Green: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

This month, the random number generator chose green, suggested by Nim. It’s my favorite color! So this makes me happy. Also, it’s spring in the northern hemisphere, so that seems entirely appropriate.

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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Green: a free lace knitting stitch pattern, by Naomi Parkhurst
click to enlarge

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.
  • Green is a multiple of 22 stitches and 6 rows.
  • Purl all wrong-side rows, working (k1, p1) in each double yarnover.
  • 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:

  • 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)
  • 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)
  • yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): ssk, k2tog, yo, k2, yo x 2, k2tog, k3, *k3, ssk, yo x 2, k2, yo, (ssk, k2tog) x 2, yo, k2, yo x 2, k2tog, k3; work from *, k3, ssk, yo x 2, k2, yo, ssk, k2tog.
Row 2 (WS): p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p10, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5.
Row 3: yo, ssk, k2, ssk, k1, yo x 2, ssk, k2, *k2, k2tog, yo x 2, k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2, ssk, k1, yo x 2, ssk, k2; work from *, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, yo.
Row 4: p6, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3, *p3, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p5] x 2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3; work from *, p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p6.
Row 5: k1, yo x 2, sk2p, ssk, yo, k2, ssk, k1, yo x 2, *k1, k2tog, k2, yo, k2tog, DSD, yo x 2, k2, yo x 2, sk2p, ssk, yo, k2, ssk, k1, yo x 2; work from *, k1, k2tog, k2, yo, k2tog, DSD, yo x 2, k1.
Row 6: p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7, *(k1, p1) in double yo, p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7; work from *, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

The first thing I did was to turn the letters of green into numbers, using base 7: 10 24 05 05 20. (I picked base 7 because I liked the resulting charts.)

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

green charting process 1

I started in the bottom right corner, because so does knitting. The first digit of green is 1, so I counted one square from right to left, then I marked the next square with black. The next digit is 0, so I counted zero squares and marked the next square to the left. The third digit is 2, so I counted two squares and marked the next. Marking the square to show 4 filled up this row, so I jumped to the beginning of the next. The next digit is 0 again, so I counted no squares and marked the rest. Then 5, then 0, then 5. Oops, there’s not enough room to count all the squares for the second 5, so I counted three, and jumped to the next row to finish counting. The four blank squares at the end don’t count as code because there’s not a black square to their left.

green charting process 2

Once I made this chart, I mirrored it, and rotated it halfway to make a chart I thought would work for knitting. Then I replaced each black square with a yarnover, made a guess as to where the decreases would go, and I started swatching a rough draft. After working out how I wanted the stitch pattern to work, I knit a sample swatch in nice yarn for this post.

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