Reversible Knitting Stitches – A different kind of stitch book

I love reversible stitches. They just draw me – the way they look great from both sides, their drape, the way they lay so beautifully flat, and their usefulness for so many projects.

​Of course there are thousands of knitting stitches, and most of these look good from the right side. But when the wind blows your shawl and you see the other face then it can often be quite disappointing. Your beautiful design is hidden and you see a series of unattractive lumps and bumps instead. I suppose it has the name "the wrong side" for a reason!

A scarf or wrap made from a reversible stitch, however, can be draped around your neck in a playful fashion without any regard to which side is on view, since both sides look good.

Sometimes both faces are identical, and sometimes they have a differing character on one side than the other, but both sides have an attractive appearance, as you see in the photo of the Scottswood Stole above.

Some years ago I decided to knit some samples of my favourite reversible stitches and set them out on a table. At first there were just a few... then a few more... then our daughter Anna, herself a lifelong knitter, joined in... and before we knew it we had a table‐full! 

We stood looking at these for a while, then Anna said "We should gather these into a book!"

So we started to think about what kind of a book we wanted it to be. I have quite a number of knitting stitch books and regularly look through them all. I purchased the first of these when we were living in Japan a few years ago and it's still one of my favourites. This features large photos of the stitches, clear stitch charts and extra project photos scattered throughout the book, including inspiring jackets, cardigans and sweaters.

So we decided that was what we wanted to do, too – really explore every stitch and then add a good number of project photos to show how the stitches could be used. In short, we wanted this to be not just a stitch book but instead a sourcebook on reversible knitting.

So here's the very first stitch in our Reversible Knitting Stitches book!

This is Seed Stitch and is one of more than 250 double-sided stitch patterns included in the book. Each of the samples has a photo of both the front and the back, and includes stitch charts and full line-by-line instructions, so you can choose whichever you prefer to work the pattern.

We also really wanted to add suggestions for using each stitch. After all, it is almost impossible to tell from a photograph whether a stitch would make a cozy baby blanket, or if it would be better‐suited as a firm teapot stand! Then to help illustrate these qualities, we have added more than 80 project photos to show actual examples of some of the stitches in use. 

For some of the stitches we have also included notes on how the stitch could be worked not just in a single colour but with two or three different yarns instead for fascinating effects.

The book is formatted to maximise the capabilities of mobile devices with bookmarks to the Table of Contents, introductory pages, plus all the different Chapters and Sections so you can easily navigate around. There are also thumbnail images of all the pages so it is easy to scroll through those to help locate stitches you'd like to investigate.

Then at the end of the book, we have included indexes to all the stitches both by name and by degree of difficulty, so you can explore stitches which are suited to your knitting skills. You can read a little more about both Anna & I under "Author Information" and there is also a list of the projects we have featured in the book.

Reversible Knitting Stitches can be read on your computer, iPad, tablet or phone and of course you can pinch and zoom the display to really look at the details clearly. This is great for anyone preferring larger print, as the page can be enlarged to look at the finer details and information. Individual pages can also be printed out, if you wish.

For information about using Reversible Knitting Stitches in your work, click here plus sub-pages here and here. For more details about the book, including how to order a copy for yourself or a friend and to see some sample pages, please click here.

---

​For details about any of the patterns featured here or our
Reversible Knitting Stitches book, ​please visit my Etsy store.

For more knitting notes, tips & hints,
​please see the index list on the right of this page ---->

---

<--- Previous Post: ​The future looks bright

Next Up: Let's (half) twist again --->