19. Knitted Lace (Wide)

"Knitted Lace (Wide)" is aptly named. It is over twice as wide as its nearest challenger among the edgings we have seen to date. I have knit all of the samples with the same fingering weight cotton on 2.25mm needles. Each of the other edgings has fallen into one of three groups: just under 1", 1¼"-1½" and 2"-2½". By comparison, Knitted Lace (Wide) comes in at a whopping 5¾"!

The design has two rows of faggoting alternating with two rows of single eyelets along the upper edge, and garter stitch triangles separated by multiple diagonal rows of eyelets running down into the saw-tooth lower edge. The stitch count steadily rises from 31 to 47 before the added stitches are bound off in the final row of the 34-row repeat. The bind-off is achieved by knitting two stitches together, replacing the stitch on the left needle and repeating the process until only the original 31 stitches remain.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

I absolutely love the selvage created in this pattern. I have always slipped the first stitch of every row, thinking that the best option for a neat selvage. But here you knit to the last stitch of each row and bring the yarn forward before slipping it. The result resembles a line of knit stitches running up the side of the piece, not unlike a bound-off edge.

So exquisitely even, definitely a technique after this perfectionist's heart! I can see that this method will loom large in my future for any project not knit in the round.

Like Making Knitted Edging and Another Pretty Pattern before, this design was submitted by S.G.H. of Monmouth IL for publication in the newspaper.

Next week: Parisian Lace