Sunday, February 27, 2011

Diagonal Lace

While I love lace, I don't have the time or attention span to complete anything too complicated or large.  The lacy diagonal stitch pattern below is perfect  - it is pretty and yet not too complicated.  The sample was knit on #10 crochet cotton using US 00 needles (addi Turbo Lace)

Work on a multiple of 3 stitches, plus 2  (3, 6, 9, etc. and then add 2 more stitches)  This is a 6 row repeat:

Row 1: Knit 2 *YO, SSK, K1*
Rows 2-4-6: Purl all stitches
Row 3: Knit 3 *YO, SSK, K1*, end row with Knit 3
Row 5: Knit 1 *YO, SSK, K1*, end row with Knit 2
Repeat these 6 rows for pattern.

This stitch pattern would make a lovely spring scarf in a lace or fingering weight yarn, or even a shoulder shawl.







There is actually a difference between "knitted lace" and "lace knitting"; knitted lace is where the pattern is worked on both the front and back sides of the fabric (yo and decreases) and lace knitting typically just has the pattern work on the front of the fabric (plain knit or purl stitches are worked on the wrong side).  This is a somewhat confusing topic, and there are a number of blogs and articles written on the subject.  If you are interested in looking into this further, below are a couple of links :

Sheep to Shawl Blog
Wikipedia

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Purse Stitch




This sample knit with Patons Classic  Wool
that I dyed myself
Work with an even number of stitches.  This is a one row repeat.
Purl 1, *Yarn Over, Purl 2 Together* to last stitch, Purl 1

Note:  As an alternative you may knit the first and last stitch of the row instead of purling it.



This sample knit with Queensland Sugar Rush on US Size 2 needles

Here is the video



Sunday, February 13, 2011

Dot Stitch

The Dot Stitch is very easy to learn, and would look nice for a scarf/hat, or panel in an afghan.  The sample below was knit with Caron Simply Soft.

Work with an even number of stitches
Rows 1 and 3: Knit all stitches
Row 2: *K1, P1*
Row 4: *P1, K1*
Repeat these four rows for pattern






Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ribbing 3: Beaded Rib and Fisherman's Rib

Yep, more ribbing stitch patterns!  This time we are going to take a look at Beaded Rib and Fisherman's Rib.  As always, try the stitches using different weights of yarn, and needle sizes other than the one recommended for whatever yarn you decide to use.

First up, Beaded Rib.  Below, I have a sample knit in a 4 ply worsted weight yarn (on the left, some cheap stuff purchased at Wal-Mart) and on the right, a lighter weight yarn (Vanna's Glamour).  The worsted weight yarn shows off this stitch very nicely, whereas the second yarn swallows up the stitches.  I wouldn't waste my time making something using this stitch and yarn, personally.  I prefer how it looks in a less fancy yarn.

Work with a multiple of 5 stitches, plus 2 (5, 10, 15 and so on, plus 2.  So you would have 7, 12, 17 stitches respectively, and so on.)
Row 1: Purl 2 *Knit 1, Purl 1, Knit 1, Purl 2*
Row 2: Knit 2 *Purl 3, Knit 2*
Repeat these two rows for pattern

 

Now for Fisherman's Rib.
Work with an even number of stitches
Row 1: Purl
Row 2: Purl 1 *Knit 1 through the back loop, Purl 1* (Last stitch of the row should always be a Purl 1
Repeat Row 2 for pattern

This is going to wrap it up for the ribbing for now.  I will be posting more rib patterns in the future, but for now it is time to move on past ribbing!