central stitch while the other stitches are eliminated, and is worked as follows, (starting after the sl1yo stitch falling immediately before the first brk column to be decreased):

slip the next two stitches individually (i.e. the brk stitch including its yarnover and the subsequent purl stitch) knitwise to the working needle,
place the next stitch (i.e. central brk stitch including its yarnover) on a cable needle or removable stitch marker and hold at the front of work,
knit the next stitch,
pass the second stitch (i.e. a purl st) on the working needle over the stitch just worked,
slip one stitch back to passive needle,
pass the second stitch on passive needle (i.e. a brk stitch including its yarnover) over the slipped stitch,
slip one stitch back to the working needle,
pass the second stitch on the working needle (i.e. a brk stitch including its yarnover) over the stitch just slipped,
place stitch from cable needle onto passive needle so that it is in its original orientation,
slip one stitch from working needle to passive needle,
pass second stitch from passive needle (i.e. the original central brk stitch including its yarnover) over the stitch just slipped,
slip one stitch back to working needle.

When slipping the stitch back and forth at steps 5 onwards, always slip it in the same manner (eg purlwise) in order not to affect the final orientation of the stitch on the needles.

6. Purl Increases

I have not covered in detail in this tutorial the methods of working increases or decreases using columns of purl stitches (as opposed to columns of brk stitches). The purl two-stitch increase (called ‘brpyobrp’) is worked as a brp, followed by a yarnover then another brp into a single column of brp stitches, and is the equivalent of working a ‘brkyobrk’ into a column of brk stitches on the opposite side of the fabric. The ‘yobrp’ part of the sequence can be repeated more than once depending on the number of increases required. The yarnovers are worked on the next round or row as purl stitches (or as knit stitches if this row is being worked on the opposite side of the fabric) and thereafter get incorporated into the brioche ribbing as normal.

7. Double-brioche Increases and Decreases

It is possible to work increases and decreases (including reversible ones) in double brioche stitch, however these are not well documented online. I have been working on a number of these with a view to using them in designs and plan to incorporate tutorials into my patterns as and when required. Due to double brioche being worked over a multiple of four stitches, it is necessary to increase or decrease in multiples of four stitches. There are several ways of achieving the same end with slightly different results and most such increases and decreases are achieved over more than one row/round. Below is an example of a (non-reversible) decrease in double brioche.