The Knitting Fiend

This beautiful, easy to knit stitch, is beautiful on both sides and is called “Vertical Drop Stitch”. I should warn those who are sick of “Stockinette Ad Naseum” that the stability of the stitch is improved by using the “Eastern Cross Method” to knit some of the stitches. So, if you click “more” to read the full article, you will be referred back to “Stockinette Ad Naseum: Part II”.

First, for the general directions.

Vertical Drop-Stitch
Knit back and forth. I have underlined the set of stitches that forms the beginning and end of the “drop”.

• Cast on a Multiple of 8 stitches plus 4 stitches. (Example 12, 20, 28 etc.)
• Row 0 (Right side): k1, * p2, k1, yo, k1, p2, k2; repeat from * end p2, k1.
• Rows 1, 3 and 5: P1, *k2, p2, k2, p3; repeat from *, end p2, k1. (Notice you are purling the purls and knitting both the knits and yarn overs. This row is similar to ribbing.)
• Rows 2 and 4: K1, *p2, k3, p2, k2; repeat from *, end p2, k1. (You are knitting the knits and purling the purls, just as in ribbing.)
• Row 6: K1, *p2, k1, drop the next stitch and unravel down to the yarn over, k1, p2, k1, yo, k1; repeat from *, end p2, k1.
• Rows 7, 9, 11: P1, *k2, p3, k2, p2; repeat from *, end p2, k1.
• Rows 8 and 10: K1, * p2, k2, p2, k3; repeat from *, end p2, k1.
• Row 12: K1, *p2, k1, yo, k1, p2, k1, drop the next stitch and unravel down to the yarn over, k1; repeat from *, end p2, k1.
• Repeat rows 1-12.

This pattern has are two slightly unusual features. The first unusual feature is there, fewer stitches are cast on than knit. If you count stitches after “Row 0″, you will notice the number is now a multiple of 9 plus 1; if you began with 28 stitches (that’s 8 * 3 + 4), there will be 31 stitches (that’s 9 * 3 + 4). The extra stitch results from the “yo” contained in the “k1, yo, k1″ pattern in row 0. (If you don’t know how to work a yarn over (aka a “yo”) visit knitting an eyelet row and scroll down to the illustration of yarn overs.)

The second unusual feature is intentionally dropping a stitch and letting it unravel, as done when working rows 6 and 12. Examine the photo above and to the right where I have dropped a stitch off the needle. Notice this stitch lies directly above a hole created by the yo. After dropping the stitch, you may unravel it forming the ladders that give this stitch its distinctive charm.

So far so good. I’ve now described the stitch exactly as in Barbara Walkers Text; the result can be seen in the lower rows of the swatch show to the left.

Notice the knit stitches surrounding the ladders formed by the dropped yarn over look slightly loose? I find if I stretch the swatch vertically or horizontally, those stitches tend to take up yarn from the ladders. If the yarn is at all slippery, over time, the fabric will tend to look sloppy; to my eye, the stitches adjacent to the ladders look already look sloppy, and I only stretched gently and a few times.

What to do? I decided to experiment by working so that the stitches adjacent to the ladders twisted every other row. I tried several ways of doing this, and finally decided the simplest is, on odd number rows, when working purls, I yarn over using “Eastern Cross Method”. That is to say, I wrap the yarn around the needle “backwards”, but otherwise, work the purl as I normally do. (I normally knit using “Western Uncrossed”; likely you do too. From now on, when I suggest something about a stitch is “normal” or “standard”, I will mean as it would be if knit using the “Western Uncrossed Style”. )

Wrapping the yarn the Eastern way when forming the purl causes those stitches to “sit Eastern”, which becomes noticeable when I turn to work the even side rows. I begin knitting, and notice the purl stitches sit in the “standard” Western way; I purl then the the normal way. I come a cross a stitch I’m supposed to knit, I notice it’s seated “backwards” or more correctly “Eastern”. I insert the tip through the front loop– as normal– which maintains the twist. I then yarn over using the “Western Method” and pull the stitch through! That is to say, I wrap the yarn the way I normally do while knitting. As a result, the stitch from the row below is twisted, but the new stitch now on the needle “sits” Western.

The result is the stitches on either side of the ladders are twisted every other row, as illustrated at the top of the swatch to the left. Twisting tightens the border stitches and reduces their tendency to loosen and look sloppy over time.

Oh, just in case you are wondering about the wonky looking bit between the bottom third or the swatch and the top third, that’s the “experimental” portion. I was testing out which methods of twisting were simplest and looked nicest for this application. I think you can see that some of the experiments were not complete successes?

I’ll close now, but will remind you that if you want to learn how to work “Eastern”, I suggest you read Stockinette ad naseum: Part II., which discusses this technique at great length.