Sama

Sama Rectangular Wrap by Renée Callahan

What Is Being Made

Sama is a brioche and garter stitch rectangular wrap designed by Renée Callahan. Named as a tribute to a lost but never forgotten friend, this wrap is generously sized to provide warmth throughout winter while maintaining the elegance required for draping over the shoulders at formal evening occasions. The rectangular construction makes it versatile for both practical layering and sophisticated styling.

Techniques and Stitches

This advanced knitting project employs brioche knitting as its primary technique, combined with garter stitch sections. Brioche knitting creates a distinctive elastic, reversible fabric with exceptional drape and visual interest. The pattern incorporates several specialized brioche stitches to build texture and shaping:

• Brioche Knit (brk): A knit stitch worked together with its yarn over from the previous row, creating the characteristic brioche texture
• Brioche Purl (brp): The purl equivalent of brioche knit, worked by purling a stitch together with its yarn over
• Brioche Yarn Over Increases (brkyobrk and brpyobrp): Techniques that create two stitches from one by working brioche knit or purl, yarn over, then brioche knit or purl again into the same stitch
• Brioche Left-Leaning Decrease (brLdec): A decrease worked over three stitches that slants left, created by slipping one stitch knitwise, working brioche knit on the next two stitches together, then passing the slipped stitch over
• Brioche Right-Leaning Decrease (brRdec): A right-leaning counterpart to the left-leaning decrease, worked similarly over three stitches
• Garter Stitch: Knit every row to create a textured, reversible fabric that complements the brioche sections

Materials and Tools

Yarn: La Bien Aimée Merino Singles, a 100% merino wool yarn in 4-ply weight (366 meters or 400 yards per 100-gram skein). The pattern calls for 2 skeins in the dark colorway Winterfell and 2 skeins in the light colorway Dusk, allowing for a two-tone color effect throughout the wrap.

Needles: 3.25 mm (US size 3) long circular needles, or the size required to achieve proper gauge. Long circular needles accommodate the width of the rectangular wrap comfortably.

Notions: 5 stitch markers and a tapestry needle for finishing and weaving in ends.

Difficulty Level

Sama is rated as an advanced knitting project. The brioche stitch techniques, particularly the specialized increases and decreases, require solid foundational knitting skills and familiarity with yarn over manipulation. Knitters should be comfortable reading brioche abbreviations and maintaining consistent tension across the wrap's width.