Noro Brioche Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Noro Brioche Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Noro Brioche Shawl is an intermediate-level knitted wrap designed to provide elegant drape and warmth. This shawl measures approximately 24 x 60 inches (61 x 152.5 centimeters) when finished, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering over shoulders or wearing as a traditional wrap. The project uses a brioche knitting construction, a specialized technique that creates a distinctive textured appearance with excellent elasticity and visual interest.

Techniques Used

This project employs several key knitting techniques that define the brioche shawl construction:

• Brioche Knitting: The primary technique used throughout this shawl, creating the characteristic rippled texture and dimensional fabric. Brioche knitting involves working with yarn overs and slip stitches in a specific sequence to produce a reversible, stretchy fabric.
• Yarn Management: The pattern includes a specific note about creating wider stripes of similar colors by alternating pulls from the inside and outside of consecutive skeins, allowing crafters to achieve custom color effects.
• Slip Stitches: Used strategically to create the brioche effect, where stitches are passed from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle without being worked, contributing to the fabric's texture.
• Yarn Overs: Employed to create new stitches and contribute to the openwork and dimensional qualities of the brioche pattern.
• Decrease Techniques: The pattern utilizes slip, slip, knit/purl decreases to shape and refine the shawl structure.
• Selvage Stitches: Edge stitches are incorporated to facilitate easier seaming and create clean, finished edges.

Stitches Used

The Noro Brioche Shawl relies on fundamental knitting stitches combined in the brioche technique:

• Knit Stitch: The basic knit stitch forms the foundation of the pattern.
• Purl Stitch: Purl stitches are incorporated, particularly in the brioche construction where knit and purl variations create the textured effect.
• Yarn Over (YO): Creates new stitches and contributes to the pattern's visual texture and drape.
• Slip Stitch: Essential to the brioche technique, these stitches are worked without being knitted, allowing the previous row's loops to remain active.
• Slip, Slip, Knit/Purl (SSK/SSP): A decrease technique that reduces stitch count while maintaining pattern integrity.
• Knit into Front and Back (KFB): An increase method that creates new stitches from a single stitch.

Materials Required

The Noro Brioche Shawl calls for specific materials to achieve the intended finished fabric and appearance:

• Yarn: 5 hanks of Noro Miyabi in colorway #18, with each hank weighing 100 grams. Noro Miyabi is a premium yarn known for its beautiful color variations and appropriate weight for shawl construction. The pattern note about alternating yarn pulls from inside and outside of skeins suggests the yarn produces visually interesting color effects when manipulated this way.
• Needles: One size US 10 (6mm) circular needle measuring 32 inches (80 centimeters) in length. The circular needle is specified not for working in the round, but to accommodate the large number of stitches required for the shawl's width without strain.
• Additional Tools: A cable needle for any cable techniques that may appear in the pattern, stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping points, and a gauge swatch tool to verify proper tension before beginning the project.

Gauge and Finishing Details

Achieving proper gauge is essential for this intermediate project. The pattern specifies 16 stitches and 27 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) when worked in the ripple brioche stitch using US 10 (6mm) needles. The pattern emphasizes the importance of checking gauge before beginning, as variations in tension will affect the final shawl dimensions. The use of selvage stitches along the edges facilitates seaming if needed, and the circular needle construction means the shawl is worked flat rather than joined in the round, despite the circular needle's use.