The Knitting Fiend

Back to “The Aran of A Million Mistakes”. (Yep, it’s slow going.)

When designing an Aran, it’s wise to do something simple with the stitches under the arms. After all, the wearer often holds their arms downward, and this part of the sweater is rarely seen. Still, I didn’t want 8 stitches of reverse stockinette under there. To my eye, that would seem out of place; as though you just left a “blank spot’. So, I decided to work the extra stitches in double seed stitch.

You can see the double seed stitch between the two vertical ribs in the photo above. It’s the slightly bumpy stitch. The more intereting stuff outside the vertical ribs is honeycomb.

Now, I think double seed stitch is nice here, but it’s also beautiful when used as an all over stitch pattern in a pullover. I once saw an absolutely gorgeous raglan pullover knit in a chunky speckled yarn; simple and gorgeous!

If you want to practice moss stitch on a swatch. If you knit back and forth, here’s how to do it:

Cast on an even number of stitches.

• Rows 1 and 2: *k1, p1; repeat from *.
• Rows 3 and 4: *p1, k1; repeat from *.
• Repeat rows 1-4.

Oh, you can work it with an odd number of row too. Then it’s
Cast on an even number of stitches.

• Rows 1 and 3: *k1, p1; repeat from *, end k1.
• Rows 2 and 4: *p1, k1; repeat from * end p1.
• Repeat rows 1-4.

Oh, did I mention, rows 2 and 4 could also be described as “knit stitches as they present themselves?” I figure I should always mention that, because knitters always wonder what that means. You