The wicker stitch is one of those super chunky, textured stitches. The stitch takes on a dense, woven look resembling the texture you would find on a straw basket or clutch. If at first it looks simple, don't be fooled. This stitch requires a bit of finesse and concentration, but once you master the 2 row repeat you'll be rewarded with a cushy, cozy stitch to add to your bag of tricks!
If you're reading this, congrats! You've made it to the third week of our weekly stitch series. I have loved learning new stitches every week and posting about it on this blog. If you are playing along, be sure to tag #lrdstitches to be entered to win some prizes from my shop. If you are new here: hiiiiii! Be sure to check out the original KAL blog post to get all caught up.
I love the wicker stitch because of the structured, density of how it knits up. I think it would be a great stitch to use on a collar of a knit sweater, a border edge on a blanket or shawl, or in knitting homewares where you need a sturdy feel. Because of the dense nature of this stitch, I would suggest going up a needle size (or two) to ensure your tension has some ease to it. To be honest, I could have sized up a needle size for this swatch and will definitely do so if I use this stitch in a future design. Another thing I learn't about this stitch is that it 'eats up' more yardage than other stitches. Keep this in mind when you choose to use it in your projects!
Ready to get going? Here's the wicker stitch repeat:
Cast-on an uneven number of stitches. For the purposes of this tutorial I cast-on 21 stitches.
- Row 1 (RS): Slip 1st stitch knitwise with yarn in back, *K into the back loop of the second stitch on your LH needle, K1 into first stitch, slip both stitches off your needle*, rep from * to * until the end of the row.
- Row 2 (WS): Slip 1st stitch purlwise with yarn in front, *P the second stitch on your LH needle, P the first stitch the first stitch, slip both stitches off your needle*, rep from * to * until the end of the row.
Here's a video tutorial of how this is all done. (Click on the post and swipe to see side A and B).
I can't wait to see what you make with this one! Happy Knitting!