Designing a pattern for Lace Knitting

By Vic Pilsner

Lace knitting is very simple as long as you follow the pattern to its precise guidelines.  The best method of creating a pattern for lace is to use a basic spreadsheet.  You can use Excel or OpenOffice for to create your pattern.

Rules of circular lace:

Know your rows of increases.

For a 3 stitch cast on, you increase the 4th row with knit 1 make 1 and repeat back to knit 1 and finish with a make 1.  You do this on every increase row, which is 4th, 8th, 16th, 32nd, 64th, and 128th rows.  The further you go outward, the more length of the circular needles you will need, or use more double pointed needles of the same size.

Example:  K O K O K O = Knit 1, Make 1, Knit 1, Make 1, Knit 1, and Make 1, and so on around.

Remember to always calculate the increases with designing a pattern.

How to make holes within the non increase rows.  When you are able to make a pattern inside the lace knitted pattern, for every increase or make 1, you have to do a decrease.  For each increase, you have to do the same number of decrease before the repeat of the same pattern.  You can make the decreases slant to the right or slant to the left, or make a point doing 2 decreases at the same time.  With an increase at each end of the 2 decreases.

Here are differ versions on how to make a simple pattern:

O \ / O = Make 1, Slip 1 Knit 1 Passed slipped stitch over, Knit 2 together, Make 1

O V O = Make 1, Slip 1 Knit 2 Passed slipped stitch over, Make 1

\ O O / = Slip 1 Knit 1 Passed slipped stitch over, Make 2, Kit 2

To make larger holes on the increase rows is very simple.  Instead of Making 1, you make 2 after each Knit 2 as follows:

\ O O / O O = This  will still give you the increase of stitches for the increase row, but will also configure the bigger hole on the increase row.

Placing your pattern:

Placing your pattern is based on the number of stitches and the number of repeats inside the pattern.  You do not want to overlap the pattern with the repeat.  Always make your repeat section first before the actual pattern and plan it all out with the simple easy stitches.

For beginners:  Use simple patterns until you can get used to them.

For average:  Use Intermediate and put some pizzazz and make it more intricate.

For advanced:  Use some techniques nobody has done before.

So work on creating some patterns.  Use the techniques I have displayed here for you or create your own.  Have fun creating your own pattern.