Basket Lace Stitch

I recently created a new knit stitch for the looms that resembles a diagonal basket weave on a lacy background. It's a great stitch for scarves, cowls, shawls and an assortment of small projects. It works up quickly, due to the staggered elongated figure-8 stitch that creates the basket weave effect. 


Currently, I am working on a cowl using the Basket Lace Stitch on a CinDWood 1/2" gauge loom, but I just completed a mug hug using the stitch on the KB 3/8" gauge Baby Knit Loom so you can see how the stitch works up.

Here are the Basket Lace Stitch instructions or if you prefer there is also a Basket Lace Stitch PDF available. 

 Basket Lace Stitch for the Loom

(Above sample was made using a KB 3/8” gauge loom with medium worsted weight yarn)

ABBREVIATIONS & STITCHES

Knit (K): regular or u-wrap knit stitch.

E-wrap Knit (EWK): twisted knit stitch.

Sl1 wyib: slip working yarn in back of peg without knitting

Triple Figure-8 (as worked in this pattern): Knit pegs 1 & 2; * bring the working yarn around & behind peg 2, over-around & behind peg 1, then over peg 2; knit the bottom strand on pegs 1 & 2 over the figure-8 working yarn strand on each peg; tug lightly to remove excess slack, repeat from * two more times to complete the stitch.

Cast On & Setup Rows: Multiples of 2 sts + 2 extra stitches for the edge or just multiples of 2 stitches if working in the round. Work a setup row by slipping first peg, then purling one row. 

Basket Lace Stitch Pattern  

Rows 1 & 3: Sl1 wyib; K remaining pegs in row.

Row 2: Sl1 wyib; work the Triple Figure-8 as described above on each pair of pegs up to the last peg; K1. 
Row 4: Sl1 wyib; K1; work the Triple Figure-8 stitch as described above on each pair of pegs up to the last two pegs; K2.
Repeat rows 1 – 4 until you have reached your desired length ending with either a Row 1 or 3. Work a purl row; BO.

Honeycomb Lace Cowl

Honeycomb Lace Cowl

Do you need a quick gift for someone special? Then the Honeycomb Lace Cowl is the project you're looking for. Inspired by the Honeycomb Lace Ornament, this very odd stitch pattern is made using only knit stitches with no yarn overs and only works when knit in the round. The only differences in the cowl and the ball ornament cozy are size, cast on/bind off edges, yarn weight and number of pegs used. The honeycomb lace stitch pattern makes for a “sweet” project that is fun and easy to do! 

Honeycomb Lace Stitch done in
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick

For the featured cowl, I used super bulky yarn which resulted in a cowl with a textured look. A more “lacy” cowl can be achieved by using lighter weight yarn and/or a smaller gauge loom similar to the Honeycomb Lace Ornaments which were made using a light worsted weight yarn on a 1/2” gauge round loom. The loom used for this cowl was the CinDWood 60 peg 5/8" gauge Oval Loom. 

CinDWood 60 peg 5/8" gauge
loom was used for this project.

The finished size of the cowl was approximately 30" (76 cm) circumference & 7" (18 cm) high and only took one skein or 87 yards of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. However, I barely won at yarn chicken since the small amount shown below was all that was left after binding off, so I would recommend about 90 yards of super bulky yarn just to be on the safe side.

Remaining yarn after binding off

 The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry at this location:

 Honeycomb Lace Cowl

Honeycomb Lace Ornament

Our Ravelry Loom-a-long Group has a Holiday Swap at the end of November every year. I always try to design and make a special ornament to tuck in my recipient's swap package This year it was the Honeycomb Lace Ornament, which is a little lace cozy that slips onto a 3 inch ball ornament. 

This little project is super quick and easy. It is an unusual yet simple stitch consisting of all knit stitches with no yarn overs which creates a honeycomb lace pattern when worked in the round. The lace is formed based on the frequency of the knit stitches made per peg, but looks totally different when knit as a flat panel.

For my ornaments, I prefer the clear ball ornament and white yarn for the cozy. However, you can mix it up and use different colors of yarn and ornaments to suit your taste or color scheme. For example, the ornament on the top left in the photo above was made using the same Red Heart Shimmer yarn as the other two, but with a gold ball ornament. 

Two different looms were used for this project. The gold ornament was slightly bigger than the other two pictured, so I used the CinDWood 12 peg 5/8" gauge. Round Loom. The two smaller ornaments cozies were made on the CinDWood 12 peg 1/2" gauge Round Loom. The size can be adjusted up or down by increasing/decreasing number of pegs or gauge.

The PDF file can be found on Ravelry at this location:

🔻 Honeycomb Lace Ornament.

Happy Holidays to all!

Fishy Sachet-Soap Sack

Do you ever wonder what to do with those tiny hotel/motel soaps, other than toss them in the trash? With this little Fishy Sachet-Soap Sack you can stuff those tiny bars or bits of soap inside and actually hold on to them long enough to take a shower.

If you don’t need a soap sack and things are smelling fishy, tie your favorite potpourri in an organza circlet and stuff it in the fishy for a cute little sachet sack. Keep your undies, socks and other clothing items smelling fresh. Also, these make great little gifts, too.

NOTE: As of this current publication, there is NO video tutorial. If a video becomes available, I will update and link it from the pattern and this blog post.

SKILL LEVEL: Easy intermediate

SIZE: 4½ inches (11 cm) in length – size varies depending on which loom/yarn you use.

GAUGE: 3.5 stitches and 8 rows = 1 inch

Exact gauge is not essential to this project as long as you match the yarn to the loom.

MATERIALS

• Yarn: Sugar’n Cream in Poppy (approximately 3 yards); Red Heart Super Saver in Black (18” strand of yarn for knotted eyes)
• Looms: 12-peg CinDWood 1/2” gauge round loom. Any 12 peg round loom will work. Also, you can increase the number of rows and make this on a larger round loom.
• Other supplies: loom tool, scissors, yarn needle; crochet hook

Skills included in this pattern:

• Drawstring cast on
• Knit stitch
• Purl stitch
• k2tog
• k3tog
• Yarn over
• Changing from knitting in the round to two separate panels
• Picking up stitches to add fin
• Slipping yarn to the back of the peg
• I-cord
• Knotted eye (an alternative to an embroidered French Knot)

Availability: The detailed three-page pattern is available on Ravelry for $1.00:

🐠  Fishy Sachet-Soap Sack. 🐠

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