Slip stitch patterns are an easy
way to add color to your knitting; unlike Fair Isle and
Intarsia, you knit with only one color per row so they are less
complicated. When knitting slip stitch patterns, some stitches
from a previous row are slipped and others are knit or purled with
a new color. When a row is completed, you will have stitches that
are slipped which are a different color from the stitches that you
just knit with the new color. The slipped stitches will be
elongated; this will cause the stitch pattern to pull in, so check
your gauge carefully if you substitute one in a pattern that calls
for Stockinette or another less dense stitch pattern.
Slip stitch patterns are most often knit in Stockinette but you
will find some that combine knits and purls on the same row; this
results in a fabric that is both colorful and textured. Stitches
can even be worked with yarn held in the front or manipulated to
create "floats" (strands running across other stitches) for
contrast. Slip stitch patterns can be worked in two or more
colors. In the example shown below, you could change colors each
time the color white is worked.
Generally you won't find a stitch pattern that calls for more then
3 stitches to be slipped. Take caution to make sure the strand
from the working yarn that results when slipping the stitch is
kept loose (resist the urge to pull that "float" tight) or your
fabric will pucker.
Always slip stitches as if to purl, unless the pattern
specifically states otherwise. Stitches are usually
slipped with the working yarn held to the wrong side, although
there are some that require holding it on the right side, which
results in a woven look. The pattern will tell you to slip the
stitches with the yarn held in front or in back; this is not the
same as the right side or the wrong side. With yarn in back means
the side of the work facing away from you; with yarn in front
means the side next to you or facing you as you knit.
 As with most knitting and
crochet techniques, the best way to learn is to try making a
swatch. Here's a simple slip stitch pattern called Two Stitch Check. It’s a
multiple of 4, so to begin cast on any number that is divisible by
4 with Color A or red.
Row 1 (RS): With Color A,
K
Row 2: With Color A, P
Row 3: With Color B, k3,
*sl2 wyib, k2; rep from *, end k1
Row 4: With Color B, p3,
*sl2 wyif, p2; rep from *, end p1
Rows 5 and 6: With Color
A, Rep Rows 1 and 2
Row 7: With Color B, k1,
*sl2 wyib, k2; rep from *, end sl2, k1
Row 8: With Color B, p1,
*sl2 wyif, p2; rep from *, end sl2, p1
For more fun with slip stitch
knitting, try these patterns:
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