How to Knit Shell Lace
The shell lace stitch resembles a partial scallop shell or the widest whorl of a snail shell. To create this stitch, which is actually a series of many stitches, you will need to follow the directions carefully and have faith. Knitting lace is not like knitting a hat or sweater — the resulting piece of fabric doesn’t immediately resemble the picture in the pattern until the piece is soaked and then blocked. With lace, it’s the careful stretching of the fabric when blocking that defines each stitch and makes the design apparent.
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Instructions
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1
Tie a slip knot onto the left needle and cast on a multiple of 11 stitches plus one stitch. The number of stitches you knit depends on how wide you want the resulting fabric to be. Purl all stitches on the needle for the first row. This is the “wrong” side of the fabric. Each odd-numbered step will represent a wrong-side row.
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2
Knit two stitches together, knit five stitches, yarn over, knit one stitch, yarn over and knit two stitches. For the next three stitches, slip a stitch by placing it on the right needle as is, knit two stitches together, then pass the slipped stitch over the knit-two-together stitch. This last technique is often referred to as “pass slip stitch over,” or “PSSO” for short. Repeat this sequence until the last two stitches in the row, placing a stitch marker at the end of each sequence; place the right needle into the next stitch as if to knit it, do the same with the last stitch, and pull the working yarn through both (referred to as a “slip, slip, knit” or “SSK”). Row two, a right-side row, is complete.
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3
Purl all stitches in row three.
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4
Knit two stitches together (K2tog), knit four stitches, yarn over, knit three stitches, yarn over, knit one stitch, K2tog and PSSO. When you reach the last two stitches, SSK. This finishes row four.
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5
Purl all stitches in row five.
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6
Knit two stitches together (K2tog), knit three stitches, yarn over, knit five stitches, yarn over, K2tog and PSSO. When you reach the last two stitches, SSK. This finishes row six.
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7
Purl all stitches in row seven.
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8
Knit two stitches together (K2tog), knit two stitches, yarn over, knit one stitch, yarn over, knit five stitches, K2tog and PSSO. When you reach the last two stitches, SSK. This finishes row eight.
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9
Purl all stitches in row nine.
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10
Knit two stitches together (K2tog), knit one stitch, yarn over, knit three stitches, yarn over, knit four stitches, K2tog and PSSO. When you reach the last two stitches, SSK. This finishes row 10.
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11
Purl all stitches in row eleven.
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12
Knit two stitches together (K2tog), yarn over, knit five stitches, yarn over, knit three stitches, K2tog and PSSO. When you reach the last two stitches, SSK. This finishes row 12.
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13
Repeat this sequence of 12 rows until the fabric you have made is the preferred length.
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Tips & Warnings
To “yarn over” means to loop the working yarn over the right needle, creating another stitch without knitting or purling.
References
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
