Ease: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon for this post is Ease, suggested by Kate, a Patreon supporter. Inevitably, this turned out to be a difficult word to work with. That’s life, I suppose! I almost ended up doing a cable design, only that turned out boring. I finally managed to make this work out.

I should have done another repeat of the pattern, however as it turns out that the diamonds that contain the pattern have sharp corners if there’s a repeat on all four sides, which is not the case here. Anyway, I hope that pointing this out will help you see the possibility.

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 which word I will encode from 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 made an Ease charted design for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

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

Knitted sample of Ease lace.  Diamond shapes contain a lacy pattern with a twisted helix shape in the middle. The top and bottom edges are wavy.
A chart showing how to knit the Ease lace pattern by means of special symbols. Written instructions in blog post.
click chart to enlarge

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.
  • The repeats in the charts and the text aren’t in the same places. (The double YOs complicate writing the repeats logically in the text.)
  • Ease is a multiple of 10 + 10 stitches and 20 + 10 rows. End after either row 10 or 20; rows 1-10 and 11-20 are the same design, but 11-20 have been shifted to the side by 5 stitches.
  • I’ve made a stitch map for Ease.
  • Designers, please feel free to use this 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:

  • 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)
  • 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. (Or substitute your favorite 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. Bring the yarn forward between the needles so that it will make a loop over the needle when the next stitch is worked. When there are two in a row, bring the yarn forward, wrap it once around the needle, and leave the yarn in front so it makes a second loop.

Row 1 (RS): k3, yo, k2tog, *ssk, yo, k6, yo, k2tog; work from *, ssk, yo, k3.

Row 2 (WS): purl.

Row 3: k2, yo, ssk, *1/1 RC, k2tog, yo, k1, 1/1 RC, k1, yo, ssk; work from *, 1/1 RC, k2tog, yo, k2.

Row 4: purl.

Row 5: yo, ssk, k1, yo, k2tog, *ssk, yo, k1, k2tog, yo × 2, ssk, k1, yo, k2tog; work from *, ssk, yo, k1, k2tog, yo.

Row 6: p5, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p5.

Row 7: k1, yo, sssk, yo, *1/1 RC, yo, k3tog, yo, k2, yo, sssk, yo; work from *, 1/1 RC, yo, k3tog, yo, k1.

Row 8: purl.

Row 9: k1, yo, k2tog × 2, *yo × 2, ssk × 2, yo, 1/1 RC, yo, k2tog × 2; work from *, yo × 2, ssk × 2, yo, k1.

Row 10: p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p4.

Row 11: ssk, yo, k3, *k3, yo, k2tog, ssk, yo, k3; work from *, k3, yo, k2tog.

Row 12: purl.

Row 13: k1, k2tog, yo, k1, *1/1 RC, k1, yo, ssk, 1/1 RC, k2tog, yo, k1; work from *, 1/1 RC, k1, yo, ssk, k1.

Row 14: purl.

Row 15: ssk, yo, k1, k2tog, *yo × 2, ssk, k1, yo, k2tog, ssk, yo, k1, k2tog; work from *, yo × 2, ssk, k1, yo, k2tog.

Row 16: p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, *p8, (k1, p1) in double yo; work from *, p4.

Row 17: k1, yo, k3tog, yo, k1, *k1, yo, sssk, yo, 1/1 RC, yo, k3tog, yo, k1; work from *, k1, yo, sssk, yo, k1.

Row 18: purl.

Row 19: yo, ssk × 2, yo, *1/1 RC, yo, k2tog × 2, yo × 2, ssk × 2, yo; work from *, 1/1 RC, yo, k2tog × 2, yo.

Row 20: p5, *p4, (k1, p1) in double yo, p4; work from *, p5.

Repeat Rows 1-20 as desired, ending with either row 10 or 20.