ain’t nothing but houndstooth

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
cryin’ all the time.
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
cryin’ all the time.
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
and you ain’t no friend of mine.

– Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller; lyrics from Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog

THE LO-DOWN

lately we’ve noticed that houndstooth has been popping up everywhere, from lady gaga to kim kardashian to gwyneth paltrow.  that well, we decided to join the fray and swatch up a knit version of the traditional scottish woven motif.

our version uses fair isle technique work to achieve the houndstooth pattern — making for a fabric that is rather thick and sturdy.

THE LO-LO-DOWN
YARN Qualità Cashmere
COLOUR Wonderful White (A); Parisienne Chocolate (B)
NEEDLE US8 / 5.0 mm
SIZE (WxH) 4.5(W) x 4.625 (L)” excluding border rows
STS 24 sts x 24 rows
LEVEL Intermediate
TYPE Colorwork (fair isle)
SWATCH CONSTRUCTION

A = color A (shown in Wonderful White)
B = color B (shown in Parisienne Chocolate)

With A, CO24 sts (mults of 8 sts repeat); knit flat.

Prep R1 (RS): K24
Prep R2 (WS): K24

R1 (RS):  K, thus: *3A, 2B, 3A, repeat from * to end of row.
R2 (WS): P, thus: *4A, 2B, 2A, repeat from * to end of row.
R3: K, thus: *1A, 2B, 5A, repeat from * to end of row.
R4
: P, thus: *2B, 1A, 4B, 1A, repeat from * to end of row.
R5
: K, thus: *1A, 6B, 1A, repeat from * to end of row.
R6
: P, thus: *2A, 6B, repeat from * to end of row.
R7
: K, thus: *5B, 2A, 1B, repeat from * to end of row. 
R8
: P, thus: *3B, 1A, 2B, 1A, 1B, repeat from * to end of row.

repeat rows 1-8 for the pattern. the swatch above was knit over 24 rows (not counting the prep rows). (note: the prep rows above aren’t part of the swatch pattern. we knit them up because it’s less complicated than casting-on in different colors).

and here’s a graphical depiction of the pattern, for the charty types:
RELATED PATTERNS

Pearce – coming soon!

4 thoughts on “ain’t nothing but houndstooth”

  1. One billion thanks. 88 yrs., I used to follow graphs.Haven’t knitted for years. I am working in the round and can not remember which direction to go with the graph while using a circular N. So frustrating. I will use straight N’s instead THANKs.

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