Slipped Stitch Patterns

When I got started knitting, I imagined that colourwork meant tangled yarns and complexity. I discovered slipped-stitch patterns, which are an alternative to stranded colourwork (which also, unsurprisingly, turned out to be a lot easier than I’d feared!).

Slipped stitch patterns are an easy way to create colourwork and texture patterns, while only needing to handle a single strand of yarn at a time.

What is a slipped stitch pattern?

The basic ‘move’ that creates slipped stitch patterns is slipping stitches from one needle to the other without working them. That’s why we call them ‘slipped stitch’ patterns.
Knit or purl: When you slip a stitch, you can slip them as if to knit or as if to purl, otherwise known as ‘knitwise’ and ‘purlwise’. Slipping a stitch knitwise results in a twisted stitch, while slipping a stitch purlwise results in an untwisted stitch.
Yarn in back or yarn in front: You can also slip stitches holding the working yarn in the front of the work, which creates a ‘bar’ across the slipped stitch, or in the back of the work, in which case the working yarn is hidden and the slipped stitch appears elongated vertically relative to the stitches either side.

With slipped-stitch knitting you can create exquisite patterns simply by varying:

1. The number and pattern of stitches that are slipped, versus knit or purled
2. If stitches are slipped with the working yarn held on the front or the back of the work
3. Whether the pattern is worked in a single colour, or two or more colours

The basic moves are described below, or you can skip past to see the video.

How to slip a stitch purlwise

If it’s not specified in the pattern, your best bet is to slip a stitch purlwise. This keeps the stitch ‘neutral’ or untwisted. To slip a stitch purlwise you insert your right hand needle into the next stitch as if to purl, then move that stitch from the left hand needle to the right hand needle without working it.

How to slip a stitch knitwise

To slip a stitch knitwise you insert your right hand needle into the next stitch as if to knit, then move that stitch from the left hand needle to the right hand needle without working it.

How sl1-wyib – slip a stitch with yarn in back

If it’s not specified in the pattern, the default is to slip stitches with yarn held in the back of the work, this is abbreviated to sl1-wyib.

To slip a stitch with the yarn in back:

1. Bring the working yarn between needle tips to the back of the work (if it’s not there already).
2. Insert the RH needle into the first stitch on the LH needle, as if to purl.
3. Move that stitch from the LH to the RH needle without being worked.

The working yarn is drawn behind the slipped stitch, in a horizontal line, to the next stitch. Slipping stitches with the yarn in back is the default way to slip a stitch unless a knitting pattern specifies otherwise; so if a pattern says sl1 or slip one stitch, use this method.

How to sl1-wyif – slip a stitch with yarn in front

To slip a stitch with the yarn in front:

1. Bring the working yarn between the LH and RH needle tips, to the front of the work (if it’s not there already).
2. Insert the RH needle into the first stitch on the LH needle, as if to purl.
3. Move that stitch from the LH to the RH needle without being worked.

The working yarn is drawn in front of the slipped stitch, in a horizontal line. If the next stitch to be worked is a knit stitch, you will move the working yarn back between the needle tips to the back side of the work before knitting it.

Needles, Gauge and fabric properties of slipped stitch patterns

Because you are slipping some of the stitches in a given row or round, you are requiring that the loop that forms that slipped stitch stretches or elongates to the height of two (or more) adjacent stitches. This means that you will often need to work slipped stitch patterns on larger needles than you would if you were working stockinette or garter stitch using the same yarn. If you work slipped stitch patterns on the usual needles you will get a much denser fabric (which may or may not be desirable).

Gauge is also vertically compressed, for the same reason. You will work more rows or rounds in an inch of slipped-stitch pattern than in an inch of stockinette worked with the same yarn weight.

Reading knitting charts for slipped stitch patterns

Although slipped stitch patterns used in knitting are often quite simple, and described in words rather than charts, you will often see slipped-stitch techniques described using vertical or horizontal bar symbols. Here is a chart for the slipped-stitch pattern we use in the Bumble hat, and the corresponding text instructions:

Written out the stitch pattern looks like this:

Round 1: [k1, sl1-wyib] around
Round 2: [k1, p1] around

Repeat rounds 1-2

In chart form it looks like this:

And the finished fabric looks like this:

Slipped stitches and texture patterns

One of the great things about slipped stitches is the texture they create. By making some stitches elongated and other more compressed the fabric can be squishier and more 3-dimensional than other stitch patterns.

An added delight occurs when both the right side of the fabric and the wrong side are both interesting. This is the case for the slipped stitch pattern in the Bumble hat.

Slipped stitches and colour patterns

Adding colour to the equation has a lot of impact with slipped stitches. They are usually worked as stripes, rather than traditional stranded colourwork, which simplifies matters a bit.

Bibliography

Many stitch dictionaries will include at least a small collection of slipped-stitch patterns for you to experiment with. Barbara Walker’s treasuries are my favourite, and they include extensive sections of Mosaic knitting patterns (mosaic knitting is simply a subset of slipped-stitch pattern knitting to create complex two colour patterns). If you are looking to experiment with slipped stitches, a stitch dictionary is a great place to start.

Get Slipping!

The basics of slipped stitch patterns are IMMEDIATELY accessible to you, now that you’ve tried the basic moves; that is, slipping knitwise or purlwise, with yarn held in back and and in front. These patterns are interesting, delicate and very easy to work, so cast on something with a slipped stitch pattern today!

Check out our patterns which feature VERY simple slipped stitch patterns: