Half Linen Stitch

The half linen stitch is a variation of the traditional linen stitch pattern. It’s worked over four rows instead of two, giving the fabric a little more drape than the traditional pattern. In this video, Jen Lucas demonstrates how to work the half linen stitch.

To begin, Jen compares a swatch of half linen stitch to a traditional linen stitch swatch. She notes that with traditional linen stitch both the right side and wrong side of the fabric has slipped stitches, making the fabric much more dense and compact. The half linen stitch only has slipped stitches on the right side rows, with the wrong side of the stitch pattern being purled. This gives the fabric much more drape and a gauge similar to the Stockinette stitch.

The half linen stitch is then worked over a multiple of 2+1 stitches (or an odd number of stitches) as follows:

Row 1 (RS): *K1, slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front; repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 (WS): Purl all stitches.
Row 3: K2, *slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: Purl all stitches.

Repeat Rows 1 – 4 for pattern.

ABBREVIATIONS

k: knit
RS: Right Side
WS: Wrong Side