Over the last few weeks, Kelley's shared her progress on the Baubles Shawl by Andrea Mowry with us during her Technique Tuesday show. The first week we covered how to set up the project and knit the basic brioche stitches, last week we covered steam blocking. This week Kelley's giving some finishing tips, including how to use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off in brioche!

How to Fix Your Stitch Count

With the Baubles Shawl, it's important to have the right stitch count for your lace and brioche sections. What should you do if you have the wrong stitch count after a section? Fudge it! Kelley recommends making adjustments in the garter sections if you're missing a stitch or have too many, that way you have the right amount of stitches for your lace and brioche. 

You can increase your stitch count by doing additional garter rows, removing some rows, or doing a make 1 right or left. Do what feels right! 

How to Skip Bobbles in Brioche

The Baubles Shawl is finished with a decorative brioche accented by bobbles. Don't like bobbles? Just do a brioche knit in that stitch instead! It will not throw off your stitch count, and you'll end up with the look you want. 

Here is a closeup of the lace section on the Baubles Shawl. 

Avoid Disaster – Don't Ignore Knots!

In a brioche section, Kelley made the mistake of knitting through a loosely tied knot in her yarn. It came unraveled, which is going to take a lot of time to fix in her work. Instead of ignoring knots in your yarn, make sure to stop and secure the yarn so it doesn't unravel in your work. 

Binding-Off Brioche with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off

The last section of Baubles is brioche, and Andrea Mowry gives instructions on how to execute Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off in the brioche. In the above clip at the 10:13 mark, Kelley uses a swatch to show us how to do this bind-off. The key is to make sure you're doing the right yarn over direction! After binding-off, block your shawl! If you used an acrylic blend like Kelley did, follow her tutorial for how to steam block acrylic projects. 

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