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Yes, this pattern was absolutely released on April Fool’s Day. And yes, it is ABSOLUTELY a real pattern. I hope that you can find some joy and a bit of emotional support. With all my love, Lesley.

Emotional Support Bread : A plush, knit brioche bread loaf designed purely for joy, knit entirely out of two-color brioche. And because even emotional support bread deserves to be presented properly, there is a coordinating lace napkin pattern.

Real bread is perfect already. This is just the knitted emotional backup. This loaf will never judge you. It won’t ask why you started another project. It simply sits there, soft, squishy, and unreasonably comforting, ready to be held when the world feels a little crunchy.

This Emotional Support Bread is a plush, knit brioche bread loaf designed purely for joy. Worked in ultra-satisfying two-color brioche stitch, this loaf has all the scored top, pillowy ridges and golden-brown vibes of the real thing, minus the crumbs. No baking required, just deeply soothing stitches and maximum huggability. It is knit in 2 pieces, the Top and Bottom, then seamed together and stuffed. The Bottom is a bit smaller than the Top, to create the illusion of an extra fluffy loaf top, as if it was bulging out of your bread pan coming fresh out of the oven. The Top has a beautiful braid or scoring, like traditional brioche bread, while the Bottom is plain brioche rib.

And because even emotional support bread deserves to be presented properly, there is a coordinating napkin pattern. The napkin is optional but strongly encouraged. It adds dignity. It suggests intention. It implies that this loaf is part of a curated emotional support experience and not something you panic-knit at 2 a.m. (Even if it absolutely was.) The napkin is knit in a rhombus shape, starting and ending with very few stitches, with a beautiful diamond lace motif.

Perfect as a desk companion, couch buddy, or knitting-adjacent coping mechanism, this loaf is perfect for all brioche knitters and wildly rewarding for anyone who enjoys watching their yarn turn into something that feels like a warm bakery hug.

Recommended uses include:

• Stress knitting
• Desk loaf (on its napkin, obviously)
• Couch loaf
• Post-zoom or meeting recovery loaf
• Knitting a loaf instead of baking one because that sounds like too much work

Warning: may cause spontaneous smiling, unsolicited “is that… bread?” comments, and an intense desire to knit an entire emotional support bakery.

Here’s a bit more info about the pattern:

Yarn Notes:
The sizes of your Bread Loaf & Lace Napkin can be easily changed by substituting a different yarn weight! Please note that if you decide to change yarn weights, your yarn amounts will differ. I used 2 DK minis total for my Bread Loaf, and 1 DK mini for the Lace Napkin! See below for more yarn info.

Skill level:
Beginner brioche friendly!! This is a fabulous pattern to learn this technique flat, with a few increases and decreases.

The pattern does include charts and written instructions, as well as photo tutorials for the seaming portion.

Techniques used:
Twisted German Cast On, knit, purl, brioche knit (brk), sl1yo, brioche purl (brp), brioche increases and decreases (no br4st dec!), lace increases, Elastic Bind Off, seaming with Mattress Stitch

Video Tutorials:
Twisted German Cast On: http://bit.ly/TwistedGermanCO
Weaving ends in brioche: https://bit.ly/WeavingEndsBrioche
Mattress Stitch with Brioche: https://bit.ly/MattressStitchBrioche
Seaming a Plushie: https://bit.ly/BriocheMyHeart

» Sizing Info:
Bread Loaf: One Size
Top: 5’’ / 12.5 cm width & 9’’ / 23 cm height (taken after blocking, before seaming).
Bottom: 6’’ / 15 cm width & 6.5’’ / 16.5 cm height (taken after blocking, before seaming).

Lace Napkin: One Size
6.5’’ / 16.5 cm width & 6.5’’ / 16.5 cm height (taken after blocking).

Please note that sizes of loaf and napkin may vary depending on type of yarn used.

» Gauge:
19 sts x 24 rows = 4’’ / 10 cm; measured in even two-color brioche stitch knit flat, as Bottom (taken after blocking).

MATERIALS:

» Yarn: DK weight
Bread Loaf (top and bottom)
Main Color (MC): 49 yds / 45 m
Contrast Color (CC): 49 yds / 45 m

Lace Napkin
Accent Color: 49 yds / 45 m

» Shown in: Fangirl Fibers Merino DK (100% Superwash Merino; 246 yds / 225 m per 100 g / Mini skeins: 49 yds / 45 m per 20 g)
Bread Loaf (top and bottom):
MC: 1 mini skein in light pink from Gothic Whimsy box 2024
CC: 1 mini skein in orange from Gothic Whimsy box 2024

Lace Napkin:
Accent Color: 1 mini skein in light purple from Gothic Whimsy box 2024

» Needles:
Small Needles:
16’’ / 40.5 cm US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needles OR size needed to obtain gauge. Circular needles are used for brioche knitting flat.
Large Needles:
US 5 / 3.75 mm needles OR size needed to obtain gauge. Circular or straight needles are fine.

» Tools:
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends and seaming, row counter

» Credits:
Many thanks to Emily at Fangirl Fibers for the gorgeous yarn and inspiration!! I have been wanting to design this silly pattern for years and I’m so happy I was able to design it with this special yarn. Thank you to my tech editor Chaitanya Muralidhara (@beginswithac) for all her help in editing my pattern!!