Cunning: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

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.

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Notes:

  • This is a stitch pattern such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. It is not a pattern for a finished object.
  • Cunning is a multiple of 18+18 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.
  • 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:

  • 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.
  • 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)
  • yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): k3, k2tog, yo, k2, ssk, yo, *yo, k2tog, k2, yo, ssk, k6, k2tog, yo, k2, ssk, yo; work from *, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, ssk, k3.
Row 2 (WS): p8, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p16, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p8.
Row 3: (k1, k3tog, yo x 2) x 2, k1, *(k1, yo x 2, sssk) x 2, k2, (k3tog, yo x 2, k1) x 2; work from *, (k1, yo x 2, sssk) x 2, k1.
Row 4: p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, *p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1; work from *, p1, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p2] x 2.
Row 5: k2tog, yo, k6, *1/1 RC, k6, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k6; work from *, 1/1 RC, k6, yo, ssk.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: (k1, yo) x 2, k3tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, *ssk, k1, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k1, yo, 1/1 RC, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog; work from *, ssk, k1, yo, k1, sssk, (yo, k1) x 2.
Row 8: purl.
Row 9: k3, k2tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo, *yo, ssk, k1, yo, k1, ssk, k6, k2tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo; work from *, yo, ssk, k1, yo, k1, ssk, k3.
Row 10: p8, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p16, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p8.
Row 11: yo, ssk, k1, yo, k3, k2tog, k1, *k1, ssk, k3, yo, k1, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k1, yo, k3, k2tog, k1; work from *, k1, ssk, k3, yo, k1, k2tog, yo.
Row 12: p9, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo, p8; work from *, p9.
Row 13: yo, k2tog, k2, yo, ssk, k3, *k3, k2tog, yo, k2, ssk, yo x 2, k2tog, k2, yo, ssk, k3; work from *, k3, k2tog, yo, k2, ssk, yo.
Row 14: p9, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo, p8; work from *, p9.
Row 15: (k1, yo x 2, sssk) x 2, k1, *(k1, k3tog, yo x 2) x 2, k2, (yo x 2, sssk, k1) x 2; work from *, (k1, k3tog, yo x 2) x 2, k1.
Row 16: p1, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p2] x 2, *p2, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p2] x 4; work from *, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1.
Row 17: k7, yo, ssk, *k2tog, yo, k6, 1/1 RC, k6, yo, ssk; work from *, k2tog, yo, k7.
Row 18: purl.
Row 19: ssk, k1, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k1, yo, *1/1 RC, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, ssk, k1, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k1, yo; work from *, 1/1 RC, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog.
Row 20: purl.
Row 21: yo, ssk, k1, yo, k1, ssk, k3, *k3, k2tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k1, yo, k1, ssk, k3; work from *, k3, k2tog, k1, yo, k1, k2tog, yo.
Row 22: p9, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo, p8; work from *, p9.
Row 23: k1, ssk, k3, yo, k1, k2tog, yo, *yo, ssk, k1, yo, k3, k2tog, k2, ssk, k3, yo, k1, k2tog, yo; work from *, yo, ssk, k1, yo, k3, k2tog, k1.
Row 24: purl.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

The first thing I did was to turn the letters of cunning into numbers, using base 8: 03 25 16 16 11 16 07. (I picked base 8 because I liked the resulting charts.)

Then I charted them in various ways, and picked this one:

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I started in the bottom right corner, because so does knitting. The first digit of cunning is zero, so I counted no squares and marked the next square to the left with black. The next digit is 3, so I counted 1, 2, 3 squares, and marked the next. The third digit is two. There was only one remaining square in the row, so I counted that 1, and jumped up to the beginning of the second row to count 2, and then mark the square to the left with black. And so on, and so forth.
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I mirrored it vertically.


Then I rotated it. After that, I replaced the black squares with yarnovers and figured out where to place the corresponding decreases.

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