Diagonal Twisted Stitch Knitting Pattern
A different, unique design: little twisted columns that march diagonally across the fabric, on the front and the back. Great for men's sweaters and mufflers.
This one runs diagonally, and it looks beautiful from every angle. The special thing is that the back runs diagonally too, so you can use either side. That makes it good for projects where both sides show, like stoles, shawls and mufflers. It looks especially handsome on men's sweaters.
Stitch count
Multiples of 6, plus 2. My swatch is 44 stitches; I teach it on 26. The pattern pulls in a little, so for a project that would normally be 100 stitches wide, cast on about 120–125.
What you'll need
- Any wool. A plain, smooth wool shows the twists best
- Knitting needles to suit your yarn
The two twists
- Right twist: Knit the second stitch first (don't drop it), then knit the first stitch, and drop both.
- Left twist: Slip the first stitch, knit the next stitch, bring the slipped stitch round to the front and knit it through the back loop.
The 12-row pattern
The design is always the same group: a purl, a right twist, a left twist and a purl. On every right-side row the whole group shifts one stitch to the left, which is what makes the diagonal. Every wrong-side row is worked as the stitches appear. The first and last stitch of every row are edge stitches. On 26 stitches, "repeat" means 4 times in row 1 and 3 times in most other rows.
- Row 1 (RS):right side
Slip 1. *Purl 1, right twist, left twist, purl 1.* Repeat to the last stitch. Knit 1.
- Row 2 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1. *Knit 1, purl 4, knit 1.* Repeat to the last stitch. Purl 1.
- Row 3 (RS):right side
Slip 1, purl 2. *Right twist, left twist, purl 2.* Repeat until 5 stitches are left. Right twist, left twist, knit 1.
- Row 4 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1, purl 4. *Knit 2, purl 4.* Repeat until 3 stitches are left. Knit 2, purl 1.
- Row 5 (RS):right side
Slip 1, knit 1, purl 2. *Right twist, left twist, purl 2.* Repeat until 4 stitches are left. Right twist, knit 2. There's only room for the right twist here.
- Row 6 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1, purl 3. *Knit 2, purl 4.* Repeat until 4 stitches are left. Knit 2, purl 2.
- Row 7 (RS):right side
Slip 1, left twist, purl 2. *Right twist, left twist, purl 2.* Repeat until 3 stitches are left. Right twist, knit 1.
- Row 8 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1, purl 2, knit 2. *Purl 4, knit 2.* Repeat until 3 stitches are left. Purl 3.
- Row 9 (RS):right side
Slip 1, knit 1, left twist, purl 2. *Right twist, left twist, purl 2.* Repeat until 2 stitches are left. Knit 2.
- Row 10 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1, purl 1, knit 2. *Purl 4, knit 2.* Repeat until 4 stitches are left. Purl 4.
- Row 11 (RS):right side
Slip 1. *Right twist, left twist, purl 2.* Repeat to the last stitch. Knit 1.
- Row 12 (WS):wrong side
Slip 1, knit 2. *Purl 4, knit 2.* Repeat until 5 stitches are left. Purl 5.
After row 12, start again from row 1. In each left twist the second stitch is often a purl stitch from the row below. Knit it anyway, as part of the twist, because that is what moves the diagonal along.
- diagonal knitting
- twisted stitch
- reversible knitting
- mens sweater pattern
- muffler pattern
- textured knitting
- hand knitting
- wool
