Herringbone - Knit Flat

The Herringbone stitch is a stunning and, happily, simple texture to create when knitting flat. This knitting tutorial will help you learn how to knit the horizontal herringbone stitch. This beautiful stitch creates a woven looking fabric similar to the herringbone material used to make suits. It’s gorgeous lines add class and sophistication to patterns like scarfs, cowls, and bags. There are two methods described in this article.

Stitches Used

k: knit p: purl yo: Yarn Over s: slip a stitch psso: pass slipped stitch over, lift the slipped stitch up, to the left and off the needle ssk : slip, slip, knit p2tog: purl two stitches together

Herringbone Basic

There are two rows to the pattern which are written as:

Row 1: K1 (s1, k1, yo, psso) rep to last stitch, k1

Row 2: (P2tog – don’t drop off the left needle, p into the first stitch drop both off the left needle) rep to end

If this instruction appears complex watch the video below:

Alternate Herringbone

Row 1: *Ssk, dropping only the first stitch off your needle,* rep from * to last st, k. Row 2: *P2tog, dropping only the first stitch off your needle,* rep from * to last st, p. Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have reached your desired width. Note this pattern will not reveal itself until two rows have been completed