Brick Stitch Knitting Pattern: An Easy Two-Colour Design for Beginners
An old, simple favourite: little contrast-colour bricks stacked like a wall. Only knit, purl and slip, so it's perfect if you're just starting out with colour.
A subscriber who's a beginner asked me for this one a long time ago, so here it is. Brick stitch is a common, old design, and it still looks lovely: the contrast colour builds up in little blocks laid like bricks in a wall. The back has its own tidy pattern too. It uses only knit, purl and slipped stitches, and you work with one colour at a time.
Stitch count
Multiples of 4, plus 1. My swatch is 41 stitches; I teach it on 13 so you can count along easily.
What you'll need
- Two colours of yarn: the base colour (A) and a contrast colour (B). Knit your border in A
- Knitting needles to suit your yarn. It looks lovely in fine wool and in thick wool
Rows 1–4: the first row of bricks (colour B)
- Row 1 (RS):right side
Knit 1 (edge). *Knit 3, slip 1.* Repeat, ending with knit 3, knit 1 (edge).
- Row 2 (WS):wrong side
Purl 1 (edge). *Yarn back, knit 3, yarn forward, slip 1 (the same stitch you slipped before), yarn back.* Repeat, ending with knit 3, purl 1.
- Row 3:
Repeat row 1.
- Row 4:
Repeat row 2.
Rows 5–6: base colour (A)
- Row 5 (RS):right side
Knit every stitch, including the slipped ones.
- Row 6 (WS):wrong side
Purl every stitch.
Rows 7–10: the offset row of bricks (colour B)
Now the slipped stitch moves to the middle of the three knit stitches below, so the bricks sit halfway across the ones before, just like a real wall.
- Row 7 (RS):right side
Knit 1 (edge), knit 1. *Slip 1, knit 3.* Repeat, ending with slip 1, knit 2.
- Row 8 (WS):wrong side
Purl 1 (edge), knit 1. *Yarn forward, slip 1, yarn back, knit 3.* Repeat, ending with yarn forward, slip 1, yarn back, knit 1, purl 1.
- Row 9:
Repeat row 7.
- Row 10:
Repeat row 8.
Rows 11–12: base colour (A)
- Row 11 (RS):right side
Knit every stitch.
- Row 12 (WS):wrong side
Purl every stitch.
Repeat these 12 rows. After the first repeat you can already see the brick pattern forming.
Where to use it
It's quick and easy, especially for beginners. Use it for children's sweaters and grown-ups' too, for borders, or anywhere you want a bit of colour without colourwork charts.
- brick stitch
- two colour knitting
- slip stitch pattern
- beginner knitting
- knitting stitch pattern
- hand knitting
- wool
- handmade
