The Irish Mesh Knitting Stitch is a fun, simple all over lace pattern stitch with a little structure and chunkiness to it. Its easy 4 row repeat is simple to remember and easy to integrate into a blanket, shawl or scarf pattern adding dimension and depth to your garments.
When I first started knitting, lace stitches really, really intimidated me. I would shy away from patterns that used lace motifs, opting for a chunkier and cozier aesthetic. While I still appreciate a good bulky knit, I've recently found that stitches with an airier look are versatile and add more texture to a knit garment than traditionally chunky stitches.
The best discovery I've made about lace knitting is that you don't actually have to knit lace stitches with lace weight yarn. Duh, right? But this discovery was huge for me. I've totally fallen in love with the look of a lacy pattern knit in bulky yarn. It's unexpectedly cozy in an opposites attract kind of way.
Here's the full repeat so you can fall in love with the Irish Mesh Stitch with me:
Cast-on multiples of 3 stitches. Keep in mind the lacy nature of this stitch means it will have lots of stretch to it and expand as you knit.
- Row 1 (RS): K2 *yarn over, slip 1 as if to knit with yarn at back, K2, pass slipped stitch over both knit sts* repeat from * to * last st, K1.
- Row 2 (WS): Purl all stitches.
- Row 3 (RS): K1, *slip 1 as if to knit with yarn in back, K2, pass slipped stitch over both knit sts, yarn over*; repeat from * to * last 2 sts, knit 2.
- Row 4 (WS): Purl all stitches.
These last 4 rows make up the pattern.
Here's a full video tutorial to help guide you through the Irish Mesh stitch on my IGTV page.
I can't wait to see how you guys use this stitch in your projects. Tag #lrdstitches so I can swoon over all your cozy garments.
Happy Knitting!