I call myself a string geek because I like doing a whole range of hand crafts, most of which involve string or yarn: knitting, spinning, sewing, nalbinding, crochet, embroidery, tatting, dyeing, and probably some I'm not even thinking of.
I shared a needlework image on twitter last month (it was a blooper chart for Sunrise), and a twitter friend asked if it could be used for mosaic knitting. I said no, and then I realized that it might be interesting to provide some guidance for people about how to tell.
Say you find a cross stitch chart, a stranded knitting chart, or a pattern made from square tiles on a bathroom floor (a literal mosaic!). Can it be worked as mosaic knitting? Here’s some ways to figure that out.
The random number generator picked Fibre from the suggestions for this post, suggested by Nim, one of my Patreon supporters.
I developed a lace knitting stitch pattern for Fibre, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I try to provide at least some digital art of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I want to give a sense of it in use. (I try to make it look like knitting when it’s got floats short enough for easy stranded knitting. This one is kind of pushing it, but I couldn’t resists)
The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Fibre, suggested by Nim, a Patreon supporter.
Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, 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 made a Fibre needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.
The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.
A nice thing about mosaic knitting is that the charts are similar to the final appearance of the knitting, so I’m not going to provide a swatch. Mosaic knitting looks difficult, but it’s not as hard as it looks! Basically, knit two-row stripes, and slip stitches from the row below to make the contrasting pattern.
A nice thing about mosaic knitting is that the charts are similar to the final appearance of the knitting, so I’m not going to provide a swatch. Mosaic knitting looks difficult, but it’s not as hard as it looks! Basically, knit two-row stripes, and slip stitches from the row below to make the contrasting pattern.
The random number generator picked Dusk from the suggestions for this post, suggested by Catnach and Smart Mouth’d, two of my Patreon supporters. I’m very pleased by how this one looks as if it could be a traditional colorwork design, and indeed, has some elements that turn up in traditional patterns.
I also developed a lace stitch pattern for Dusk, but I like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I try to provide at least some digital art of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I want to give a sense of it in use. (I try to make it look like knitting when it’s got floats short enough for easy stranded knitting.)
The second word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon last month is Dusk, suggested by Catnach and Smart Mouth’d, two Patreon supporters. It’s one of my favorite times of day, especially when it’s summer, as it is where I live.
Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, 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 made a Dusk needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.
The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.
The random number generator picked Kitten from the suggestions for this post, suggested by Susan C, one of my Patreon supporters.
I developed a lace stitch pattern for Kitten, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I try to provide at least some digital art of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I want to give a sense of it in use. (I try to make it look like knitting when it’s got floats short enough for easy stranded knitting.)
The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Kitten, suggested by Susan C, a Patreon supporter.
Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, 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 made aKitten needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.
The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.
The random number generator picked Sunrise from the suggestions for this post, suggested by Emma, one of my Patreon supporters.
I made a lace pattern from Sunrise, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I also try to provide at least some digital art of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I just want to give a sense of it in use. (I try to make it look like knitting when it’s got floats short enough for easy stranded knitting.)
