LESLEY ANNE ROBINSON
If you have ever browsed the lists of brioche stitch
patterns on Ravelry, you are sure to have come
across Lesley’s amazingly colourful designs.
Working under the name Knit Graffiti, it is her
love and curiosity of brioche knitting that drove
her to start designing, with her first knitwear pattern being
published just over four years ago.“In late 2014, I discovered
brioche knitting when it was
first beginning to become
popular,” says Lesley. “I
wanted to know everything
there was to know about it,
and immediately got Nancy
Marchant’s just-published
book, Knitting Fresh
Brioche. I was completely
taken in - I was fascinated by
the technique!” she explains.
Her designs include
stunning shawls in all sorts
of shapes and sizes, chic hats,
and elegant garments. Lesley
describes her way of working
as being “in the moment”;
she becomes absorbed in the
process of working out her
ideas, and loves seeing the
finished results. Two of her
favourite designs are ‘SizzlePop’, her first shawl, and
‘Rebel’: “Rebel was one
of those designs that I
was inspired to cast on
immediately, and from
initial sketch to finished
object it just flowed off
my needles,” she says.
Lesley feels her greatest
achievement is building a
one-woman business while
raising two young children.
“It’s lovely to be able to make
my own schedule and be my
own boss, but the balance
of work/mom life is real!
However, I love being able
to show my two sons that
following their dreams is
so important, and that they
can do anything they set
their mind to,” she says.
http://www.knitgraffiti.comNANCY’S TOP TIP: “If
you’ve never knitted
brioche, then you
need to realize that
there is a learning
curve. Brioche is a
pair of stitches; one
stitch is worked,
and the other stitch
is slipped with a
yarnover. You need
to practice the stitch
until you feel its
rhythm; until you no
longer need to think
about how you slip
the stitch for a sl1yo.”LESLEY ANNE’S TOP TIP: “Be patient and kind to
yourself! I always tell anyone who is learning brioche
knitting that it is like learning a new language.
Brioche abbreviations and chart symbols are unlike
any other in the knitting world, and may take time
to recognize and memorize.”NANCY MARCHANT
Nancy Marchant is affectionately known as the
Queen Mother of Brioche, and has studied the
nuances of this European stitch for more than
20 years. Her books are essential reading for
anyone using this technique.Nancy’s inspirational design
portfolio is filled with
beautiful brioche patterns.
She has always been creative,
having learnt to knit at a
young age. “My mother had
subscriptions to knitting
magazines, and if I found
something that I wanted to
make, I had to redesign it
in order to use the materials
that were available to me,”
Nancy recalls. “Then, while
I was at it, I would change
the neck or add a colour. I
grew up designing without
realizing it.”
Nancy’s work is influenced
by textile techniques from
all over the world, taking
inspiration from “how we
humans adorn ourselves
with cloth, how that cloth is
created and decorated,” she
explains. She particularly
likes brioche stitch because it
offers so much potential for
development and innovation,
and she says she is still
finding out new ways to
manipulate and work with it
and other tuck stitches.
Nancy’s explorations into
the possibilities of brioche
are presented in a range of
books, including KnittingBrioche, Knitting Brioche
Lace, and Leafy Brioche.
Does she have a favourite
from her extensive portfolio?
“I do like the ‘Meadowsweet’
shawl from Knitting Brioche
Lace,” she says. “I struggled
with that design - I was
making sample after sample
but couldn’t get it right. I was
teaching in Finland at the
Jyväskylä Knit Fest when the
answer hit me. I really like
the end result.”
http://www.briochestitch.comPH
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Brioche Focus
The Knitter 56 Issue 149 Subscribe now at http://www.gathered.how/theknitter