Staghorn: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

The first word I’m encoding for this month is Staghorn, suggested by Valerie on Patreon. Staghorn can refer to at least five different things from nature! The obvious thing is the horns of a stag (a male deer), but the other four I found on a casual web search include a coral, several species of moss, a genus of epiphytic ferns, and a sumac. Not surprising really, given how many things have a branching shape. Since the encoding process I use doesn’t produce a stitch pattern that looks like the final result, I’m not surprised that the final result doesn’t look like a stag’s horns, but it does have an organic appearance. In the top part, I see moths. (Not the kinds that eat wool.)

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make two of these into knitting stitches each month: the first is drawn from the collection of new words; the second is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose this, 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.

The charts are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Notes:

• These are stitch patterns such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. They are not  patterns for finished objects. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
• The repeats in the charts and the text aren’t in the same places for version 2. (The double YOs complicate writing the repeats logically in the text.)
• Staghorn version 1 is a multiple of 10 stitches and 10 rows. Version 2 is a multiple of 10 + 10 stitches and 20 rows.
• I’ve made stitch maps for version 1 and version 2.
• Designers, please feel free to use these stitches 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
• DSD: double slip decrease; ssk, slip the resulting stitch back to the left needle, pass the next stitch over, then slip the result. (Right-leaning double decrease. Substitute knit 3 together if desired; they are similar but don’t look quite the same.)
• k: knit.
• k2tog: knit 2 stitches together as if they were 1. (Right-leaning decrease)
• p: purl.
• sk2p: slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over. (Left-leaning double decrease.)
• 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.

Version 1:

Row 1 (RS): *k1, ssk, yo, k2, 1/1 RC, k6, 1/1 LC, k2, yo, k2tog, k1; work from *. [20 sts]
Row 2 (WS): purl.
Row 3: *k2tog, yo, k2, (k2tog, yo x 2, ssk) x 3, k2, yo, ssk; work from *.
Row 4: *p5, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p2] x 2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5; work from *.
Row 5: *k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k2, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k1; work from *.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: *k1, k2tog, yo x 2, sk2p, (yo, ssk) x 2, yo x 2, (k2tog, yo) x 2, DSD, yo x 2, ssk, k1; work from *.
Row 8: *p2, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p5] x 2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2; work from *.
Row 9: *k3, (yo, k2tog) x 2, k1, ssk, yo x 2, k2tog, k1, (ssk, yo) x 2, k3; work from *.
Row 10: *p9, (k1, p1) in double yo, p9; work from *.

Version 2:

Row 1 (RS): k3, 1/1 RC, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, *k1, ssk, yo, k2, 1/1 LC, k6, 1/1 RC, k2, yo, k2tog, k1; work from *, k1, ssk, yo, k2, 1/1 LC, k3. [40 sts]
Row 2 (WS): purl.
Row 3: yo, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, *k2tog, yo, k2, (k2tog, yo x 2, ssk) x 3, k2, yo, ssk; work from *, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo.
Row 4: p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5, *p5, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p2] x 2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5; work from *, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p3.
Row 5: k1, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k1, *k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k2, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k1; work from *, k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k1.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: (yo, k2tog) x 2, yo, DSD, yo x 2, ssk, k1, *k1, k2tog, yo x 2, sk2p, (yo, ssk) x 2, yo x 2, (k2tog, yo) x 2, DSD, yo x 2, ssk, k1; work from *, k1, k2tog, yo x 2, sk2p, (yo, ssk) x 2, yo.
Row 8: p6, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, *p2, [(k1, p1) in double yo, p5] x 2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2; work from *, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p6.
Row 9: yo, k2tog, k1, (ssk, yo) x 2, k3, *k3, (yo, k2tog) x 2, k1, ssk, yo x 2, k2tog, k1, (ssk, yo) x 2, k3; work from *, k3, (yo, k2tog) x 2, k1, ssk, yo.
Row 10: p10, *p9, (k1, p1) in double yo, p9; work from *, p10.
Row 11: k1, ssk, yo, k2, 1/1 LC, k3, *k3, 1/1 RC, k2, yo, k2tog, k2, ssk, yo, k2, 1/1 LC, k3; work from *, k3, 1/1 RC, k2, yo, k2tog, k1.
Row 12: purl.
Row 13: k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, *yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog; work from *, yo x 2, ssk, k2tog, yo x 2, ssk, k2, yo, ssk.
Row 14: p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p10, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5.
Row 15: k1, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k1, *k1, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k2, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, k2, yo, ssk, k1; work from *, k1, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k1.
Row 16: purl.
Row 17: k1, k2tog, yo x 2, sk2p, (yo, ssk) x 2, *yo x 2, (k2tog, yo) x 2, DSD, yo x 2, ssk, k2, k2tog, yo x 2, sk2p, (yo, ssk) x 2; work from *, yo x 2, (k2tog, yo) x 2, DSD, yo x 2, ssk, k1.
Row 18: p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p5, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2.
Row 19: k3, (yo, k2tog) x 2, k1, ssk, *yo x 2, k2tog, k1, (ssk, yo) x 2, k6, (yo, k2tog) x 2, k1, ssk; work from *, yo x 2, k2tog, k1, (ssk, yo) x 2, k3.
Row 20: p9, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p18, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p9.