My favourite textured stitches: leaf stitch
STUNNIN'
This is my favorite stitch ever. I’ve used it for the FuwaFuwa Balaclava knitting pattern. I call it the ‘leaf stitch’ because the texture reminds me of a tree full of leaves. Some people see scales here, like a piece of dragon skin. But feel free to call it whatever you like—I’m sharing the pattern, and from there, it’s all yours.
This stitch is a 12-row repeat pattern plus a Base Row that you only knit once at the beginning. To create the pattern, you’ll need multiples of 4 stitches plus 3 extra stitches. Additionally, for the tutorial, I’ve included 2 stitches, one at the beginning and one at the end of every row to create a nice selvedge.
Abbreviations and definitions:
k - knit
p - purl
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
sts - stitches
*…* - asterisks in knitting are used to indicate parts of a pattern that repeat. For example: “*k,p* to the last 8 stitches” means you knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl … and so on until there are 8 stitches left in the row.
make 5 sts in one - knit, purl, knit, purl and knit into one stitch (see tutorial)
slip stitch knitwise - insert your needle as if to knit, and then slip that from your left needle to your right needle
Leaf stitch -12 rows repeat:
Cast on multiples of 4 + 3, plus 2 edge stitches. I recommend casting on quite loosely for this one. For the sample, I cast on 45 stitches (multiples of 4 x 10 = 40, plus 3 stitches, plus 2 edge stitches = 45 stitches). The first and last stitch of each row are edge stitches. They are not necessary for the stitch pattern but they create a nice selvedge for the sample. You can skip them if you prefer.
Base Row (RS): slip stitch purlwise, 1p, *make 5 sts in one (see tutorial), 3p* repeat from * to * until you have 3 sts left on your needle, make 5 sts in one, 1p, knit
Row 1 (WS): slip stitch purlwise, 1k, *5p, 3k* repeat from * to * until you have 7 stitches left on your needle, 5p, 1k, 1k
Row 2(RS): slip stitch purlwise, 1p, *5k, 3p* repeat from * to * until you have 7 stitches left on your needle, 5k, 1p, 1k
Row 3(WS): work as Row 1
Row 4 (RS): slip stitch purlwise, 1p, *slip stitch knitwise and put it back on the left needle, knit 2 stitches together through the back loop, 1k, knit 2 stitches together through the front loop (as you would normally knit)(see tutorial), 3p* repeat from * to * until you have 7 stitches left on your needle, slip stitch knitwise and put it back on your left needle, knit 2 stitches together through the back loop, 1k, knit 2 stitches togehter through the front loop, 1p, 1k
Row 5 (WS): slip stitch purlwise, 1k, *3p, 3k* repeat from * to * until you have 5 stitches left on your needle, 3p, 1k, 1k
Row 6 (RS): slip stitch purlwise, 1p, *slip stitch knitwise, knit 2 stitches together, slip the slipped stitch over the last stitch on your right needle (the one you made when you knitted 2 stitches together)(see tutorial) , 1p, make 5 sts in one, 1p* repeat from * to * until ypu have 5 sts left on your needle, slip stitch knitwise, knit 2 stitches together, slip the slipped stitch over the last stitch on your right needle, 1p, 1k
Row 7(WS): slip stitch purlwise, 3k, *5p, 3k* repeat from * to * until you have 1 stitch left on your needle, 1k
Row 8(RS): slip stitch purlwise, 3p, *5k,3p* repeat from * to * until you have 1 stitch left on your needle, 1k
Row 9(WS): knit as Row 7
Row 10(RS): slip stitch purlwise, 3p, *slip stitch as if to knit and put it back on your left needle, knit 2 stitches together through back loop, 1k, knit 2 stitches together through the front loop (as if you would normally knit), 3p* repeat from * to * intil you have 1 stitch left on your needle, 1k
Row 11(WS): slip stitch purlwise, 3k, *3p,3k* repeat from * to * until you have 1 stitch left on your needle, 1k
Row 12(RS): slip stitch purlwise, 1p, *make 5 sts in one, 1p, slip 1 stitch as if to knit, knit 2 together, slip the slipped stitch over last stitch on your right needle, 1p* repeat from * to * until you have 3 stitches left on your needle, make 5 sts in one, 1p, 1k
Repeat Rows 1-12 (without the Base Row, which is knitted only once). To finish the pattern, in Row 12, instead of 1 purl, make 5 stitches in one, 1 purl, just do 3 purl stitches.
Tutorials:
Slip stitch purlwise:
Make 5 sts in one:
Row 4 and 10 decrease:
Row 6 and 12 decrease:
Happy creating!
Marta
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