warrior wicker

The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience.

– Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, War and Peace

THE LO-DOWN

wicker stitch (aka criss cross stitch) is kind of like a hybrid between a cross stitch and a 2 stitch cable.  no cable needle is required to make this stitch; however, the tightness of the stitch does make the knitting process a bit more challenging.  the wicker pattern produces a surprisingly dense, rigid and unyielding fabric — we kind of imagine it to be perfect for making things suitable for doing battle with old man winter, an arresting area rug, or anything that needs to stand up to a lot of wear and tear.  as it is, our swatch is making for a fantastic coaster for all those pesky mugs of tea we have floating around.

the flexibility of the fabric will increase somewhat through use of a larger pair of needles.   for our swatch, we selected US6 needles with our baby camel worsted weight wool; the resulting swatch stands up straight when leaned against a wall!

THE LO-LO-DOWN

YARN               J&V Clever Camel (worsted weight)
COLOR            Natural
NEEDLE          US6 / 4mm
SIZE (WxH)     4¼ x 4¼”  steam blocked
STS                    26 sts x  20 rows
LEVEL              Intermediate
TYPE                 CABLES

SPECIAL STITCH DEFINITIONS

X2L: (cross 2 left) knit into the back of the 2nd st, passing behind the 1st st, then knit into the back of the 1st st.  slip both sts off the needle when both have been knit.

X2R: (cross 2 right) purl the 2nd st on the needle, passing in front of the 1st st, then purl the 1st st. slip both sts off the needle when both have been purled.

SWATCH CONSTRUCTION

CO 26 stitches

R1 (RS):    K1, *x2L, repeat to last st, K1
R2 (WS):   K1, *X2R, repeat to last st, K1

Repeat R1-R2 until desired length.  The swatch above was knit over 20 rows.

RELATED PATTERNS

we’re working as fast as we can.  check back soon!

7 thoughts on “warrior wicker”

  1. I stumbled on this page when I was looking for an image of point de vannerie, which is the French version of this stitch. The French translates as “basket-weave stitch”, which is not the same in English knitting terminology, which was why it was so difficult to find. I finally found it as “criss-cross” stitch. It’s lovely.

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