Reversible Knitting Stitches, Version 2.1

In my last blogpost, I was extolling a new-to-me knitting stitch combination which produced a delightful mix of Half-Twisted Rib vertical lines combined with horizontal Rice Stitch bands. The Rice Stitch bands held the ribs nicely apart and gave a wonderful grid-like structure.

I used this for a lunch-bag and bottle carrier set I was making so I could carry around some gluten-free goodies for our explorations in Sweden in the early summer. The stitch combination worked so well for these, so I was keen to add it into our Reversible Knitting Stitches E-book. That's the beauty of an E-book isn't it – you can add in just a few new pages really easily.

Anna and I had also been experimenting with some new colour ideas for the book. I love colourful reversible stitches and the one above is a well-known stitch which definitely needed a place in the book!

This is Three-Colour Linen Stitch and I can see myself using this in a project soon. I think this would work really well for a set of placemats and coasters. Linen Stitch and this colourful variation are slow to work, but are such strong, interesting stitches so it is well worth the extra time needed.

In addition, we have received some suggestions for a few new stitches from readers, so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to add those in. Many thanks to everyone who sent those to us. We love trying out new stitch patterns, so please do keep sending in your ideas so we can incorporate them into future updates.

We also had a few new project photos to squeeze in, including the Petersfield Scarf above. This uses a really warm stitch from Chapter 1: Allover Stitches. The stitch is called Granite Stitch and it can be worked in a single colour or in stripes and still remains fully reversible. That is quite unusual, even for a reversible stitch! I wrote about another reversible striped pattern, Roman Striped Lace, in a blogpost here. I wasn’t sure at first if Granite Stitch would give a good striped pattern but was pleased when I tried it out to see such lovely crisp lines.

I have been using this stitch a lot for recent projects as I wanted to make a set of winter garments for our current stay in Sweden. When we left Florida in October it was about 32ºC and as I write this, it is only 2ºC… brrr….. Lovely for early snow pictures for my husband Tim, but decidedly chilly otherwise. I’ll take some photos of what I’ve been knitting recently and will post about those in a future blogpost.

We also added in photos of the Darlington Lace Wrap and the Grayswood Scarf in Chapter 11, Lace & Mesh Patterns. Both of those were finished too late to be included last time, so I am pleased that we have managed to fit them into this update.

So the new updated Reversible Knitting Stitches book now has a total of 273 different stitches and 86 project ideas! We have left the sub-title of the book “A Sourcebook of 250 Double-sided Stitch Patterns” but I suppose we might have to update that if we eventually get close to the 300-mark!

I have already uploaded this new updated version to my website here. Alternatively, you can also find it on Etsy and on PayHip. I hope you enjoy these new stitches and find good uses for them in your future work.

If you would like to read more about the Reversible Knitting Stitches book, please click here. The book is available for immediate download from the site. If you would like to gift a copy for a knitting friend, then please contact me and I’ll get that organised for you. You can say if you would like it delivered on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or another special day, and any message you would like included.

If you already have the Reversible Knitting Stitches E-book and would like this new updated version, then please let me know and I’ll send that on to you.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Combining Twisted Stitches Next Up: Knitting in Nordic White ​ ​​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Combining twisted stitches

I have written before about how I "invented" a new type of rib when I was about 13. I had been knitting a twisted rib for the welt of a sweater when I found that if I twisted just the knit stitches but left the purl stitches untwisted then it gave a really interesting stitch. 
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The rib lay flatter, the inside was smoother and last but not least, it was a whole lot easier to work! That's always a bonus, isn't it.

Well of course as others before me have found, it is really hard to invent anything new in knitting. My "invented" rib turned out to be Half-Twisted Rib but it is still one of my favourite stitches! 

​So, when I wanted to make a lunch-bag and a few other accessories recently, I immediately thought about using Half-Twisted Rib as the basis for the patterning.  However, I wanted to add some extra interest so decided to combine it with slim bands of Rice Stitch. It isn't a combination I have used before, but I really love the way this turned out. 
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The Rice Stitch bands have acted to hold the rib stitches apart, giving them extra definition, and the contrasting vertical and horizontal patterning really catches the light in an interesting way. 

​I chose Rice Stitch as a companion to the Half-Twisted Rib because some of the stitches are also twisted, so I thought they would go very well together. In fact, the back of Rice Stitch looks quite like a dotted version of a Half-Twisted Rib.
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Rice Stitch gives such a wonderful texture to a design, as you can see in the photos above taken from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. It almost looks as though grains of rice have been scattered in a neat grid across the knitting. 

I love exploring different stitches and putting them together to come up with something new. You never quite know what you're going to get! 
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I can definitely see myself using this particular combination of stitches again. I am thinking it might work really well in a knitted rug, for example, or a set of cushions. I would think those would look really interesting scattered on a sofa with the light catching all the different lines and angles. 

I wanted to share this and a few other colour ideas I have been working on recently, so we have been working on a small update to our Reversible Knitting Stitches book! That's the beauty of an E-book isn't it – you can just add in a few new pages really easily.

So I have just uploaded "Version 2.1" of the book onto the website here and will post some more details about this in my next blogpost – and yes, the stitch combination I have been featuring today, Moray Rib, is in there as a new entry on Page 74! Please click here to read more about our the book and I will be back soon with lots more details about this new update.

Until then – Happy Knitting!

Moira

​Last Blogpost: New blogpost feature on my website! ​Next Up: Reversible Knitting Stitches, Version 2.1  Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Reversible Knitting Stitches,
twisted stitches, Rice Stitch, Half-Twisted Rib, stitch combinations, knitting stitch, reversible stitch,