MKB Project 11:  A Completed Brioche!

After what feels like a very long time, I have finished my version of A Brioche, the 11th pattern in Miss Lambert’s My Knitting Book (1843, First Series).  This is also the 11th pattern in my personal project to work through the patterns of this un-illustrated book and try to bring life back to the 172-year-old patterns found inside.

A photo of the finished object, with my feet for scale:

Assembly of the Brioche was a bit tricky.  I ended up using a cardboard cake base (instead of millboard) covered with a piece of quilt batting and stuffed the pillow with some polyester filling (instead of wool) that I had in my craft collection.  I covered the top with a large wooden button (instead of tassels).  Unfortunately, I was not able to draw the centre button down as tight in the centre as I would have liked.  I suspect that a lady of means working on this pattern would have had someone else finish the pillow after the knitting was complete, as struggling with the stuffing and millboard would not have been particularly elegant or ladylike.  At least in my experience … but, then again, I am generally neither!

A close up of the top:

And the base:

The Brioche has been approved by our lovely cat, Brie, although when I took this picture, she was more interested in the leaves blowing around in the front yard: