Here is the fourth square pattern for inspiration. If you are just joining our project, Molly MacRae and I are celebrating the launch of Last Wool and Testament, the first of her new Haunted Yarn Shop mystery. Each week for a few months we will be featuring a stitch so readers can make squares for Warm Up America, a charity. They can be formed into a blanket, or the squares can be mailed in. I do really simple squares so I can easily bring projects with me in my purse and do a quick row at a time. We will mainly be featuring really simple squares, but I have a few wonderful guests coming on Fridays who may challenge knitters here. Next week my dear friend author Anne Ylvisaker is coming with a special stitch, relevant to her new book. I am very excited about that event.
Today’s stitch is what I call the checkerboard. I cast on 25 stitches on size 8 needles with Lion Brand Wool-Ease. Any medium worsted should do it. I would recommend casting on at least 30, though, as my squares are a bit small for WUA. I plan on sewing my blanket together.
Cast on. Row 1: Knit 5 stitches, purl 5 stitches. Row 2: Purl 5, knit 5, so your pattern is a garter stitch block, then a stockinette block. Repeat rows 1 & 2.
Row 5: Purl 5 stitches, knit 5. You’re reversing the pattern to make the checkerboard. I like doing even pattern rows, so mine are not perfect squares. Row 6: Knit 5 stitches, purl 5 stiches. Repeat rows 5 & 6.
Then repeat rows 1 – 4, then 5-8 until your block is complete.
Do you have a favorite stitch? Tell us about it in comments to enter the September giveaways. Or tell us if you are knitting along.
You make this stitch sound easy so I’m going to try this one, too. I want to make a seed stitch book mark sometime, and that seems to be pretty easy to do too. I just need to sit down and start some of these things.:)