Brim: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

This time, the random number generator chose the word Brim, suggested by Lara on Patreon.

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 a word every two weeks, 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.

 

Brim: a free lace knitting stitch pattern
click to enlarge

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 repeats in the charts and the text aren’t in the same places. (The double YOs complicate writing the repeats logically in the text.)
  • Brim is a multiple of 10+10 stitches and 20 rows.
  • I’ve made a stitch map for it.
  • 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): k1, yo, k2tog x 2, *yo x 2, ssk x 2, yo, k2, yo, k2tog x 2; work from *, yo x 2, ssk x 2, yo, k1.
Row 2 (WS): p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p4.
Row 3: yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k1, *k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k1; work from *, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo.
Row 4: p5, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p5.
Row 5: k1, (yo, k2tog) x 2, *(ssk, yo) x 2, k2, (yo, k2tog) x 2; work from *, (ssk, yo) x 2, k1.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: k3, k2tog, *yo x 2, ssk, k6, k2tog; work from *, yo x 2, ssk, k3.
Row 8: p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p4.
Row 9: k2, k2tog, yo, k1, *k1, yo, ssk, k4, k2tog, yo, k1; work from *, k1, yo, ssk, k2.
Row 10: purl.
Row 11: yo, ssk x 2, yo, k1, *k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo x 2, ssk x 2, yo, k1; work from *, k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo.
Row 12: p5, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p5.
Row 13: k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, *yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k2tog; work from *, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo, k1.
Row 14: p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p4.
Row 15: (ssk, yo) x 2, k1, *k1, (yo, k2tog) x 2, (ssk, yo) x 2, k1; work from *, k1, (yo, k2tog) x 2.
Row 16: purl.
Row 17: yo, ssk, k3, *k3, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k3; work from *, k3, k2tog, yo.
Row 18: p5, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p5.
Row 19: k1, yo, ssk, k2, *k2, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k2; work from *, k2, k2tog, yo, k1.
Row 20: purl.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

The first thing I did was to turn the letters of brim into numbers, using base 8:02 22 11 15. (I picked base 8 because I liked the resulting charts.)

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

brim process

Here’s how I charted it, using my method 4. I started in the bottom right corner and worked from right to left since knitting goes from right to left. (This is arbitrary, really, but I like to be consistent.)

The first digit of brim is 0, so I count no squares and fill the next square with black to show that I counted 0 for the first digit. (This is a little weird until you get used to it, but it’s the only way to account for zeroes.) The next digit is 2, so I count 2 squares, and mark the next. The third digit is also 2 so I count 1 square and… oops! No more room on this row. However, I jump up to the right end of the next row to count 2, and mark the next available square with black. The fourth digit is also 2 so I count 2 squares and mark the next. And so on and so forth. The blank squares in the upper left don’t matter for the code, since there’s not a black square at the end to indicate that they’ve been counted.

brim process 2

Once I marked out this grid, I mirrored it along the vertical axis.  Then I added wrong side rows, replaced each black square with a yarnover, and spent a lot of time swatching to figure out where I wanted to place the decreases required to make a standard rectangular stitch pattern from the charts. Finally, I added another repeat of the pattern vertically, but offset halfway to add visual interest.