lace knitting Archives - Page 2 of 2

stitch pattern – grand staggered eyelet stitch

The grand staggered eyelet stitch is a bold lace pattern consisting of double yarn overs, flanked by left- and right-leaning decreases. In this version, the second half of the patterning is offset by 2 stitches when compared with the first half. You can, of course, also just repeat the first 4 rows of the patterning all-over. This will result in the eyelets neatly stacked above each other. In this example, I have worked the pattern in acrylic yarn, the swatch has not been blocked. The patterning will pop a lot more if you do block your project.

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 4 stitches + 6, and in an eight-row repeat. Please note that I’ve added 2 edge stitches in garter stitch on both sides of the swatch.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the color Tea Rose.

Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Stitches used

k – knit
p – purl
k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
RS / WS – right side / wrong side
skp – slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch. Replace this decrease with a ssk, if preferred.
yo – yarn over
double yo – wrap the yarn around the needle twice
rep – repeat
st(s) – stitch(es)

Grand staggered eyelet stitch

Row 1 (RS): K1, k2tog, * yo twice, skp, k2tog; rep from * 3 sts before end, yo twice, skp, k1. (10 sts)
Row 2 (WS): P2, (p1, k1) in double yo, * p2, (p1, k1) in double yo; rep from * to 2 sts before end, p2.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: K1, yo, * skp, k2tog, yo twice; rep from * to 5 sts before end, skp, k2tog, yo, k1.
Row 6: P4, * (p1, k1) in double yo, p2; rep from * to 2 sts before M, p2.
Row 7: Knit.
Row 8: Purl.

Repeat rows 1-8 for pattern until desired length.

In the below pictures, you see the patterning first from the right, and then also from the wrong side of the fabric:

Grand staggered eyelet stitch shown from the RS — Grand staggered eyelet stitch as seen from the right side

Grand staggered eyelet stitch shown from the WS — Grand staggered eyelet stitch as seen from the wrong side

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.

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stitch pattern – crescent stitch

A swatch showing the crescent stitch in green yarn.

The crescent stitch uses both “Cable 3 Left (C3L)” as “Cable 3 Right (C3R)” stitches to create the wavy lines visible in the swatch pictured. Due to all the cabling, it’s not a very fast stitch pattern to work. This may, however, be improved if you can do these cable stitches without the use of a cable needle. I’m not a good enough cable knitter to manage it with any time savings. But perhaps you can!

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 3 stitches + 2, and in a six-row repeat. Please note that I’ve added 2 edge stitches in garter stitch on both sides of the swatch.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown. You will also need a cable needle.

Stitches used

C3L (Cable 3 left) – Slip next st onto cable needle and hold at front of work, knit next 2 sts from left-hand needle, then knit st from cable needle
C3R (Cable 3 right) – Slip next 2 sts onto cable needle and hold at back of work, knit next st from left-hand needle, then knit 2 sts from cable needle
k – knit
p – purl
rep – repeat
st(s) – stitch(es)

Crescent stitch

Row 1 (right side): Knit.

Row 2 (and all following wrong side rows): Purl.

Row 3: K1, *C3R; rep from * to 1 st before end, k1.

Row 5: K1, *C3L; rep from * to 1 st before end, k1.

Row 6: Purl.

Repeat rows 1-6 for pattern until desired length.

In the below pictures, you see the patterning first from the right, and then also from the wrong side of the fabric:

Crescent stitch as seen from the right side

Crescent stitch as seen from the wrong side

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stitch pattern – bamboo lace stitch

Bamboo lace stitch - by La Visch Designs

The bamboo lace stitch is in looks very similar to the regular bamboo stitch. However, it’s constructed quite differently. And, of course, the looks are much more lacy! Please keep in mind, though, that the above swatch is worked in a worsted weight acrylic. When this stitch pattern is knit in a yarn that blocks out nicely, say a wool or cotton yarn, it opens up a lot more than it looks like here.

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 3 stitches + 2, and in a one-row repeat. In other words: it’s worked exactly the same on both right and wrong side rows. Please note that I’ve added 2 edge stitches in garter stitch on both sides of the swatch.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the color 128 Lime Green.

Knitting needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Stitches used

k – knit
yo – yarn over
sl wyib – slip 1 stitch purl-wise with the yarn held in the back
k2tog tbl – knit 2 stitches together through the back loop
st(s) – stitch(es)

Bamboo lace

Row 1 (right side): k1, *yo, sl1 wyib, k1; rep from * to last st before end, k1.

Repeat row 1 for pattern until desired length.

In the below pictures, you see the patterning first from the right, and then also from the wrong side of the fabric:

Bamboo lace stitch as seen from the right side

Bamboo lace stitch as seen from the wrong side

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tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – gathers

In a previous post I told you about nupps, that special textured stitch that originated in Estonia. Another distinguishing Estonian feature in lace knitting, is called a “gather”. These gathers are clearly visible in the photo pictured below.

This photo is from a very interesting website: New lace – Old traditions. On this website the authors focus on modern lace knitting in the Estonian tradition, building on and inspired by the famous Haapsalu shawls. Definitely a must-read for lovers of lace knitting, also due to the many free stitch patterns that can be found there.

What exactly are “gathers”?

Gathers are made by knitting a certain number of stitches together (“gathering” them), after which they are increased. The resulting number of stitches may be the same as the original number, for example, “2-in-2”, “3-in-3”, “5-in-5”, “7-in-7”, etc. It is however also possible to increase to a different number of stitches, the end up with more (or less) stitches. For example “5-in-7” or “3-in-5”. The result consists of small lacy textured buttons in the knitted fabric.

In this post I want to show you how to knit gathers.

Knitting gathers

In this example, I will be making “3 in 3” gathers on a surface of stockinette stitch. I’m using a relatively thick yarn, because it is easier to photograph than lace yarn.

A 3-in-3 gather is made by knitting 3 stitches together, then slipping the newly knitted stitch back to the left hand needle and knitting [ktbl 1, k1, ktbl 1] in the same stitch.

Gathers step by step
1. Knit 3 stitches together.

2. Slip the last knitted stitch back to the left hand needle.

3. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop, but do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

4. Knit one stitch (insert the needle as usual in the front loop), but again do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

5. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop and slip the original stitch off the needle to complete the stitch.

6. This looks something like this:

7. For this example, I knitted three 3-in-3 gathers in the same row:

8. And this is how it looks after I knitted 2 more rows in stockinette as well as another round with three 3-in-3 gathers:

Of course the gathers look very different on a stockinette base and with this thick wool than in lace weight yarn.

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