Beginner Brioche Cowl in Cascade Pacific Chunky - C293 - Downloadable PDF

Beginner Brioche Cowl in Cascade Pacific Chunky – Pattern C293 by Andrea Maglisceau

This free downloadable PDF pattern, C293 Pacific® Chunky Beginner Brioche Cowl, was designed by Andrea Maglisceau and published by Cascade Yarns®. It guides knitters through creating a richly textured, two-color brioche cowl with a finished size of approximately 14" x 24" — a generous, cozy accessory that sits beautifully around the neck and shoulders. Despite its intermediate skill level designation, the pattern is specifically structured to introduce knitters to brioche knitting in an approachable, confidence-building way.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a knitted cowl worked in the round on circular needles. Its substantial dimensions — 14 inches tall and 24 inches in circumference — make it a versatile layering piece suitable for cool-weather wear. The two-color striped brioche fabric gives the cowl a plush, squishy, reversible texture that is a hallmark of the brioche stitch family.

Techniques and Construction

The cowl is constructed entirely in the round using circular knitting needles, which eliminates seaming and creates a seamless tube of fabric. The defining technique throughout the pattern is two-color brioche knitting, a method that uses two yarns in alternating rounds to produce a deeply ribbed, reversible fabric with exceptional loft and elasticity. Andrea Maglisceau has structured the pattern specifically to demystify brioche stripes for those new to the technique, making it an excellent first brioche project.

Two needle sizes are called for — US 9 and US 10.5 circular needles in a 20–24 inch length — which is a common approach in brioche knitting to accommodate the different tension requirements of the setup and main pattern rounds. A stitch marker is used to track the beginning of each round.

Stitches Used

The pattern relies on a focused vocabulary of brioche-specific stitches and standard knitting techniques:

• BRK (Brioche Knit) – knitting a stitch together with its paired yarn over from the previous round, creating the signature raised rib of brioche fabric
• BRP (Brioche Purl) – the purl equivalent of the brioche knit, worked together with its paired yarn over
• Sl1YO (Slip 1, Yarn Over) – slipping a stitch and simultaneously wrapping the yarn, setting up the paired stitch for the following brioche round
• YfSl1 (Yarn Forward, Slip 1) – a directional slip used in brioche purl setup
• YO (Yarn Over) – a foundational element of all brioche knitting, creating the extra loop that gives brioche its depth
• K2tog (Knit 2 Together) and P2tog (Purl 2 Together) – standard decrease stitches used as needed
• K (Knit) and P (Purl) – basic stitches used in cast-on and finishing sections
• CO (Cast On) and BO (Bind Off) – standard project setup and finishing

Materials

The pattern calls for Cascade Yarns® Pacific® Chunky, a chunky weight yarn with a fiber composition of 60% Acrylic / 40% Superwash Merino Wool. Each skein contains 100 g (3.5 oz) and approximately 120 yards (110 m). The two-color design requires:

• 2 skeins of color #61 (Silver) as the Main Color (MC)
• 2 skeins of color #40 (Peacock) as the Contrasting Color (CC)

The blend of superwash merino and acrylic gives the finished cowl a soft hand with easy-care practicality — the superwash treatment means the wool fibers are machine-washable, while the acrylic content adds dur