2019: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

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It’s become a personal tradition of mine to use my encoding methods to turn the next year into a knitting stitch pattern, and so here is 2019. Happy New Year!

2019: a free lace knitting stitch pattern, by Naomi Parkhurst
2019: a free lace knitting stitch pattern chart, by Naomi Parkhurst
Click on chart to enlarge image

Notes:

  • The two cables in the center of row 3 are both right crosses on purpose. They make a braid pattern with the stitches below.
  • This is a stitch pattern such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. This is not a pattern for a finished object. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
  • 2019 is a multiple of 18 stitches and 4 rows.
  • I’ve made a stitch map for it.
  • Designers, please feel free to use it 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:

  • 1/1 LC: Slip next stitch to cable needle and place at front of work, knit 1, then knit 1 from cable needle.
  • 1/1 RC: Slip next stitch to cable needle and place at back of work, knit 1, then knit 1 from cable needle.
  • k: knit.
  • k2tog: knit 2 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning decrease)
  • 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)
  • yo: yarnover.

Row 1 (RS): *k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, 1/1 LC, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, yo, ssk, k2; work from *.
Row 2 (WS): *p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5; work from *.
Row 3: *k1, k2tog, yo, 1/1 RC, k2, 1/1 RC x 2, k2, 1/1 LC, yo, ssk, k1; work from *.
Row 4: purl.

Encoding explanation for the curious:

I didn’t need to turn any letters into numbers, because 2019 is already numbers. I charted the individual digits on charts in various ways and picked this one:

Here’s how I charted it, using my method 4. I started in the bottom right corner and worked from right to left since knitting goes from right to left. (This is arbitrary, really, but I like to be consistent.)

The first digit of 2019 is 2, so I counted two squares and marked the next with black. The second digit of 2019 is 0, so I counted no squares and filled the next square with black to show that I counted 0 for this digit. (This is a little weird until you get used to it, but it’s the only way to account for zeroes.) The next digit is 1, so I count one square, and mark the next. The fourth digit is 9 so I count three squares and… oops! No more room on this row. However, I jump up to the right end of the next row to count 4 through 9, and mark the next available square with black. The blank squares in the upper left don’t matter for the code, since there’s not a black square at the end to indicate that they’ve been counted.

Then I mirrored the chart, changed the black squares into YOs, and figured out where to place the decreases and cable stitches.

Happy New Year!