Elsa: a lace knitting stitch pattern

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This lace panel is the result of looking again at Crisp lace. It’s not quite an excerpt from that; I’ve left out a couple of plain rows. I like it as a panel with plain knitting to either side, but since I think it would work as an allover design, I’ve written the instructions with that in mind.

When I blocked this, I didn’t stretch it particularly. My thought was that if this were to be included in a sweater, one wouldn’t want to stretch the sweater out of shape. So I just washed it and laid it flat, making sure the sample edges were straight.

When I have a stitch pattern like this that’s not based on a word and I don’t have another good name for it, I frequently give it a person’s name. Elsa was the first name that came into my head this morning.

Knitted sample of Elsa lace. One narrow panel of lace with a bold center line that's solid with occasional rosebud shapes, with a vertical line of holes to either side. Surrounding the panel is plain knitting. All of this is in yellow yarn.
Chart showing how to knit Elsa lace 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.
  • Elsa lace is a multiple of 4 + 1 stitches and 6 rows.
  • I’ve made a stitch map for Elsa.
  • 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:

  • CDD: slip the next 2 stitches as if to knit 2 together, knit the next stitch, then pass the 2 slipped stitches over the third. (Stands for centered double decrease.)
  • CSD-yo (centered single decrease with yarnover): This turns three stitches into three stitches with a yarnover in the middle. Knit 2 together, but only remove the first stitch from the needle; yarn over; then work ssk with the second and third stitches. The middle stitch of the original three has been knit together with each of its neighbors. Tutorial for CSD-yo.
  • k: knit.
  • p: purl.
  • p1‑below: purl one below. For this stitch pattern, it’s not quite the same as a regular p1‑below, because it’s actually purling the bar below a yarnover, but the action is much the same. From behind, pick up the bar below the yarnover with the right needle and place it on the left needle next to the yarnover; purl both those strands at the same time. This prevents the bar from making a horizontal line in front of the yarnover.
  • 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..

Row 1 (RS): k1, *yo, CDD, yo, k1; work from *.

Row 2 (WS): purl.

Row 3: k1, *CSD-yo, k1; work from *.

Row 4: *p2, p1‑below, p1; work from *, p1.

Row 5: k1, *yo, CDD, yo, k1; work from *.

Row 6: purl.