I saw the horizontal herringbone stitch pattern in the book, “750 Knitting Stitches: The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible,” and I wanted to use this stitch pattern for a knitting project. I looked online for a tutorial for this stitch pattern and saw a similar yet different stitch pattern with the same name.
Puzzled I decided to knit up two swatches and compare these two stitch patterns.
Yarn used: Yarnspiration™ Patons Classic Wool
For both the swatches I cast on 40 stitches with US #8 knitting needles and knit the two stitch pattern for 28 rows. On the 29th row, I bound off using the knit stitch.
| Swatch 1 | Swatch 2 | |
| Stitch Pattern | Row 1: Knit 1, * slip one, knit 1 then pass the slipped stitch over but before dropping the stitch off the needle knit through the back of the slipped stitch; repeat from * to last stitch, knit 1 Row 2: *Purl 2 together but purl the first stitch again before dropping it off the needle; repeat from* to end of the row. (1) | Row 1:*Knit 2 together through the back loop but drop only the first stitch off the left hand needle; repeat from * to the last stitch, knit 1 through the back loop, Row 2: *Purl 2 together dropping only the first stitch; repeat from * to last stitch, purl 1. (2) |
| Stitch type | Slipped and twisted stitch | Twisted stitch |
| The knitting experience | The twisted and slipped stitch caused more hand fatigue and I had to take breaks before continuing to knit this stitch pattern. | The twisted stitch caused some hand fatigue but not as much as Swatch 1. (I have mentioned the problem of hand fatigue with twisted stitches in a previous blog post) |
| The Knitted Item | The knitted swatch is not as dense as Swatch 2, it’s has more drape and lays flat. Blocked it’s slightly larger than the Swatch 2. (see images below) | Very dense fabric with compact stitches. It curls up a lot compared to Swatch 1 when unblocked. A bit smaller than Swatch 1. The reverse side looks very different from the Swatch 1. (see images below) |
(1): Stitch pattern from the book “750 Knitting Stitches: The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible” page 48
(2): Tutorial by Very pink: Fancy Stitch Combos – Sideways/Horizontal Herringbone
The names for these two stitch patterns are used interchangeably. Swatch 1 is sometimes called an alternate Herringbone stitch and Swatch 2 the Sideways Herringbone stitch. I like both stitch patterns and after comparing the two swatches I know what types of knitting projects I can knit using these stitch patterns. As for the swatches, I added a single crochet edging and will be using them as potholders.
Coffee Tea Knits 