Stricken: a free lace knitting stitch pattern

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Stricken, suggested by Red Urchin, a Patreon supporter. Stricken means knitting in German: what fun!

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 these, 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 stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Notes:

• The bottom half of the swatch is two repeats of version 1; the top is one repeat of version 2.
• The purl column bits are stitches that aren’t part of the code; they’re there to make the stitch pattern square. Feel free to turn them into knit stitches instead (but then the secret code part is lost.)
• These are stitch patterns such as might be found in a stitch dictionary. They are not patterns for a finished object. You will need to add selvedges or some other form of knitted stitches to either side.
• Stricken is a multiple of 16+1 stitches and either 16 or 32 rows.
• I’ve made stitch maps for version 1 and version 2.
• Designers, please feel free to use these in your patterns. I’d like credit but won’t be offended if people don’t give it.
• My blog posts and free stitch patterns are supported by subscriptions on Patreon or donations to my Paypal tip jar in the sidebar. If you appreciate my work, please consider helping out. 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)
• 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; substitute sk2p if desired.)
• yo: yarnover

Stricken, version 1

Row 1 (RS): *p1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo; work from *, p1. [17 sts]

Row 2 (WS): k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 3: *p1, yo, k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1, yo; work from *, p1.

Row 4: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 5: *p1, (k1, yo) x 2, cdd, k5, cdd, (yo, k1) x 2; work from *, p1.

Row 6: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 7: *p1, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k7, yo, k2tog x 2, yo; work from *, p1.

Row 8: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 9: *p1, k1, yo, ssk, k9, k2tog, yo, k1; work from *, p1.

Row 10: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 11: *p1, k2, yo, ssk, k7, k2tog, yo, k2; work from *, p1.

Row 12: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 13: *p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, sssk, k3, k3tog, yo, k1, yo, k2; work from *, p1.

Row 14: k1, *p15, k1; work from *.

Row 15: *p1, ssk, k1, yo x 2, k2, ssk, k1, k2tog, k2, yo x 2, k1, k2tog; work from *, p1.

Row 16: k1, *p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, k1; work from *.

Stricken, version 2

Row 1 (RS): *k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, p1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo ; work from *, k1. [17 sts]

Row 2 (WS): p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 3: *k2, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1, yo, p1, yo, k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1 ; work from *, k1.

Row 4: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 5: *k3, cdd, (yo, k1) x 2, p1, (k1, yo) x 2, cdd, k2 ; work from *, k1.

Row 6: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 7: *k4, yo, k2tog x 2, yo, p1, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k3 ; work from *, k1.

Row 8: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 9: *k5, k2tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k4 ; work from *, k1.

Row 10: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 11: *k4, k2tog, yo, k2, p1, k2, yo, ssk, k3 ; work from *, k1.

Row 12: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 13: *k2, k3tog, yo, k1, yo, k2, p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, sssk, k1 ; work from *, k1.

Row 14: p1, *p7, k1, p8 ; work from *.

Row 15: *k1, k2tog, k2, yo x 2, k1, k2tog, p1, ssk, k1, yo x 2, k2, ssk ; work from *, k1.

Row 16: p1, *p3, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, k1, p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4 ; work from *.

Row 17: *p1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo ; work from *, p1.

Row 18: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 19: *p1, yo, k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1, yo ; work from *, p1.

Row 20: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 21: *p1, (k1, yo) x 2, cdd, k5, cdd, (yo, k1) x 2 ; work from *, p1.

Row 22: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 23: *p1, yo, ssk x 2, yo, k7, yo, k2tog x 2, yo ; work from *, p1.

Row 24: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 25: *p1, k1, yo, ssk, k9, k2tog, yo, k1 ; work from *, p1.

Row 26: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 27: *p1, k2, yo, ssk, k7, k2tog, yo, k2 ; work from *, p1.

Row 28: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 29: *p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, sssk, k3, k3tog, yo, k1, yo, k2 ; work from *, p1.

Row 30: k1, *p15, k1 ; work from *.

Row 31: *p1, ssk, k1, yo x 2, k2, ssk, k1, k2tog, k2, yo x 2, k1, k2tog ; work from *, p1.

Row 32: k1, *p2, (k1, p1) in double yo, p7, (k1, p1) in double yo, p2, k1 ; work from *.