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How to Knit a Shaker Stitch

Get out your favorite yarn and needles to make a Shaker rib stitch pattern.
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The Shaker stitch, also known as a Shaker Rib stitch, is a knitting stitch pattern that creates a ribbed effect of vertical lines through the piece. The Shaker stitch has plenty of stretch, making it ideal for items such as hats or the cuffs on sweaters. If you can complete a traditional knit and purl you can knit the Shaker stitch for your own knitting projects.

Things You'll Need:

  • Knitting Needles
  • Yarn

Cast on an odd number of stitches. For a practice swatch, cast on 11 stitches to start. To cast on, make a slip knot on your left needle. Bring the working yarn up and turn it on itself to make a loop; slide that loop onto the needle. Repeat this nine more times to get 11 stitches.

For the setup row, knit every stitch across the row. Repeat this for one more row to create a garter stitch border on your piece. To make the knit stitch, insert your right needle into the first stitch on the left needle from front to back. Bring the yarn up and over the needle from front to back, then pull the yarn through the stitch. Drop the stitch off the left needle, keeping the new stitch on the right needle.

For the Shaker pattern row one, follow this pattern across the row: knit one stitch and then knit the stitch below the following stitch (also known as knit one below). To knit one below, insert your right needle into the stitch immediately below the next stitch to be knit. Complete the stitch as normal. End with knit one stitch.

For row two, knit every stitch across the row.

Repeat the pattern rows one and two until you are comfortable with the Shaker stitch.

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