On Valentines - A Marriage of Brioche and Mosaics

My latest design, Topograph, combines two techniques that I have really come to love - brioche and mosaics.

Just take a gander through my designs and you'll see a overwhelming bias towards these types of patterns. 

This cowl design started out as a typical mosaic pattern, but I had been working on a lot of brioche projects, so when slipping stitches, instead of keeping the working yarn stranded across the back, I did the yarn forward, slip1, yarn over motion common in brioche knit rows.  Didn't even realize it til I got to the next round.  I just kept at it and on the next round, I slipped the original stitch, the previous yarn over, and made a new yarn over.  On the next round, I barked together the slipped stitch and the two yarn overs - and realized that just about any mosaic pattern could be worked this way!

This technique has lots of advantages over regular mosaics:

1. the resulting fabric looks like stockinette on one side, but does not roll -  it stays flat!
2. what would typically be the right side in a regular mosaic pattern has a bit of a skew to it that creates really interesting diagonal dimensions - the plain knit stitches are narrower than the brioche type stitches - this leads to some very interesting visual effects for various patterns
3. it's reversible - the reverse side is as interesting as the typical right side.  The brioche stitches form diamonds.  The photos don't do this side justice.

Like regular mosaics, you only have to work with one color at a time.  And because the cowl is worked in the round, no purling!
I hope you give this technique a try - the pattern is available for $3

Or you can favorite or add it to your queue or wish list over here on ravelry.