Obviously the easiest way to knit a square is to cast on your stitches and go, knitting forward until you have made a square. But if you want to jazz things up a little, mitered squares are a great way to go.
Mitered knit squares have been around for ages, but Ann and Kay of Mason-Dixon Knitting are the mitered square's biggest champions. Mitered square patterns appear in both of their books, as well as stand-alone patterns like the Mitered Crosses Blanket (proceeds from the sale of which are donated to Mercy Corps).
Mitered squares can be big (like squares for an afghan pattern), small (like the ones featured in their Ninepatch Dishrag pattern) or in-between. Want a square? Miter it!
To create a mitered square, you cast on the stitches for 2 of the sides. This can be an even number of stitches (if you want no gutter in the middle), or cast on an extra stitch (for a gutter). Whether or not you use a gutter stitch is entirely up to you.
Knit across the row and place a marker at the middle. Now you're ready to start mitering. If you did not cast on a gutter stitch, do:
Row 1 (RS): Knit to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker, ssk, knit to end of row.
Row 2: (WS): Knit across
If you did add a gutter, then place your marker right before that center stitch and:
Row 1 (RS): Knit to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker, knit 1, ssk, knit to end of row
Row 2 (WS): Knit to 1 stitch before marker, purl, slip marker, knit to end of row
You can also miter in stockinette, just purl on the wrong side instead of knitting. Or try out seed stitch or moss stitch for an unusual texture.
Miters are a great way to work with multicolored yarn, since the change in direction really highlights those stripes.
Image courtesy Flickr/starathena
0 comments