I was inspired by the needlepoint pillows that Mom made that adorned our house. I wish I had one to show you. I'm not sure what happened to them. But they were beautiful.
I thought mosaic knitting would be a good fit for this idea that was gelling in my brain.
Mosaic knitting is a term coined by Barbara Walker. In Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns first published in 1968.
In mosaic knitting, you work the same row twice. Usually, only two colors are worked, but some patterns have more. One color is knit or purled and the other color is slipped.
This makes this a great alternative to other colorwork where two colors or more are worked across the row at the same time.
Rules (and I use that word loosely) for Mosaic Straight Knitting
- usually, two (sometimes more) colors are used on a row
- only one of these colors is worked on a row while the other stitches are slipped
- each row is worked twice
- every two rows the color will change to the one(s) not being used
- odd rows are right side knit rows / even rows are wrong side purl rows
- slip stitches are worked purlwise with the yarn on the wrong side
- don’t have too many slips next to each other (some say 2 slips, others say 3 at most)
- keep floats loose
- it is recommended that you go down a needle size from the number on the ball band to get tight, even stitches. (this depends on how tightly you knit though)
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| Sample Chart |
This chart assumes that the MC is being carried from the brim or crown, otherwise, it wouldn't be there to slip.
The bar on the side by the row numbers is to signify which color is being worked for those two rows; the other color is slipped.
I have also indicated the slips with a symbol to make it easier to see the structure. I have chosen to chart this way but you will see mosaic knitting charted in different ways depending on the designer.
I have written out the rows but not all designers will do this so it is helpful to learn to read a chart.
Row 1 MC: (sl1 MC, K3 CC) twice, sl1 MC
Row 2 MC: (sl1 MC, P3 CC) twice, sl1 MC
Row 3 CC: K2 MC, sl1 CC, K3 MC, sl1 CC, K2 MC
Row 4 CC: P2 MC, sl1 CC, P3 MC, sl1 CC, P2 MC
Repeat Rows 1 - 4 once more
Repeat Rows 1 - 2 once more
I have been working on a motif that looks like this.
Unfortunately, this won’t work with the hat schematics that I have been working on because it takes up too much band real estate. But it will happen as a cowl or something in the future because I just love it too much!
I also have to note that I love this yarn combo more than I can express. I have a bit left from a pattern submission and I use it when I need a bit of inspiration. Neighborhood Fiber Co. is amazing. They still have these beautiful colors and I need to buy more. 😀
I also tried to break the rules and switch colors every row, but the result ended up losing definition and the motif was lost.
One of the things I love about this swatch is the feeling of depth between the spice and the blue and that keeps getting lost.
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| swatch with Latvian Braid detail |
I created this swatch but it lost all the connectedness and all the things that I liked about the original. I did love the Latvian braid idea though and I am keeping that.
Charting mosaic knitting is challenging because the color that you are slipping has to be there on the previous row. This is why you see geometric patterns represented a lot.
I have been struggling with this for a while now. I have all this beautiful yarn and I haven’t been able to play with it. 😩
I don’t just make a pattern to do it. There has to be a story, a reason that sparked my creativity as my seed for the pattern.
Usually, I have sketched or written up an idea so I have this “ideal” in my head that goes with my story.
This hat is dedicated to my beloved Mom and I want it to have this “connectedness” that my original sample had but this last one didn’t.
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| this one connects the brim and the crown |
When we were looking at the next incarnation of my chart my sister suggested putting joining paths on the right and left of the design to add that "connectedness" that I was missing. I added the top and bottom connections that actually bridge the brim and crown and make them a part of the design.
I feel that these connections that have been added only add to the story that I am creating. Mom, sis, and I will be a part of this design and I love that. 💖
I also feel I've gotten the needlepoint look back that I was seeking and I think I am ready now to swatch in the fabulous knittinbro yarn to figure out measurements.
Then, my friends, it will be time to actually knit this hat! 😁
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