I’m Marie from Underground Crafter and over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of knitting stitches designed to help you take your knitting skills beyond the basics.

To make it a little bit more fun, I’ll be sharing the stitches as 6″ (15 cm) squares, and at the end of the series, I’ll show you how to join them together into a decorative sampler pillow. If you can cast on, knit, purl, and bind off, you can make these!

Let’s get started with one I like to call Diamonds on Stockinette. This stitch pattern has the texture of argyle without the added challenge of colorwork. If you don’t want to make a sampler pillow, you can use this stitch for many other great projects, including a blanket or scarf. I think it would also make a wonderful knit washcloth in cotton yarn!

Diamonds on Stockinette

Knitting Pattern by Underground Crafter

The first square in our sampler combines knit and purl stitches to create a traveling pattern.

Materials

• Approximately 45 yd/41 m in any medium weight yarn. I used Cascade Superwash 220 in 1915 Banana Cream for the sample.
• US Size 7/4.5 mm straight needles, or any size needed to obtain correct gauge.
• Yarn needle.

Gauge

• Finished square = 6″ (15 cm) in pattern. Exact gauge is not critical for this project.

Abbreviations Used In This Pattern

• BO – bind off
• CO – cast on
• k – knit
• p – purl
• rep – repeat
• RS – right (front) side
• sl 1 – slip 1 st, knitwise
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• *Rep instructions after asterisk as indicated.

Pattern Note

•  The sl 1 at the beginning of each row and the p 1 at the end of each row creates a nice edge that makes it easier to join to squares together. If you’ve never slipped stitches before, it’s very straightforward. To sl 1 st, knitwise, just insert your needle into the first stitch as if you were going to knit and then slide the stitch onto the right needle.

Pattern Instructions

• CO 32 sts (or any multiple of 12 sts, + 8 sts for border).

Bottom border

• Row 1: Knit to last st, p1.
• Row 2: Sl 1, k to last st, p1.
• Rows 3 & 4: Rep Row 2 twice.

Diamonds on Stockinette stitch pattern

• Row 1: (RS): Sl 1, k3, *k6, p1, k5. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 2: Sl 1, k3, *p4, k1, p1, k1, p5. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 3: Sl 1, k3, *k4, p1, k3, p1, k3. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 4: Sl 1, k3, *p2, k1, p5, k1, p3. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 5: Sl 1, k3, *k2, p1, k7, p1, k1. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 6: Sl 1, k3, *k1, p9, k1, p1. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 7: Sl 1, k3, *p1, k11. Rep from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1.
• Row 8: Rep Row 6 once.
• Row 9: Rep Row 5 once.
• Row 10: Rep Row 4 once.
• Row 11: Rep Row 3 once.
• Row 12: Rep Row 2 once.
• Rep Rows 1-12 until square measures approximately 5.5” (14 cm), ending after Row 1 or Row 7.

Top border

• Rows 1-4: Rep Border Row 2, 4 times.
• BO in pattern for Border Row 2. Fasten off with long yarn tail (approximately 3 times the width of square) to use for joining squares later.

What color will you be making your sampler pillow in?

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Marie Segares

Blogger at Underground Crafter

Marie Segares is a crochet and knitting blogger, designer, and teacher. She has been hooked on crochet since she learned her grandmother when she was 9. She conquered her fear of knitting in 2010 and is now happily bi-craftual. She shares her crafty adventures, free crochet patterns, crochet and knitting book and product reviews, and more on her blog, Underground Crafter.

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