Seed Stitch Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1

I have been knitting since I was about 8 years old and it has become a real passion for me now. I started out with the basic stocking and garter stitches until I mastered them. Everyone in the family got a handmade scarf from me. I’ve since learned cables, fair isle, intarsia, lace, and many other complicated stitches and I love, love, love knitting them in all kinds of patterns. But, you don’t have to learn intricate or perplexing stitches to create a beautiful garment. The Seed Stitch may be all you need.

The fundamental Knit 1, Purl 1 stitches can be cleverly designed to create a stunning pattern. This is the scope of my new book Seed Stitch, Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1, using the basic K1, P1 stitches to produce handmade classic wearables.

Seed Stitch

Modern Twists to a Timeless Stitch!

The Seed Stitch pattern book is a compendium of 60 resourceful swatches and 25 trendy patterns that welcome this classic stitch into the 21st century. Patterns included are scarves, hats, pillows, bags, garments, and much more. Each pattern is rated for specific skill levels from beginner to easy to intermediate to experienced. At a glance, you’ll know if you can attempt the pattern.

The beginning of the book offers advice on how to knit with the seed stitch from making sure you have the right gauge to knitting in rounds to decreasing and increasing a stitch to binding off. If you’re not experienced with knitting with more than one color or need a refresher, then you’ll appreciate their color photo tutorial. The images show you what the front and the back should look like when using two colors.

The swatches start off with the simplest pattern and they work their way up to more complex designs and using more stitches like cables and geometric patterns as well as several colors. I personally love swatches; you can see the pattern, the texture, and what the finished product will look like. Each swatch comes with a written pattern and a graph to follow. Use the one that feels the most comfortable for you; I like using the graphs myself.

Looking at the various swatches will inspire you to get creative and design your own seed stitch pattern. The book provides two grids that you can photocopy and start charting your own design with colored pencils. There are a few factors to also consider when designing like types of yarn, the thickness of yarn, number of repeat pattern stitches, gauge, and so forth, but the instructions will walk you through each area. It’s also important to know that if you start your pattern with a knit stitch, it will have a different effect than if you start with a purl stitch. It just depends on the look you’re going for.

The back of the book has an abbreviation chart, a knitting needle chart in US and metrics, and a yarn weight chart that also includes the size of knitting needle or crochet hooks to use.

I find knitting therapeutic, it’s so relaxing and meditative. I can zone the day out and just focus on being creative. I really enjoyed making a few of the patterns in the Seed Stitch, Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1 book, they’re easy to make and you can finish the projects very quickly. The book is ideal for both beginners and experienced knitters.

Winter flurries are in the air and that means Christmas is near. I like to make a lot of my gifts for the holiday season and most of the patterns in this book can be made in a short time. If you know a knitter, then the book itself would have a great gift as well. The book is available on Sixth and Spring and Amazon.