Greenland: free stitch pattern

(Click on any image to enlarge.)

This month’s word was suggested by Ron over on Patreon: Greenland. He suggested it because knitting helps keep people warm and people surely need to be warm when they’re in Greenland.

With that in mind, I set out to make a cable pattern, since cables keep in more warmth than lace. However, despite creating many grids from Greenland encoded in bases 6, 7, and 8, I couldn’t make a cable chart work. I was going to do a texture pattern, but nothing spoke to me.

So I did a lace design after all, as you can see. It’s a lace panel surrounded by purl stitches on each side.

Here’s the chart and written instructions:

Equinox encoded as stitch patterns

This is my monthly extra stitch pattern funded by my Patreon backers. If you would like to have the chance to suggest words for me to encode, please support me on Patreon. Thanks! (It helps support me in my blogging and design work.)

At first I didn’t think I was going to like this lace and that I was going to have try a different variation of equinox, but as ever, knitting multiple repeats of the stitch pattern in the swatch convinced me otherwise. This one is in base ten. When I started playing with encoding, I preferred my base six designs, as it seemed harder to make something I liked of the base ten numbers. I’ve had quite a bit of practice since then, however, and thought I’d give it another try. Sure enough, it seemed much easier this time. I guess I’ve gotten better at lace design! (Funny how practice can do that.)

Autumn is here (free cable stitch pattern, secret code)

With the arrival of the autumnal equinox, I’ve made a cable chart for knitters and a generic chart for use in a variety of crafts. The former was encoded in base 6 and the latter in base 3.

It’s been a while since I did a secret code cable chart; the last one I tried just wouldn’t work out whatever I tried. I got discouraged.

Fall made me not want to do lace, though. Cables seemed more the thing, so I looked through all the grids I made for autumn and realized that this one would work.

The first yarn that came to hand is in rather a wintery color. Oh, well.

I didn’t swatch the generic chart this time; it’s not too hard to see how it looks, though:

(Click images to enlarge.)

Serendipity

Yes, it’s a double-post day! I post every week, but my Patreon-funded posts are extra. The first of the month falls on a Monday this month, so two posts it is.

One of my patrons requested that I make stitch patterns for the word serendipity, so here we are! (If you subscribe, you may also make such requests; I take one a month.)

Étude no. 3 — a Roll of the dice, version 2

First, I’d like to thank everyone for their sympathy last week. It really means a lot to me!

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I usually try to include one lace pattern and one not, for the sake of those who don’t wear lace. I forgot last time, so here’s something to fill that gap.

I envisioned the pattern as charted, with the floats and the bulk of the purl blips on the front, but it turns out I like both sides equally. I worked it in both solid and variegated yarn because slip stitch patterns often work especially well with variegated. The solid is more subtle, especially on the mostly knit side – but I think it’s still a pleasing texture.

When designing textured stitches in particular, it’s always worth looking at both sides of the fabric. Sometimes you’ll find that you prefer the side that was meant to be hidden!

Summer (free stitch patterns)

The Summer Solstice has just passed, and so I’m posting my Summer stitch patterns to go with Spring.

Spring! (free stitch pattern)

It has certainly been a while. I got sidetracked, and then I felt abashed, but now I have a backlog of things I’ve been meaning to write about. (The problem is never a shortage of material!)

Anyway, I’m in the midst of writing a stitch dictionary, among other things, and I was getting fed up with not being able to share any of the things I was doing. So I decided to make something that’s not going in the stitch dictionary and share it with you.

I used my secret code techniques to lay the word Spring out on several different grids, and ended up liking this one a lot. I made one lace design from it and also a stranded knitting chart. The stranded chart is mirrored vertically as well as horizontally. The lace one has an extra column down the middle and on each side; this avoids a double yarn over. I dote on double yarn overs, but I know that not everyone is comfortable with them.

Happy Spring!

So many ways to make a hug!

This is my last post on encoding “Hug” in yarn. First I knitted lace, then I played with crochet, and now I’m going to finish up with some more knitting.

I discussed the mechanics of laying out this particular grid in the crochet post, but here it is one more time, stripped down a bit.

As with the crochet, sometimes the stitches work better with patterning on every row, and sometimes they do well to have a plain row in between. (Compare it with the lace chart, and you’ll see that the yarn overs go in the dark squares.)