1 essential tip about changing a knitting stitch pattern!

Today we end our travels through making changes to a stitch pattern. We’ve tried switching out knits for purls and vice versa, we’ve tried adding stitches in between motif repeats. Now we’ll look at adding shaping between motif repeats.

In the swatch above you can see the right side of a stockinette inset that I’ve added between columns of Wisteria motifs. This approach to changing a stitch pattern will help with shaping options. You could add a wide swath of stockinette between each motif and gradually decrease to make a hat. If you have bands of stockinette stitch between motifs on a sweater, you could reduce the number of sts on each band for waist shaping and then increase again for the bust. There are really a lot of options for changing a stitch pattern using this approach.

In the above swatch you can see the wrong side of the inset. I think if I were to design with this, I would swatch with the reverse stockinette stitch on the right side of the wisteria motif to see how it would raise the motif to the forefront.

Below you’ll find the diagram and instructions to make this type of change to the wisteria stitch pattern.

Instructions

Cast on a multiple of 6 stitches, plus 1 for symmetry, plus 2 (one for each edge).

Row 1: S1 wyif, [k1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] across to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 2: S1 wyif, [p2, pdblinc, p1] across to last 2 sts, p1, k1.
Rows 3-4: Repeat rows 1-2.
Row 5: S1 wyif, k1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, [s1-k1-psso, kfbf, k2tog, s1, yo] across to last 4 sts, s1-k1-psso, k2.
Row 6: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p5, pdblinc] across to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 7: S1 wyif, [k1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, k2] across.
Row 8: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p5, pdblinc] across to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 9: S1 wyif, k1, [k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, rki, k3, lki] across to last 7 sts, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, k2.
Row 10: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p7, pdblinc] across to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 11: S1 wyif, k1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, [k5, k2tog, s1, yo, s1-k1-psso] across to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 12: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p7, pdblinc] to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 13: S1 wyif, k1, [k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, rki, k5, lki] to last 7 sts, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, k2.
Row 14: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p9, pdblinc] across to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 15: S1 wyif, k1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso, [k7, k2tog, s1, yo, s1-k1-psso] to last 2 sts, k2.
Rows 16-17: Repeat rows 14-15.
Row 18: S1 wyif, p2, pdblinc, [p9, pdblinc] across to last 3 sts, p2, k1.

Continue in this manner, increasing 1 st on each side of stockinette inset panel.

Abbreviations

k = knit
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together.
kdblinc (knit double increase) = [Knit, yo, knit] all in yo and next st tog.
kfbf = Knit into the front of the stitch, leaving the stitch on the needle, then knit into the back, and then front of the same stitch.
lki = Lift the stitch 2 rows below the last stitch onto the left needle and knit this stitch.
No stitch = This stitch is ignored.
p = purl
pdblinc (purl double increase) = [purl, yrn, purl] all in next st together with yarn over
rki = Lift the stitch 1 row below the next stitch onto the left needle and knit this stitch.
s1 wyif = with the working yarn in front, insert the right needle into the next stitch as if to purl and transfer the stitch from the left needle to the right.
s1-k1-psso = slip one stitch knitwise, then knit next stitch and pass the slipped stitch over.
yo = bring yarn forward and as you knit next stitch, allow to form a new stitch over right needle.
yrn = take yarn from front over right needle and return to front between needles (counter-clockwise)

Try it in the round and make a cowl!

If you’d like to make a cowl with the wisteria lace motif, I’d recommend the following steps:

Find 1 or 2 skeins of yarn that you would love to wear around your neck. Cast on 20 to 30 sts and work 10 rows in stockinette to find your gauge (# of sts per 10 cm).

Then measure the circumference of the distance around your neck where you would like the cowl to be the tightest. Make sure that this circumference isn’t smaller than your head circumference or you won’t be able to get the cowl over your head, unless the yarn is quite stretchy and you’re good at making stretching cast-ons.

Take the number of inches or centimeters for the cowl’s narrowest circumference and multiple by the tension and divide by 10 to get the approximate number of stitches. Then you’ll need to find the closest multiple of 6 sts and cast that many stitches on.

Then follow the diagram or instructions below.

Instructions

Cast on the stitches you calculated above. Remember, there should be a multiple of 6.

Round 1: [K1, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 2: [K2, kdblinc, k1] around.
Rounds 3-4: Repeat rows 1-2.
Round 5: [Kfbf, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 6: [K4, kdblinc, k1] 3 times.
Round 7: [K3, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 8: [K4, kdblinc, k1] 3 times.
Round 9: [Rki, k3, lki, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 10: [K6, kdblinc, k1] around.
Round 11: [K5, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 12: [K6, kdblinc, k1] around.
Round 13: [Rki, k5, lki, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Round 14: [K8, kdblinc, k1] around.
Round 15: [K7, k2tog, s1 wyif, yo, s1-k1-psso] around.
Rounds 16-17: Repeat rows 14-15.
Round 18: [K8, kdblinc, k1] around.

Continue increasing this way until the desired width is reached…then continue without increases working the stockinette stitch panels even and the wisteria motifs even as well. I hope you post a picture of your cowls and share them with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KNITmuch .

I hope that you’ve enjoyed exploring different ways to change stitch patterns to make something unique to you. You can make these changes with many different stitch patterns to see what turns out.