Knitting offers plenty of ways to create various textures and colour patterns, but when we pair knitting with other crafts, the number of patterns we can make is almost limitless.
One of those patterns is knitted plaid. It becomes possible by using basic embroidery on a knitted fabric.
The best way to get a woven look that we all like so much in plaid is to use reverse stockinette stitch as the base for the colour pattern.
Let’s see how we can turn a simple knitted fabric into a beautiful plaid pattern.
There are only two steps. First, we’ll knit the base fabric with horizontal stripes. Then we’ll add vertical stripes using a simple running stitch.
The easiest way to avoid mistakes in placing colours within a plaid pattern is to use a colour chart. Charts are big helpers when it comes to knitting colour patterns, and plaid is no exception.
To make a sample swatch, we’ll use a simple two colour plaid pattern shown in this chart:
MATERIALS
When it comes to choosing materials for a plaid pattern, there are almost no restrictions. Use any yarn and needles you like, but stay away from highly textured or high-contrasting variegated yarns because they will conceal the plaid pattern.
To make a swatch featured in this tutorial, I’ll use chunky yarn in golden and blue colours, and 10mm (US size 15) knitting needles.
We’ll also need a wool needle to make those lovely vertical stripes, so have a wool needle at hand.
STEP 1
First, let’s knit a piece of fabric with the horizontal stripes shown in the chart.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
(if you don’t see the video, turn off the ad blocker in your browser)
Each cell of the chart represents one stitch and one row worked in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches in one row, and purl all stitches in the next row).
We’ll ignore the vertical stripes for now, and cast on 14 stitches using colour A (golden).
Use any type of cast on you like. I used the long-tail cast-on method to form the initial set of stitches for my swatch.
According to the chart, we should work:4 rows in colour A,
2 rows in colour B (blue),
2 rows in colour A,
2 rows in colour B,
and, finally, 4 rows in colour A.
Bind off stitches and secure the tail.
Then block the fabric. It is an important part! Stitching is not stretchy, so we have to make sure the fabric has the correct tension. It will be difficult to adjust the elasticity of the fabric after we make the vertical stripes.
STEP 2
In this step, we’ll use running stitch to “draw” the vertical stripes on the fabric.
Take the yarn in colour B and cut a piece that is twice the length of each column of stitches that forms a stripe.
Our chart tells us that each vertical stripe is two-stitch wide, so to make one stripe we’ll need a piece of yarn that is four times the length of the swatch.
Because our swatch has only two short vertical stripes, let’s cut enough yarn to make both stripes.
That means that we should cut a piece of yarn that is eight times the length of the swatch. Add a bit of extra yarn for tails and to make sure you don’t run out of yarn before the stripes are finished.
When we work on a bigger project like a scarf or a blanket, it is more comfortable to work with the length of yarn that equals the length of the project.
You might even decide to leave loose ends hanging on each side of the scarf and turn them into fringes (simply tie them in groups of 2-4 strands).
Thread the yarn into the wool needle and place the fabric so that the purl side of the work is facing you.
THE FIRST STRIPE
We can start to make stripes from the left or from the right side. It doesn’t matter at all. I’ll start with the stripe at the right-hand side and will work from right to left. It seems intuitive because we knit from right to left.
The chart tells us that the stripe starts 4 stitches away from the right edge of the fabric.
Count four stitches from the right edge of the swatch and insert the wool needle from the bottom up under the downward curve (let’s call it a “mushroom”) of the fifth stitch in the first row of the fabric.
Then insert the wool needle under the “mushroom” of every other stitch in the same column of stitches.
Depending on the length of the wool needle, you can run it through two to four stitches at a time.
Pull the yarn through, leaving a small tail at the bottom. We’ll weave it in later on.
Run the wool needle through every other stitch in this column of stitches. Then insert it through the bind off edge to anchor the yarn.
Rotate the work.
Now run the wool needle through the “mushrooms” that are next to the column of stitches we’ve just worked with.
Insert the wool needle under every other “mushroom” in this column so that the strand forms a checkered pattern.
Go on to run the yarn through every other “mushroom” in this column. Then insert the wool needle in the cast-on edge to anchor the yarn.
We’ve just made a one stitch wide stripe.
Before we make the second part of this stripe, let’s make sure we have enough yarn in the vertical stripe to accommodate for some stretch. Pull the fabric slightly between the cast-on and bind-off edges to allow the fabric to take as much yarn as it needs to look relaxed. Don’t overdo it – too much yarn will create loops between stitches. Trust your judgment and make the fabric look nice.
Rotate the work and repeat the same back-and-forth stitching one more time to finish this stripe.
THE SECOND STRIPE
The second stripe is two stitches away from the first one. Run the wool needle through two stitches of the cast on edge to avoid leaving a loop at the bottom of the work.
Now make the second stripe exactly the same way as we made the first stripe.
Weave in the tails and enjoy the look of your first piece of knitted plaid.
When you turn the swatch to the knit side, you will notice that vertical stripes are not visible there. That makes knitted plaid even more interesting, don’t you think?
SAVE IT FOR LATER
This and 31 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #8.
