Melissa Leapman - The Knit Stitch Pattern Handbook: An Essential Collection of 300 Designer Stitches and Techniques

Copyright 2013 Melissa Leapman

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.pottercraft.com
www.crownpublishing.com

POTTER CRAFT and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Leapman, Melissa.

the knit stitch pattern handbook: an essential collection of 300 designer stitches and techniques / by Melissa Leapman.First Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-449-81990-6 (print edition : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-449-81991-3 (ebook edition : alk. paper)

1. KnittingPatterns. I. Title.

TT825.L38815 2013
746.432dc23
2012049411

Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-449-81990-6
eBook ISBN 978-0-449-81991-3

design by Karla Baker
photographs by Marcus Tullis
technical editor: Debbie Radtke
technical illustrations: Joni Coniglio
all charts and schematic illustrations: Melissa Leapman
cover design by Laura Palese
cover photographs by Marcus Tullis
author photograph by Heather Weston

v3.1

I owe much gratitude to the following knitters for making literally hundreds of sample swatchesand testing all the patterns!for this book: Patty Asher, Mink Barrett, Lee Gant, Cindy Grosch, Susan Hope, Cheryl Keeley, Cheryl McCray, Joan Murphy, Jen Owens, Debbie Radtke, Catherine Schiesz, Heather Start, Lauren Voeltz, and Renae Woolsey.

Once again, thanks go to Jean, Shannon, Bob, Rob, Bob, and everyone at Cascade Yarn Company for sending me furniture-sized boxes of yarn for all the swatches. (Trust me, there is photo documentation!) Cascade 220 wool yarn offers great stitch definition, making it the perfect choice for this book. My heart-felt thanks to all of you for your generosity!

Thank you Debbie Radtke for tech editing this book. I cannot begin to imagine how you managed to wrangle all the loose ends of this ginormous project. With so many moving parts, I could not have done this without you! I will definitely miss you around the office now. Mahna Mahna.

Just as every knitter creates each and every project, no matter how simple or intricate, from basic knit and purl stitches, I have built an exhilarating career as a freelance knit and crochet designer and author using stitch patterns made from just knit and purl stitches. Stitch patterns are one of the basic building blocks that I use when I begin to design and are essential in much of my work.

One of my first jobs was working as a stitch designer for major fashion houses on Seventh Avenue in the garment district of New York City. I was handed giant cones of different yarns and sent off to create original swatches reflecting upcoming trends. I remember being told to Think seashore one season, and I designed textured fabrics that looked like sand and surf, like . It was a great opportunity for me to develop the design (and knitting!) skills I use every day.

Some of the stitch patterns in this book are long-standing favorites I created during my many years working in the yarn industry; some are variations on stitch patterns you may recognize; a few are the results of experimentation (swapping cable crossings, for example), and still others are the product of fortunate errors done while knitting. Inspiration, for me, comes from lots of different placesfrom fashion trends to art, architecture to nature.

You will find textured knit and purl patterns, lace and openwork, cables and crossed stitch patterns, slip stitch patterns, and novelty combinations. Most are accessible to any of you who are aspiring knitters while still being interesting enough for a knitting pro.

Writing this book has been an absolute dream come true. Just picture my happy design studio: giant commercial-sized boxes of wool in a kaleidoscope of colors, piles and piles of literally hundreds of knitted swatches, pads of graph paper with scribbled patterns and charts all over the place (in my knitting bag, travel carry-on, briefcaseeven on the nightstand)!

Of course, as a knitter, you have many stitch dictionaries to choose from, but each collection opens a new world of creative possibilities by offering you a window into a designers imagination and their innovations on our favorite craft. I am excited to share this collection of stitch designs with you and can hardly wait to see all the beautiful things you make!

Most knitters know that, no matter the complexity, all knitted fabrics are made using just two basic stitchesknit and purl. Lucky for us, these simple stitches can be combined in an infinite number of ways to create designs that are beautiful, exciting, and unique. A stitch dictionary is a collection of such patterns and can become the basis for anything your imagination can create, from a romantic openwork shawl to a warm Aran pullover or a cozy sampler throw.

This stitch collection is divided into five chapters according to knitting technique: knit/purl combinations, lace patterns, cables and crossed-stitch patterns, slip stitch designs, and novelty stitch patterns.

Each section is arranged according to skill level, from the more straightforward to more complex patterns. That said, no matter your knitting experience, if you are intrigued by a more advanced stitch, give it a try. I encourage you to try them all! Youll find to help you gain new skills. After all, the best way to learn and grow is to challenge yourself.

Youll notice that each pattern has both written and charted instructions. I have provided both versions to be complete and also because many knitters strongly prefer one over the other. If youve never tried reading a knitting chart, take a look at for a complete demystification of the chart-reading process and symbols. Of course, please choose the format you preferor use both. You might find having the text nearby makes using the charts easier to follow.

Each individual design includes a stitch multiple, which indicates the number of stitches needed to repeat the pattern. , for example, is a multiple of 16 stitches. This means you should cast on a number of stitches that is divisible by 16, such as 32 or 48 or 112 or 160.

Some patterns require extra stitches on one or both sides in order to center the design, such as . This design is a multiple of 24 stitches plus 12 stitches, so 84 stitches would work nicely (24 3 + 12), as would 252 stitches (24 10 + 12).

In the charts, the stitch multiple, also known as the stitch repeat, is outlined by a bold black box; in the written-out instructions, it begins with an asterisk and ends with a semicolon.

Youll notice that some stitch designs, such as fabric is not exactly reversible, photographs show both sides of the fabric. You might even find you sometimes prefer the wrong side over the right side!