Left to Right: Terrestrial Tee, Golden Tamarin Tee, Hornbill Tee, Cloud Forest Cover-Up detail shots | Photo by Caleb Young

KNITTING Lace knitting nt 8 min read

A Primer on Knitted Lace

Join us at Maker Festivals Colorado, the ultimate crafting extravaganza in Loveland from April 10-13, 2024, where the beloved Yarn Fest evolves with an exciting addition of beads and jewelry artists!

The versatility of lace may take you by surprise—a little bit makes a wonderful edging, a small allover pattern keeps the eye moving across your project, or a striking centered motif can make a show-stopping impact. And lace shawls are an art form unto themselves, with countless variations, shapes, and patterns.

Golden Tamarin Tee by Rachel Brockman

Lace is one of those techniques, like colorwork, that attracts many knitters to the craft in the first place. Also like colorwork, it’s a technique that many knitters procrastinate learning for fear of getting overwhelmed. But lace knitting is an extremely logical discipline, and we think you’ll be addicted once you try it!

Here’s an introduction to the basics of knitting lace from Interweave Knits contributor Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.


Airy, light, and a bit mysterious—the delicate tracery of knitted lace is hard to resist. Even the simplest lace patterns look impressive and inspire admiration. But intricate as it may appear, knitted lace is simply a fabric punctuated with deliberate openings that can be arranged in myriad ways to create patterns that range from basic to complex.

The wonderful thing about knitted lace is that in spite of its apparent intricacy, it follows a simple logic. The openings are created by special increases called yarnovers, and each yarnover is accompanied by a compensating decrease. Once you understand how yarnovers and decreases work together, you’ll be on your way to mastering the vast array of lace patterns.

Terrestrial Top by Moira Engel

Traditional laceweight yarn yields beautiful lace patterns, but sport, worsted, and bulky yarns can be equally effective. A smooth, light-colored fingering or sportweight yarn worked on a needle three to four sizes larger than you’d normally use creates a fluid fabric in which the lace pattern is clearly visible. But fuzzy yarns and dark, variegated colors yield impressive results, too.

Experiment with different yarns and needle sizes when you’re swatching lace patterns to see the variety of effects that you can create with a single pattern; you’ll quickly find out what appeals to you.

Getting Started—Yarnovers and Decreases in a Simple Lace Pattern

A yarnover is a stitch made by a loop or strand of yarn placed on the right-hand needle as you work. On the return row, this loop is worked as you would any other stitch; once knitted, it leaves a small opening in the knitting. Each yarnover is counted as an increase of one stitch.

Every yarnover is paired with a decrease that may immediately precede or follow the yarnover, appear several stitches away from the yarnover in the same row, or even be worked on a later row. The decreases used in lace knitting are standard: k2tog, ssk, and any of the several kinds of double decreases. The specific kind of decrease to use in any lace pattern is spelled out in its instructions.

A good way to see how yarnovers and decreases work together is to knit a swatch.

Lace Pattern #1

knitted lace

In Lace Pattern #1, the yarnover is made between two knit stitches and is worked as follows: After knitting the stitch (or working a knit decrease) before the yarnover, bring the yarn forward between the needle tips. When you knit the next stitch, bring the yarn up and over the right-hand needle to the back of the work again, ready to knit the next stitch (Figure 1).

The strand that travels over the top of the needle is the yarnover, and it counts as one stitch, so the stitch after the yarnover shouldn’t be counted as part of the yarnover.

Note that in this pattern, you are working the yarnovers and decreases for lace patterning on the right-side rows. The wrong-side return rows are considered “rest rows” because they are worked without any yarnovers or decreases. Although some lace patterns have patterning on every row, it is quite common for lace patterns to have rest rows that alternate with pattern rows.

Reading a Chart for a Simple Lace Pattern

Instructions for knitted lace are often presented in chart form. Charts offer a graphic representation of the front, or right side, of the pattern.

Each line of the chart represents a row of the stitch pattern. Each square represents an action (which doesn’t always correspond to working a single stitch from the left needle). The symbol key tells what to do for each square; for example, a plain square represents a knitted stitch and a circle represents a yarnover. A right-slanting line represents k2tog and means that you knit the stitch that corresponds to the k2tog square with the stitch to the left of it.

Note that in this lace pattern, the chart shows that the number of stitches stays the same in each row—for every yarnover, there is a corresponding decrease, and vice versa. On Row 1, the right-slanting k2tog decrease is paired with the yarnover that follows it, and the left-slanting ssk decrease is paired with the yarnover that precedes it. On Row 5, the centered double decrease (sl 2 as if to k2tog, k1, pass 2 sl sts over) decreases two stitches, and the yarnovers made on each side of the decrease add two stitches to compensate.

The chart is read from bottom to top, and right-side rows are read from right to left, in the same direction as one normally knits. If working back and forth in rows, purl the wrong-side rows (or knit these rows on the right-side if working in rounds).

Yarnovers and Decreases in a Bias Lace Pattern

In Lace Pattern #1, the yarnovers and decreases are balanced. In each repeat, one yarnover falls to the left of its decrease and the other falls to the right of its decrease. Other lace patterns, such as Lace Pattern #2, create zigzag patterns by arranging the yarnovers to fall consistently on one side of their corresponding decreases for several rows before reversing the order.

Lace Pattern #2

knitted lace

After you have worked several repeats of the pattern, you’ll notice that the edges of the sample are wavy and the stitches tilt away from the vertical to create a bias-lace fabric. The stitches tilt to the right for the first eight rows because the yarnovers’ position to the left of their decreases forces the grain of the fabric to lean to the right. At the same time, the fabric angles to the left. On the following eight rows, the stitches slant to the left because the yarnovers line up to the right of their decreases, and the edges lean to the right. The cast-on edge is slightly scalloped because the yarnover increases and their compensating decreases are separated by other plain stitches. The bound-off edge is also slightly wavy due to this separation of yarnovers and compensating decreases, but the scallop is less pronounced than on the cast-on edge. You can increase the scalloped effect of the bind-off row by binding off in pattern and working the decreases extra tightly and leaving the yarnovers and stitches on either side of them extra loose.

Reading a Chart For a Bias Pattern and “No-Stitch” Symbols

As mentioned above, one advantage of a lace chart is that it shows a rough picture of the actual knitted fabric. Charts for bias patterns with wavy edges may employ a “no-stitch” symbol, which is simply a placeholder that’s usually represented by a gray square. You don’t do anything when you see a gray no-stitch symbol. You only knit according to the symbols represented by the white squares.

Besides bias patterns, there are other types of lace that may use the no-stitch symbol in charts. Examples include patterns with stitch counts that vary from row to row (a yarnover’s compensating decrease is deferred until a later row in the pattern), some lace edgings, and certain garment shapes.

Yarnovers Worked Between Different Types of Stitches

Whether knits or purls precede or follow a yarnover determines the way it’s made. In Lace Pattern #1, the yarnovers always fall between two knit stitches.

The other yarnovers are made as follows:

Yarnover between a knit and a purl (working yarn begins in back)

Bring the yarn to the front of the work between the needles. Then bring the strand of yarn over the right needle and between the needles again to the front, ready to purl the next stitch (Figure 2).

Because the yarnover between a knit and a purl stitch uses more yarn than for a yarnover between a knit stitch and a knit stitch, the yarnover holes will be larger. If both types of yarnovers will be used in a project, the size differences may be noticeable.

The size of the yarnover between a knit stitch and a purl stitch can be adjusted by wrapping the yarn differently to make the yarnover holes smaller, as shown below:

Yarnover between a knit and a purl (alternative wrapping method)

Bring the yarn from the back to the front of the work over the right needle (Figure 2a) and then purl the next stitch.

Because the right leg of the yarnover will be in back of the needle, it will be necessary to work into the back loop of the yarnover on the next row so it won’t be twisted.

Yarnover between a purl and a knit (working yarn begins in front)

Bring the strand of yarn over the right-hand needle to the back (Figure 3) and knit the next stitch.

Yarnover between a purl and a purl (working yarn begins in front)

Bring the strand of yarn over the right-hand needle to the back and to the front again between the tips of the needles—wrapping the needle—ready to purl the next stitch (Figure 4).

Working the Different Yarnovers in One Pattern

To practice the different yarnovers in one pattern, work this variation of Lace Pattern #1. Try working the yarnovers between a knit and a purl stitch using both methods to see the difference.

Lace Pattern #3

knitted lace

Common Mistakes and Getting Back on Track

Check your work often as you knit lace. If you discover a mistake, take a breath and stay calm. Even expert knitters make mistakes. The most common mistakes in lace knitting are fairly easy to fix.

If you forgot to make a yarnover, identify where you omitted the yarnover and temporarily mark that spot with a removable marker or safety pin. On the return row, insert the right-hand needle from back to front under the running thread (the strand directly between and below the two needles), pick it up and place it on the left-hand needle ready to take the place of the missing yarnover.

If you make an extra yarnover, on the return row, drop the extra loop and continue on. At first, that area will look a bit looser, but blocking will even out any irregularities.

Cloud Forest Cover-Up by Fiona Munro

If the pattern design doesn’t look right or the stitch count is off, and you can’t identify the problem, unwork stitches one by one across the row. Recheck your stitch count until you get to a place where the pattern works properly again, then proceed.

Using a Lifeline

A lifeline is a temporary thread inserted through a row of stitches that serves as a checkpoint if you need to rip out and redo several rows. Here’s how to make a lifeline:

1

Decide on a lifeline row. A good choice is an unpatterned rest row at the beginning or end of a pattern repeat, for example Row 6 in our first lace-pattern example.

2

After completing the designated row, thread a fine, smooth thread (crochet thread works well) in a contrasting color onto a tapestry needle and run it through each stitch on the needle, but not through any markers. Leave tails at least 6″ hanging down on each side.

When you resume knitting, be careful not to knit the lifeline into the new stitches you make. Insert a new lifeline every few inches, removing the old lifelines if you are sure there are no errors in the previous sections.

Going Back to the Lifeline

With luck, you’ll never need to use the lifeline, but if you discover a mistake that can’t be easily fixed, remove the knitting needle and ravel down to the lifeline thread. Then using a smaller-size knitting needle, pick up stitches along the lifeline thread by inserting the needle tip through each stitch held by the lifeline; follow the lifeline thread to pick up all the stitches in the original marked row so that they are mounted on the needle properly.

Don’t remove the lifeline. Count the stitches to be sure that you have the number you should have on the designated lifeline row, then resume knitting with the original size needles.

Hornbill Tee by Kristen TenDyke

Preventing Mistakes

Practicing a few good habits will make it easy to work even the trickiest lace pattern.

Be sure that you can easily read and keep your place in the instructions. Enlarge charts and, if necessary, transcribe texts or charts into terminology or symbols that work for you.

Use a magnetic strip, ruler, or sticky note just above the row you are working. Doing so helps your eyes focus on that row while allowing you to check previously knitted rows as a reference point.

Create good working conditions: Increase lighting, minimize distractions, and avoid knitting when you are tired.

Check your work often: Count stitches, use markers liberally, and visually compare your knitting against any available charts and sample photographs.

Read the pattern aloud as you work through the pattern the first few times. Simultaneous seeing, hearing, and doing can be helpful.

Related: All-Time Favorite Interweave Lace Knitting Patterns

We hope these ideas spark a desire to learn how to knit lace! Also check out our collection of free lace knitting patterns for more inspiration.

If you’d like to take a deep dive into lace knitting, Heather Zoppetti has an excellent workshop that is a complete introduction, from reading charts to choosing yarns to blocking. When you’re ready to level up, learn how to knit a seamless tube of lace by grafting your cast-on to your bind-off!


More from Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer at www.knitheartstrings.com. You can find this article as originally printed in Interweave Knits Summer 2020.

Header Image: Terrestrial Tee, Golden Tamarin Tee, Hornbill Tee, Cloud Forest Cover-Up detail shots. Photo by Caleb Young.

Originally published for web 7/6/2020. Updated 1/25/2020.


Learn to Knit Lace + Level Up!

  • Lace Grafting Made Easy Online Workshop

    $39.99

  • How to Read Knitting Charts Online Workshop

    $24.99

  • Start Knitting Lace Online Workshop

    $24.99

  • Beach Boho Lace Collection

    $39.95

Join the Conversation!

Choose the membership you’d like to join​

Bead & Jewelry

Annual Charter Membership ​

(Limited Time Offer)​

$78.00 $24.95/year

Interweave Knits

Annual Charter Membership ​

(Limited Time Offer)​

$78.00 $24.95/year

  • 250+ Projects should be ​ ($2,000+ value)
  • 100 Member exclusive ​ should be ($800+ value)
  • 10,000+ Pieces of Expert Advice (Priceless)​​​
  • To View All Benefits Click Here for Bead+Jewelry or here Interweave Knits

The membership you’d like to join​

Interweave Knits

Annual Charter Membership ​

(Limited Time Offer)​

$78.00 $24.95/year

  • 250+ Projects – Fresh for Each Season ($1,400 value)​
  • 100 Member Exclusive Projects ($500 value)​​​
  • 10,000+ Pieces of Expert Advice (Priceless)​​​
  • To View All Benefits Click Here for Bead+Jewelry or here Interweave Knits

The membership you’d like to join​

Bead & Jewelry

Annual Charter Membership ​

(Limited Time Offer)​

$78.00 $24.95/year

  • 250+ Projects – Fresh for Each Season ($2,000 value)​
  • 100 Member Exclusive Projects ($800+​ value)​​​
  • 10,000+ Pieces of Expert Advice (Priceless)​​​
  • To View All Benefits Click Here for Bead+Jewelry or here Interweave Knits

The membership you’d like to join​

Interweave Knits

Annual Charter Membership ​

(Limited Time Offer)​

$78.00 $24.95/year

  • 250+ Projects – Fresh for Each Season ($1,400 value)​
  • 100 Member Exclusive Projects ($500 value)​​​
  • 10,000+ Pieces of Expert Advice (Priceless)​​​
  • To View All Benefits Click Here for Bead+Jewelry or here Interweave Knits