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Mostly Knitting Blog

Want to find the new stuff on Knitting-and.com, or read about my latest projects and discoveries? This is the place.

A Fruity Stitch for Knitters

A swatch of knitted pineapple stitch.

When I first saw pineapple stitch, I couldn’t figure out why this simple but elegant stitch was given such an odd name. On closer inspection, I suddenly realised!

Little knit stitches that look like pineapples
It’s made up of thousands of tiny pineapples!

Pineapple stitch was particularly popular in the 1930’s and 40’s, often seen on the short sleeve tops that were a staple garment in the era.

Pineapple stitch looks particularly nice worked in a smooth yarn, although a very fine and subtle bouclé would make a very interesting fabric.

I hope you’ve enjoying my little knitted stitch pattern feature over the past few weeks. I have five stitches left in this series. If you’d like to be notified via email whenever I post a new stitch or pattern, you can sign up over on the left (if you’re on a desktop or laptop computer), or beneath this post on tablets or mobile. I never share anyone’s email address with any third parties and will only use it to notify you of new posts.

Sarah

Diamonds are a Boy’s Best Friend

Knit/purl diamonds swatch

Today’s knitting stitch pattern is another knit and purl design with a masculine feel to it that I have dubbed “Diamond Stitch“. A completely reversible stitch, diamond stitch can be knit with a range of yarns for different effects. A smooth, crepe (or cabled) yarn will produce very distinct diamonds. Handspun 2 ply, or even a handspun novelty yarn would produce a softer look. A super light mohair on larger than normal needles would create quite an ethereal fabric.

Try giving Diamond Stitch (and any of the other knit/purl stitches I’ve posted so far), a try with a range of yarns and see what type of fabrics you can create. You might be surprised!

Sarah

Sometimes You Have No Idea What to Embroider, then Three Busses Come at Once

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Or something like that.

In my last post about the Beyond TAST embroidery challenge, I mentioned that I was several challenges behind. The truth is, I had no idea what I wanted to do with any of them. Well, yesterday I came up with ideas for all three at once. Just like when I went to art school and I’d wait an hour for the bus and then three would drive past all at the same time. I really needed new glasses. (That’s a true story. I couldn’t see the bus route number until it was too late to signal for the bus 😛 )

The fabrics for my first two samplers are vintage handkerchiefs that I dyed navy blue and stitched to some background fabrics. They’re slightly wonky, but I’m not overly concerned about that. They’re very old and a bit out of shape anyway. Much like me, but without the “very” 😉

First up is the last one I thought of. A 1950’s inspired floral design for the laced and threaded stitches Beyond TAST challenge. I may use felt for the basic shape of each flower but I haven’t really decided yet.

Design for whipped and laced stitches embroidery sampler

Next up is the outline for the woven stitches challenge (I won’t be stitching the cloud).

I have a real fondness for wooden building blocks, and this sampler will feature some little block houses and a tree. I’m going to trace these onto the background fabrics using dressmaker’s carbon paper right before I start stitching. I think this one is going to be a great deal of fun to stitch.

Design for woven stitch embroidery sampler

The last sampler is a purchased design.

I’ve loved the Green Man design from Urban Threads since I first saw it a couple of years ago. I’ve worked an Urban Threads design in TAST before for my satin stitch sampler. If you buy the hand embroidery versions, they’re very inexpensive, and even though they’re not really designed for hand embroidery they are a lot of fun to stitch by hand.

I’m going to use this one for the “filling stitches” challenge, which is possibly insane.  Okay, probably. I have a vague idea about how I want to tackle it with colour and texture to create dimension, but I’ll probably change my mind thirteen times before I get to it!

Green man embroidery design

I think there are only one or two more Beyond TAST challenges left before it finishes at the end of the year but the Take a Stitch Tuesday stitch challenge is going to run again next year. Check out the TAST FAQ page over on Pintangle for more information, or have a look at all of my TAST and Beyond TAST samplers so far.

Sarah

A Combination Lace Knitting Stitch

Diamond and feather lace knitted swatchDiamond and feather lace knitted swatch

Today’s free knitting stitch pattern is a combination of two classic patterns, feather and fan stitch and diamond lace.

Published in The Knitted Lace Pattern Book in the 1870’s, the original version of this pattern had a few inconsistencies common with patterns from that era. I’ve balanced the pattern with feather and fan at both sides, matched the decreases on the diamonds, modernised the language and included a chart.

I hope the Diamond and Feather Knitting Pattern remains a favourite for another 150 years!

Sarah

A Classic Woven Pattern Re-Imagined for Knitting

Knit and purl herringbone swatch.

Today’s stitch didn’t have a name other than “no 29”, so I have dubbed it “herringbone stitch” after the classic herringbone broken twill weave.  I think this stitch has quite a masculine feel to it, making it a good stitch for men’s garments such as a sleeveless pullover, or a jazzy pair of calf high business socks.

This is another stitch pattern published around 1870, so once again I have updated the instructions and charted them. Stitch 29 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Herringbone Stitch.

Sarah