Plaid/Tartan Surface Chains

Do you love plaid and tartan patterns? Did you know that you can add them to your knitting projects? It’s surprisingly easy to add these details into your knitting. All it takes is a little planning, some extra yarn, and a tapestry needle. In this video, knitting expert Mary Beth Temple demonstrates how to create plaid and tartan patterns on your knitted fabric.

In order to obtain the horizontal lines of the pattern, Mary Beth simple knits them into the fabric—essentially knitting stripes as she goes. In her first swatch, she worked entirely in garter stitch (knitting every stitch on both Right Side and Wrong Side) and changed colors every 6 rows. She then took lengths of yarn and weaved them in and out of the fabric to create a pattern. In this first example, a plaid reminiscent of Buffalo check was created in purple and gray.

Mary Beth continues by working on a new swatch, knit in a chunky yarn. She created the garter swatch by working eight rows in gray and two rows in purple. With the swatch complete, she takes the purple yarn and uses it to create a windowpane-like plaid pattern on the swatch. She weaves the yarn over and under the stitches in a column to create the pattern. Mary Beth demonstrates how to work up the swatch and then turn around to work back down the swatch. She also explains how to estimate the amount of yarn needed to create the vertical lines in the fabric.