August’s stitch pattern word is heatwave, suggested by Susan on Patreon.

I’m really pleased with the way this one came out. I encoded each of the words heat and wave separately in the same size template, and then stacked them on top of each other to design the lace. I think each word should work as a separate stitch pattern, though I ran out of time to swatch them.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. A random number generator helps me choose the word of the month, 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.

Notes:

• This is a stitch pattern such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. It is not a pattern for a finished object. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
• Heatwave is a multiple of 18+1 stitches and 24 rows. The first 12 rows would be a complete stitch pattern; I liked the way it looked when I offset the design halfway on the second time through the pattern.
• I’ve made a stitch map for it.
• I tried to design this so it could be split apart into its component words. Heat is rows 7-12 & 19-24; wave is rows 1-6 & 13-18. The links will take you to the stitch map for each word. I didn’t have time to swatch the individual words, unfortunately.
• Designers, please feel free to use this stitch in your patterns. I’d like credit but won’t be offended if people don’t give it.
• If you like my posts like this, please consider supporting me on Patreon or donating with my Paypal tip jar in the sidebar. Thanks!

Abbreviations:

• cdd: centered double decrease: slip the next 2 stitches as if to knit 2 together, knit the next stitch, then pass the 2 slipped stitches over the third.
• DSD: double slip decrease; ssk, slip the resulting stitch back to the left needle, pass the next stitch over, then slip the result. (Right-leaning double decrease. Substitute knit 3 together if desired; they are similar but don’t look quite the same.)
• k: knit.
• k2tog: knit 2 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning decrease)
• k3tog: knit 3 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning double decrease)
• p: purl.
• sk2p: slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over. (Left-leaning double decrease.)
• ssk: slip each of the next 2 stitches as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loop. (Left-leaning decrease)
• sssk: slip each of the next 3 stitches as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loop. (Left-leaning double decrease. Substitute sk2p if desired.)
• yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): *p1, k2tog, yo, k4, ssk, yo, p1, yo, k2tog, k4, yo, ssk; work from *, p1.
Row 2 (WS): k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.
Row 3: *p1, yo, sk2p, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k1, yo, k1, DSD, yo; work from *, p1.
Row 4: k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.
Row 5: *p1, yo x 2, cdd, k1, k2tog, yo, k2, p1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, cdd, yo x 2; work from *, p1.
Row 6: k1, *k1, p7, k1, p6, k1, p1, k1; work from *.
Row 7: *p1, yo x 2, k3tog, k2tog, yo, k3tog, yo x 2, p1, yo x 2, sssk, yo, ssk, sssk, yo x 2; work from *, p1.
Row 8: k1, *k1, p5, k1, p1, k2, p5, k1, p1, k1; work from *.
Row 9: *p1, k2, cdd, k2, yo x 2, k1, p1, k1, yo x 2, k2, cdd, k2; work from *, p1.
Row 10: k1, *p5, k1, p2, k1, p1, k1, p6, k1; work from *.
Row 11: *p1, k1, k2tog, k5, yo, p1, yo, k5, ssk, k1; work from *, p1.
Row 12: k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.
Row 13: *p1, yo, k2tog, k4, yo, ssk, p1, k2tog, yo, k4, ssk, yo; work from *, p1.
Row 14: k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.
Row 15: *p1, k1, yo, ssk, k1, yo, k1, DSD, yo, p1, yo, sk2p, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo, k1; work from *, p1.
Row 16: k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.
Row 17: *p1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, cdd, yo x 2, p1, yo x 2, cdd, k1, k2tog, yo, k2; work from *, p1.
Row 18: k1, *p6, k1, p1, k2, p7, k1; work from *.
Row 19: *p1, yo x 2, sssk, yo, ssk, sssk, yo x 2, p1, yo x 2, k3tog, k2tog, yo, k3tog, yo x 2; work from *, p1.
Row 20: k1, *k1, p5, k1, p1, k2, p5, k1, p1, k1; work from *.
Row 21: *p1, k1, yo x 2, k2, cdd, k2, p1, k2, cdd, k2, yo x 2, k1; work from *, p1.
Row 22: k1, *p1, k1, p6, k1, p5, k1, p2, k1; work from *.
Row 23: *p1, yo, k5, ssk, k1, p1, k1, k2tog, k5, yo; work from *, p1.
Row 24: k1, *(p8, k1) x 2; work from *.

Encoding process:

I encoded heatwave in base 10, which turns the letters into 08 05 01 22 25 01 24 05.

The section outlined in red is the grid on which I encoded heatwave; the bottom three rows are heat and the top three are wave. I started in the bottom right corner. The first digit is 0, so I counted zero squares and placed a mark. Then I counted 8 squares, jumping up to the next line when I ran out of squares; then I placed a black square to mark off the boundary of eight. The next digit is zero again, so I immediately placed another mark to show that there were zero squares, and so on.

Once I had charted all the numbers, I mirrored the result and decided to place some border columns so as not to have quadruple yarnovers. I made these purl columns to show that they were different.

And then because I know something about how diagonal lines of yarnovers work, I flipped everything vertically:

I replaced all the black marks with yarnovers, inserted plain wrong side rows in alternation with the lacy right side rows, and set to work swatching. The result is above!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save