Dragons: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

This month, the random number generator chose dragons, suggested by Nyriis and Asimina on Patreon. I like the result! From one angle, the sections with more stockinette look kind of like dragon heads, though I didn’t plan for it. From another, the sections full of yarnovers remind me of plant cells under a microscope.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. A random number generator helps me choose the word of the month, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post.

Notes:

• This is a stitch pattern such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. It is not a pattern for a finished object. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
• Dragons is a multiple of 22+23 stitches and 20 rows.
• I’ve made a stitch map for it.
• Designers, please feel free to use this stitch in your patterns. I’d like credit but won’t be offended if people don’t give it.
• If you like my posts like this, please consider supporting me on Patreon or donating with my Paypal tip jar in the sidebar. Thanks!

Abbreviations:

• CDD: centered double decrease: slip the next 2 stitches as if to knit 2 together, knit the next stitch, then pass the 2 slipped stitches over the third.
• k: knit.
• k2tog: knit 2 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning decrease)
• k3tog: knit 3 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning double decrease)
• kyok: (k1, yo, k1) in next stitch.
• p: purl.
• ssk: slip each of the next 2 stitches as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loop. (Left-leaning decrease)
• sssk: slip each of the next 3 stitches as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loop. (Left-leaning double decrease)
• yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k2, *kyok, k2, sssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k2; work from *, kyok, k2, sssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3.
Row 2 (WS): purl.
Row 3: k2, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k2, *(k3, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk) x 2, k2; work from *, k3, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k2.
Row 4: p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4, *p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3.
Row 5: k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k2, *k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k7, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k2; work from *, k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: k2, yo, k3tog, yo, k2tog x 2, k2, yo, *kyok, yo, k2, ssk x 2, yo, sssk, yo, k3, yo, k3tog, yo, k2tog x 2, k2, yo; work from *, kyok, yo, k2, ssk x 2, yo, sssk, yo, k2.
Row 8: purl.
Row 9: k4, yo, k1, k2tog, k4, *k5, ssk, k1, yo, k7, yo, k1, k2tog, k4; work from *, k5, ssk, k1, yo, k4.
Row 10: purl.
Row 11: yo, k3, sssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2, *k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k2, kyok, k2, sssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2; work from *, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k3tog, k3, yo.
Row 12: purl.
Row 13: k3, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k1, *k2, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k1; work from *, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, cdd, yo x 2, ssk, k3.
Row 14: p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3, *p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3; work from *, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p1, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4.
Row 15: k3, ssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, *k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k5, ssk, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3; work from *, k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3.
Row 16: purl.
Row 17: yo, k1, yo, k2, ssk x 2, yo, sssk, yo, k1, *k2, yo, k3tog, yo, k2tog x 2, k2, yo, kyok, yo, k2, ssk x 2, yo, sssk, yo, k1; work from *, k2, yo, k3tog, yo, k2tog x 2, k2, yo, k1, yo.
Row 18: purl.
Row 19: k5, ssk, k1, yo, k3, *k4, yo, k1, k2tog, k9, ssk, k1, yo, k3; work from *, k4, yo, k1, k2tog, k5.
Row 20: purl.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

The first thing I did was to turn the letters of dragons into numbers, using base 10: 04 18 01 07 15 14 19. (I picked base 10 because I liked the resulting charts.)

Then I charted the numbers in various ways, and picked this one because I thought it might make good lace. Here’s how I made the chart:

I started in the bottom right corner of the chart and worked to the left. The first digit of the letter d is zero, so I counted no squares, and marked the first square to the left. The second digit is 4, so I counted four squares, and marked the next square to the left. The first digit of r is 1, so I counted one square and marked the next. The second digit is 8, so I started counting 8 squares. After 4 squares, I ran out of room, so I jumped up to the start of the next row and finished counting squares 5-8. Then I marked the next square. The first digit of a is zero again, so I counted no squares and marked the very next square. I continued on to the end. The remaining squares in the last row don’t matter for the encoding because there is no square to the left – the last digit is marked by the last black square.

For dragons, I mirrored along the center of the first column and along the center of the last column, making a single column for each of them instead of a duplicated column. The repeat will therefore be a multiple of 22+1 in some form. I replaced each dark square with a yo (and the single dark squares in the center column with kyoks, which have a yo as part of their chart symbol) and then spent a lot of time swatching to figure out where I wanted to place the decreases. I also offset every other repeat halfway, shown in rows 11-20 of the finished chart.