For the button-down shirt I am creating for The Fiber Factor's first challenge "Knit Your Life," I wanted to juxtapose sections of Zitron Filisilk (laceweight 70% merino 30% silk) with sections of Shoppel-Wolle Leinen Los (light worsted weight 70% wool 30% linen). Although I am blocking the laceweight to 5 sts/inch, there was still the matter of reconciling the row gauge. I had in mind something with a garter stitch ground, which would "take up" and come closer to the 7.4 rows/inch I was getting with the laceweight (my main-color yarn). Leinen Los knits up into a rustic, dry-hand fabric, and in my project it represents my Arizona roots. Turning the pages of the trusty Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns, I thought a filet lace section would be perfect for some Arizona-inspired designs on the back yoke of my shirt.
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| With live stitches on the needle in my mc, I turned and cast on with the cc, working the yoke sideways, joining it to the back piece as if it were a knitted edging. |
Filet lace knitting is composed of two units: Blocks and Spaces. Each unit is three stitches by four rows. It is very easy to chart a filet lace pattern of your own, as I have done for this project. Just remember that the design should be suggested by the solid Blocks, surrounded by Spaces.
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| I've oriented this photo so you can make sense of how it looks in my piece, but remember it was worked sideways starting from the right side of the chart. The chart begins with the solid row of blocks on the right edge. |
How to Knit Filet Lace from a Chart:
Each chart square is 3 stitches wide by 4 rows tall. Each chart square is either a Block or a Space.
To work a Block:
Knit the 3 stitches on all 4 rows (garter stitch).
To work a Space:
Rows 1 and 3: Perform a Double Yarn Over. Slip a stitch knitwise. Slip another stitch knitwise. Pass the first slipped stitch over the second slipped stitch. Now slip a third stitch knitwise. Pass the second slipped stitch over the third slipped stitch. Lastly, insert left needle into the third slipped stitch and knit it normally.
Rows 2 and 4: knit stitch, knit first yo, purl second yo.
To begin, cast on the number of squares in the first row x 3, plus any edge stitches (which are not included in the chart). Let's add 3 edge stitches on the right and 2 on the left. In this example, 7 x 3 = 21 + 5 edge stitches = 26. Cast on 26.
Rows 1-4: knit edge stitches, make 3 spaces, 1 block, 3 spaces, knit edge stitches.
Rows 5-8: knit edge stitches, make 2 spaces, 3 blocks, 2 spaces, knit edge stitches.
...and so on.
Filet Lace Knitting is something I've had on the back-burner since I first read an article touching on the subject about two years ago. What stuck out in my mind was that it was a lace technique based on squares, rather than the soft, round motifs you achieve with most lace knitting techniques. I've seen many examples of filet crochet that are quite exquisite (this comes from someone who generally does not prefer the look of crochet), but I will have to do more research to find out whether filet knitting has ever really been widely used. I've had trouble finding much information or examples of the technique, especially from contemporary knitters. The unevenness of this section gives me a hunch about why it isn't popular, but for my part I am very pleased with its rusticity in this project. For a more even tension, Mary Thomas does recommend using a firm gauge on something like fine cotton.
