Rest: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

This month, the random number generator chose the word rest, suggested by Alisa on Patreon. I tried to make the lace below as restful to knit as possible. There might be double yarnovers, but all the decreases are single. I’ve included a panel version and an offset version; they combine nicely.

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.

Rest: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

Rest: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

Notes:

  • This is a stitch pattern such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. This is not a pattern for a finished object. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
  • The lace panel version of Rest is a multiple of 16+16 stitches and 8 rows; the full version with offsets is 16+16 stitches and 16 rows.
  • To work the lace panel version of Rest, repeat rows 1-8. I’ve made a stitch map for the panel version.
  • To work the full version of Rest, repeat rows 1-16. This has a stitch map of its own.
  • Designers, please feel free to use it 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)
  • 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)
  • yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): k2, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, k2tog, *ssk, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, k2tog; work from *, ssk, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2.
Row 2 (WS): p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, *p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p10, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1; work from *, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5.
Row 3: k3, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog, *yo x 2, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k6, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog; work from *, yo x 2, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k3.
Row 4: p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p14, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p7.
Row 5: k2, (k2tog, yo, k1) x 2, *(k1, yo, ssk) x 2, k4, (k2tog, yo, k1) x 2; work from *, (k1, yo, ssk) x 2, k2.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: k2, ssk, yo, k4, *k4, yo, k2tog, k4, ssk, yo, k4; work from *, k4, yo, k2tog, k2.
Row 8: purl.

Row 9: ssk, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2, *k2, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, k2tog, ssk, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2; work from *, k2, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, k2tog.
Row 10: p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5, *p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5; work from *, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1.
Row 11: yo, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k3, *k3, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k3; work from *, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog, yo.
Row 12: p8, *p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7; work from *, p8.
Row 13: (k1, yo, ssk) x 2, k2, *k2, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k2; work from *, k2, (k2tog, yo, k1) x 2.
Row 14: purl.
Row 15: k4, yo, k2tog, k2, *k2, ssk, yo, k8, yo, k2tog, k2; work from *, k2, ssk, yo, k4.
Row 16: purl.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

The first thing I did was to turn the letters of rest into numbers, using base 8: 22 05 23 24. I picked base 8 because it was one of the options that encoded this word with the fewest zeroes.

Then I laid out the numbers on a grid, like this:

Here’s how I do that. Each letter of rest is two digits. I’m going to use each of those digits to count squares from right to left. After counting enough squares for each digit, I’ll mark the next square to the left (though I’ll have to account for line breaks).

code grid with numbers for Rest laid out on it

I started in the bottom right corner because knitting starts at the bottom right corner. (This is entirely arbitrary, but I like to be consistent when I do these.) The first digit of r is 2, so I counted two squares, and then marked the next square to the left with black. The second digit of r is 2, so I counted two more squares and marked the next. The first digit of e is zero, so I counted no squares and marked the next. (I know that’s a little weird, but it’s really the only way to account for zero in this method.) The second digit of e is 5, so I counted five squares—well, I counted one square on this row, but then I ran out of room, so I jumped up to the next row and finished counting there.

I kept going in this manner until I’d finished the last digit. there are four squares left over in this grid, but they don’t matter for the code, because there’s no marked square after them; the last marked square shows where the code ends.

mirrored code grid for the word Rest

Once I made the grid, I mirrored it horizontally for aesthetic reasons, and then I turned all the black squares into YOs and figured out where to place the decreases.