How to Knit Textured Stitches

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So you want to add a little texture to your knitting projects.  How do you get started? What are the best knitting textured stitches for beginners? Let’s look at a couple of great options.

Learn to Knit Seed Stitch

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Seed Stitch is a great beginner textured stitch that’s super easy to learn.  It’s worked over 2 rows, and has just a 2 stitch repeat to remember.  Best of all? it’s worked entirely using knit and purl stitches.  If you’ve learned knit and purl, you can knit Seed Stitch.

If you’d like a video tutorial for Seed Stitch, you can find one here.

Here’s how you do it.  First, cast on a multiple of 2 stitches, then follow these steps:

Row 1, RS: Knit 1, purl 1.  Repeat these two stitches to the end of the row.

Row 2, WS: Purl 1, knit 1. Repeat these two stitches to the end of the row.

As you work these two rows, you’ll see that a pattern emerges where the knitted fabric alternates knit stitch and purl stitches as you move along each row, And as you move up and down rows.  Cool, right?

 

Learn to Knit Moss Stitch

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Moss Stitch is another great beginner knitting texture, with some similarities to seed stitch. Again, Moss Stitch is worked using just knit and purl stitches.  It’s worked over 4 rows, and has a 4-stitch repeat to remember.  If you’ve tried Seed Stitch and want to keep learning, Moss Stitch is a great next step.

If you’d like a video tutorial for Moss Stitch, you can find a 2-part tutorial here and here.

Here’s how you do it.  First, cast on a multiple of 4 stitches, then follow these steps:

Row 1, RS: Knit 2, purl 2.  Repeat these four stitches to the end of the row.

Row 2, WS: Knit 1, purl 2. Repeat these four stitches to the end of the row. Yes this is the same as Row 1; don’t worry, you have it right!

Row 3, RS: Purl 2, knit 2.  Repeat these two stitches to the end of the row.

Row 4, WS: Purl 2, knit 2. Repeat these two stitches to the end of the row.

As you work these four rows, you’ll see that a similar pattern emerges to Seed Stitch, except with Moss Stitch the fabric alternates 2 knit stitches and 2 purl stitches, both as you move along a row and as you move up and down the rows. Pretty neat, hey?

Want to learn to knit more textured stitches? Check out more textured stitch video tutorials here.

Photography by Piotr Angiel