Reversible Stripes

Autumn just wouldn't be the same without a visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show in "Allie Pallie" (Alexandra Palace in London). The show has its own special character, with three halls overflowing with display booths, shops, classes, and student shows. Every year there is also a special event such as a quilting display or a Japanese knitting exhibition which is always magical.
​
I returned back home filled with ideas and renewed enthusiasm and within a few hours had ordered a whole boxful of yarns! There was a beautiful cream colour merino yarn, two different blues and a wonderful combination of rich chocolate brown and russet.

So I started playing with the yarn and discovered that it worked beautifully with one of my favourite stitches in our book, Reversible Knitting Stitches. The stitch is called Roman Stripe Lace which is a lovely pattern even when worked in a single colour, as can be seen in the cream scarf shown above.

However it really comes into its own when two different coloured yarns are used. Usually a stripe will look good when seen from the right side, but turn it over and there is a little line of two-colour "purl bumps" which mar the wrong side. You can try to ignore them or even embrace them and make part of your design, but they are almost always there.
​
But here.....

Ta-Da! No bi-colour purls. No off-colour lines at the transition points. In fact it is really hard to see which is the right side and which the wrong side.
​
It really is quite intriguing from that point of view and I can see why it is such a popular stitch.

It is hard to find a reversible lace stitch, but even harder to find one which has such a beautiful colour transition as this. So please do look out for this stitch pattern in our Reversible Knitting Stitches book and try it for yourself. It isn't the simplest of stitches, but is well worth the effort to master.

The scarves shown here are the Chalfont Scarves, and if you would like more details about these then please click here​.

And if you have enjoyed this brief exploration into using colour with reversible stitches, then please also read my post here where I extoll the virtues of colourful reversible stitches further!

---

 For information about any of the patterns featured here or our
Reversible Knitting Stitches book, ​please click the Patterns tab above.

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

---

<--- Previous Post: Either way up – Using reversible stitches for scarves

Next Up: Market Bag Knit-Along #1 - Pre-washing yarns  --->