This stitch pattern was inspired by one of the sweaters I saw online. The fabric of that sweater was highly textured and had fascinating zigzag stripes all over.
I wasn’t looking to add more texture to my swatch but absolutely wanted to create the look of the zigzag stripes. So I paired herringbone stitch with stockinette and got this lovely stitch pattern as a result.
The right side of the fabric boasts those zigzag stripes formed by two rows of herringbone stitch. The wrong side is also quite remarkable – it has a beautiful texture and will look great on a hat, a scarf or a sweater.
Now, that we know how lovely this stitch is, let’s see how we can knit it.
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This stitch pattern looks best with selvedge stitches, so we’ll cast on two extra stitches and then slip the first and purl the last stitch of every row.
Cast on an even number of stitches.
Row 1 (right side): slip 1 (the first selvedge stitch), knit all stitches to the last stitch, purl the last stitch (the second selvedge stitch).
Row 2 (wrong side): slip 1, purl all stitches to the end of the row.
Rows 3 and 4 will make the fabric denser, so don’t make the stitches too tight while you are working on these rows.
Row 3 (right side): slip 1, knit 2 stitches together through the back loop, but slip only the first of these 2 stitches off the left needle. Keep the second “worked stitch” on the left needle.
[Knit the “worked stitch’ together with the next stitch through the back loop. Slip the first of these two stitches off the left needle and keep the other stitch on the left needle.]
Repeat the brackets until you have one “worked stitch” and one more stitch on the left needle. Knit the “worked stitch” through the back loop, and purl the last stitch.
Row 4 (wrong side): slip 1, purl 2 stitches together, but slip only the first of these 2 stitches off the left needle. Keep the second “worked stitch” on the left needle.
[Purl the “worked stitch’ together with the next stitch. Slip the first of these two stitches off the left needle and keep the other stitch on the left needle.]
Repeat the brackets until you have one “worked stitch” and one more stitch on the left needle. Purl the “worked stitch”, and purl the last stitch.
These four rows form the pattern.
To make the patterning symmetrical, work rows 1 and 2 before you bind off stitches.
SAVE FOR LATER
This and 41 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #3.
