How to Work the Andalusian Stitch
Mary Beth TempleThere are thousands of stitch patterns that can be worked into your knitting. The Andalusian stitch is a simple textured pattern that can be used for a many different types of projects. You might find this stitch pattern used in baby blankets for beginners, socks, hats, and so much more.
Knitting expert Mary Beth Temple demonstrates just how easy the Andalusian stitch is to knit. All it takes is knit stitches and purl stitches to create this delicate pattern. It’s worked by purling all the stitches when working the wrong side rows. On the right side rows, you will either work a row of knit stitches or a row of alternating knits and purls.
You’ll notice that this pattern is not reversible. Mary Beth shows both the right and wrong sides of her swatch, and you can easily see that the right side of the fabric is a background of Stockinette stitch, with the purl ridges creating texture and interest every fourth row.
If you are working a particular knitting pattern, such as a baby blanket, the pattern will tell you how many stitches to cast on and work. You may commonly find this stitch pattern worked over an odd number of stitches and worked flat, in rows, as follows:
– Row 1 (Right Side): Knit all stitches.
– Row 2 (Wrong Side): Purl all stitches.
– Row 3: (K1, P1) to last stitch, K1.
– Row 4: Purl all stitches.
Repeating these four rows will create the Andalusian stitch and you’ll be on your way to creating lovely, delicate knitting projects with it.
Hi guys, Mary Beth Temple here on behalf of the knitting circle, and I want to take this opportunity to teach you how to knit the andalusian stitch. It is a simple four-row repeat, three rows of knits or purls, and one row of knit one, purl one. But getting them in the right order gives you a beautiful textured stitch that is really wonderful, has a small repeats, really great for baby items like jackets and blankets, and some other projects too. So let's take a closer look at the andalusian stitch. The andalusion stitch is a very simple four-row repeat.
It's one row of purls, one row of knits, one row of purls, one row of knit one, purl one. Now the wrong side rows are always purl, and this is what the wrong side looks like. It looks alike a lot like reverse stockinette. So on this row, all I'm gonna do is purl across. And then the next row, that's the second row of my four-row repeat, is knit across.
And all the knit happens on the right side rows. Knitting to the end of that second row. My third row is purl because it's a wrong side row, and in this stitch, all my wrong side rows are purls. So my three even rows are done, purl on the wrong side, knit on the right side. And now it's time for my knit one, purl one row.
Now, even if you put your work down and have to come back to it, it's pretty easy to figure out where that ribbed row goes, because you can see it. It's very intuitive, and you know that you only do those stitches on a right side row. So your choice for a right-side row is either knit across, or knit one, purl one. And if it was a knit across row, then the knit one, purl one would be much closer to the needle. So it's pretty easy to intuit what you have to do.
So I'm going to knit the first stitch, bring my yarn between the needles to the front so I can purl. Gonna purl the next stitch. Bring the yarn between the needles to the back, so I can knit. It's very important to not make accidental yarn overs there. If you bring the yarn over the needle, instead of between, you can accidentally add stitches, which is not what you want.
So we're going knit one, bring the yarn to the front, purl one, bring the yarn to the back, knit one, and you're going to do that all the way across. All right. So that's the end of the fourth row of my four-row repeat. So now I'm going back to row one, which is purl. And as I said, all of the wrong side rows on andalusian stitch are purl.
So you don't have to guess what row you're on. See, I told you it was easy, and it makes a beautiful, delicate all-over stitch. I really like the stitch, I use it a lot. So once again, I'm Mary Beth Temple on behalf of the knitting circle. Thank you so much for joining us.
Take a look around, see what else you can learn while you're here. I look forward to seeing you again here real soon. Bye-bye.
I guess I should have read the comments first. No response needed...Thank you
I'm confused.....your written instructions are completely different than your video HELP 😉
Confused as to how to start after casting on. What is the correct order of the four stitch pattern. I really like this!