Promise: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

| Naomi Parkhurst

The first word for this month is Promise, suggested by Catnach on Patreon. For some reason, finding the right layout for this word took a lot more work than usual, but in the end, I’m pleased.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make two of these into knitting stitches each month: the first is drawn from the collection of new words; the second is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose this, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post.

The charts are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Follow this link for charts and written instructions

Light: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

Light: a free lace knitting stitch pattern, by Naomi Parkhurst
| Naomi Parkhurst

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Light, suggested by Nim on Patreon. It’s winter in my hemisphere, so more light is welcome. Light is something that happens in summer, so it applies to the southern hemisphere in a different way entirely.

I like the way that the bottom version of this design looks like rays of light radiating outward, and that the upper part looks like candle flames.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make two of these into knitting stitches each month: the first is drawn from the collection of new words; the second is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Follow link for charts and instructions

Étude no 24: Bunny Ears Honeycomb

| Naomi Parkhurst

After last week’s post, I couldn’t resist trying out the kyok/bunny ears method for dealing with a double yarn over in an established stitch pattern. I was considering how the double YO, followed by pyop, followed by by bunny ears makes a three row sequence, and that reminded me of German Honeycomb (see my hexagonal mesh post). So here is a variation on German Honeycomb.

Periodically I like to play with techniques in swatches to see what I can do with them. When I write about this, I call the posts my études, because they’re somewhat like the exercises musicians do for practicing.

Follow this link for a chart and instructions

Working double YOs on the next row, redux

| Naomi Parkhurst

A while back I wrote about some ways of working double YOs on the next row. I still mostly use the standard method, working (k1, p1) in the double YO. Then Denise Plourde wrote on the Stitch Maps Ravelry group about a new method she’d come up with. Here is a description that doesn’t require a login. I find it quite beautiful. Apparently it got me thinking, because a few days after reading about that, I came up with a different way entirely.

All of these methods are ways to cope with one problem: it is impossible to knit (or purl) the two consecutive loops in a double yarnover; the structure of the stitch does not allow it. Try it: the result is a single knit stitch with two wraps around the needle, what’s called an elongated stitch.

I will probably continue using the (k1, p1) method in my swatches and charts as it is straightforward, people are used to it, and I don’t mind how it looks.

Follow this link for eight double YOs, each worked differently.

Promise: a free needlework chart for any craft

| Naomi Parkhurst

The random number generator picked Promise for my first encoded word post of this month, suggested by Catnach, one of my Patreon supporters.

I usually develop a complicated knitting stitch pattern for each word, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I also try to provide an image of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I just want to give a sense of it in use.

Continue reading →

Doodle lace: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

| Naomi Parkhurst

Over the last while, I’ve been turning a doodled colorwork pattern into several knitting stitch patterns so you can see how I turn my code grids into knitting in various ways. Here is my original post.

For this version, I substituted yarnovers for the original black squares, and then made quite a few alterations in both the layout and the chart. Lace often has its own considerations, you see.

Continue reading →

Dog: a free needlework chart for any craft

| Naomi Parkhurst

The random number generator picked Dog for my second encoded word post of this month, suggested by Caitlin, one of my Patreon supporters.

I usually develop a complicated knitting stitch pattern for each word, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I also try to provide an image of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I just want to give a sense of it in use.

Continue reading →

Dog: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

| Naomi Parkhurst

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Dog, suggested by Natasha on Patreon. Dogs are good friends to many people, so I hope that all you dog friends like this stitch pattern as much as I do! There are two slight variations of this stitch pattern.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make two of these into knitting stitches each month: the first is drawn from the collection of new words; the second is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Follow this link for charts and written instructions