A Study in Eyelets

The little eyelet. So simple, just a Yarn over and compensating decrease, yet the basis of such intricate lace and eyelet designs. I was intrigued while looking over some stitch patterns how just combing different eyelet methods could create whole designs. To get a better look at what each version produces I whipped up this little test swatch.

1. Left Smooth Eyelet
   • Row 1: YO, k2tog
   • Row 2: Purl


2. Right Smooth Eyelet
   • Row 1: SSK, YO
   • Row 2: Purl


3. Left Broken Eyelet
   • Row 1: YO, SSK
   • Row 2: Purl


4. Right Broken Eyelet
   • Row 1: k2tog, YO
   • Row 2: Purl


5. Smooth Half Double Eyelet
   • Row 1: SSK, YO, k2tog
   • Row 2: Purl, working a Rib Increase (K1, P1) into the yarnover


6. Broken Half Double Eyelet
   • Row 1: k2tog, YO, SSK
   • Row 2: Purl, working a Rib Increase (K1, P1) into the yarnover


7. Smooth Double Eyelet
   • Row 1: SSK, YO, k2tog
   • Row 2: Purl, working a Rib Increase (K1, P1) into the yarnover (work each loop as 1 stitch)


8. Broken Double Eyelet
   • Row 1: k2tog, YO, SSK
   • Row 2: Purl, working a Rib Increase (K1, P1) into the yarnover (work each loop as 1 stitch)

As you can see, the smooth eyelets lay flat where the broken versions create a little ridge to one side. A great example of using several of these is this Mixed Eyelet Rib pattern shown here from The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt.

So there you have it, the building block of lace patterns. To move on to the whole big picture - head on over to Eunny's new Majoring in Lace series at See Eunny Knit! It's promising to be a comprehensive look into all aspects of lace knitting.