stitch pattern

A Vikkel braid, also known as an Estonian or lateral braid, is a decorative knitting technique used to create a horizontal braid-like texture across the fabric. It’s often used in traditional Estonian knitting, especially in mittens and cuffs, to add both structure and ornamentation. It can serve as a nice demarcation of the ribbing and the rest of the fabric. Its key feature, is that it creates a raised, twisted horizontal band that looks like a chain of stitches.

This braid is worked in a single round. It’s common to have a plain round above and below it to frame it nicely, and to prevent the purl stitches in the ribbing to distort the braid. Some folks advise dropping down a needle size when working the braid, because it can be a tad loose otherwise. In this how-to, I didn’t do that and found the tension to be ok. But, be warned, and try it out for yourself and adjust where needed.

In this article, I’m showing you how to do a Vikkel braid in the round, in a single color. In this post, you can see how to work it flat. The main difference between the in the round version and the flat version, is how it’s started and ended. When working a Vikkel braid in the round, it’s prettiest if the switch to a new round is jogless. There are, of course, many ways to go about it. The version shown here, is just the one that I like best. I’ll show how to braid a lateral braid in a contrasting color, sometime in the future.

Materials used

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

Needles: This is a tiny circular needle by Addi in the size 4 mm (US 6), and a length of 25 cm (10 inches).

Working a Vikkel braid in the round step by step

The result

In the below picture, you see the result, after I’ve inserted an end-of-round stitch marker, and worked a bit more than 1 round. Pretty jogless, if you ask me!

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.

A Vikkel braid, also known as an Estonian or lateral braid, is a decorative knitting technique used to create a horizontal braid-like texture across the fabric. It’s often used in traditional Estonian knitting, especially in mittens and cuffs, to add both structure and ornamentation. It can serve as a nice demarcation of the ribbing and the rest of the fabric. Its key feature, is that it creates a raised, twisted horizontal band that looks like a chain of stitches.

The braid is worked in a single row. It’s common to have a plain row above and below it to frame it nicely, and to prevent the purl stitches in the ribbing to distort the braid. Some folks advise dropping down a needle size when working the braid, because it can be a tad loose otherwise. In this how-to, I didn’t do that and found the tension to be ok. But, be warned, and try it out for yourself and adjust where needed.

In this article, I’m showing you how to do a Vikkel braid worked flat in a single color. It is, however, also possible to work it in the round, and in a contrasting color. I’ll show those variations sometime in the future.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Marine Blue.

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

Working a Vikkel braid step by step

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.

The ribbed heart stitch pattern is a textured knitting pattern that looks like little stacked hearts, against a background of reverse stockinette stitch. It may look complicated to work, but it’s really not that hard. You create the effect by pulling up loops from the center of a stitch, a couple of rows below the one that you’re working. These loops are slipped a couple of rows, before they’re anchored by doing some regular left- and right leaning decreases. It’s a versatile stitch pattern that can be used in any place you’d used regular ribbing. However, because it’s so pretty, it’s lovely as all-over patterning for blankets, for example.

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 5 stitches + 2, and in a four-row repeat. Please note that in this swatch, I’ve added 2 edge stitches on each side.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Vintage Pink.

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
• k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
• p – purl
• pulling up a loop – in this stitch pattern this means that you insert your knitting needle into the knit stitch in the middle of the 3 knit stitches, 4 rows down. Next, wrap the yarn around the needle, and pull it through. Take a look at the photograph below to see how this looks like.
• skp – slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch. Replace this decrease with a ssk, if preferred.
• sl – slip 1 stitch purl-wise
• st(s) – stitch(es)

Ribbed heart stitch instructions

Set-up row 1 (RS): P2, *k3, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Set-up row 2 (WS): K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.
Set-up rows 3-4: Rep set-up rows 1 and 2 once.

Row 1 (RS): P2, *pull up a loop through the knit st in the middle of the 3 knit sts, 4 rows down, k3, pull up another loop through the same st, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 2 (WS): K2, *move the working yarn to the front of the work and sl1, p3, sl1*; rep *-* to end.
Row 3: P2, *skp, k1, k2tog, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 4: K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.

Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern until desired length.

Below you can see how this stitch pattern looks, first as seen from the right side, and then from the wrong side of the fabric.

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.

The slip stitch rib stitch pattern is a textured knitting pattern that creates a beautifully subtle, somewhat stretchy fabric. It looks a lot like regular k1, p2 rib, but the knit stitch spans 2 rows instead of 1. It’s a versatile stitch pattern often used for garments, accessories, and home decor projects, as it offers a balance between structure and flexibility. Unlike regular rib, my swatch did have a tendency to roll a bit. It’s also less elastic than regular rib. That said, the slip stitch technique, combined with knit stitches, results in a pattern that is both simple to execute and visually interesting.

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 3 stitches + 2, and in a two-row repeat. Please note that in this swatch, no edge stitches have been added.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Vintage Pink.

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
• st(s) – stitch(es)

Slip stitch rib instructions

Set-up row: K2, *p1, k2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 1 (RS): *P2, slip the next st with yarn in back*; rep *-* to 2 sts before end, p2.
Row 2 (WS): K2, *p1, k2*; rep *-* to end.

Repeat rows 1-2 for pattern until desired length.

Below you can see how this stitch pattern looks, first as seen the from the right side, and then from the wrong side of the fabric.

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.

The bubble stitch is a lovely way to add texture to your knitting. This pattern creates three-dimensional bubbles in the fabric, making it great to add extra interest to your projects. It’s a stitch pattern, that is known under many different names. You can also encounter it as the bubble wrap stitch, and the air bobble stitch. While the bubble stitch may look similar to the regular bobble stitch, it’s structured very differently. The bubble stitch creates a pattern of raised, rounded bubbles across the fabric, through a combination of knit and purl stitches and elongated stitches. The bobble stitch, on the other hand, involves creating a protruding, three-dimensional knot by working multiple stitches into one, and then decreasing back to a single stitch. 

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 4 stitches + 3, and in a twelve-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, here 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
• k4b – knit 4 below
• p – purl
• st(s) – stitch(es)

Bubble stitch instructions

Row 1 (right side): Knit.
Row 2 and all following wrong side rows: Purl.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 5: K3, *k4b, k3*; rep *-* to end.
Row 7: Knit.
Row 9: Knit.
Row 11: K1, *k4b, k3*; rep *-* to 2 sts before end, k4b, k1.
Row 12: Purl.

Repeat rows 1-12 for pattern until desired length.

Please note that if you want to work this pattern in multiple colors, change colors after row 4 and 10.

Below you can see how this stitch pattern looks, first as seen the from the right side, and then from the wrong side of the fabric.

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.

The twisted twill stitch uses the “left twist stitch” to create the wavy lines visible in the swatch pictured. The result looks very similar to cables, but without actual cabling. As a matter of fact, this particular stitch pattern looks very similar to spiral stitch. However, instead of a traveling band of purl stitches, left twist stitches are used. One way or the other, it’s patterning with lovely texture, suitable for a wide range of projects.

This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 7 stitches + 2, 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 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

• k – knit
• LT – left twist: Skip the next stitch on the left-hand needle, knit into the back loop of the second stitch, leaving the stitch on the needle. Next, bring the right-hand needle to the front of the left-hand needle and knit into the skipped stitch. Pull both loops off of the left needle to finish the stitch.
• p – purl
• rep – repeat
• st(s) – stitch(es)

Twisted twill stitch

Row 1 (right side): P2, *LT, k3, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 2 (and all following wrong side rows): K2, *p5, k2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 3: P2, *k1, LT, k2, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 5: P2, *k2, LT, k1, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 7: P2, *k3, LT, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 8: K2, *p5, k2*; rep *-* to end.

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:

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.