This is the fifth pattern release for the ebook Just Playing Around.

It is forever interesting to me how knitting stitches can take on shapes that are reminiscent of nature.

This stitch pattern is one such stitch. To me it looks like Maple Leaves. Perhaps if I hadn’t knit it fall colours it wouldn’t have popped out so clearly – but there it is! Vancouver Islands’ Big Leaf Maple – looking like Fall and clearly Canadian!

Big Maple Cowl and Hat is worked in a “drawn” stitch in that the contrast yarns are drawn through an eyelet pattern created in the rows or rounds before the contrast colour is introduced. I was really taken with this technique as it creates another layer of colour over the base yarn.

This technique is some times called knitting into stitches below, though I think that drawn stitches better describes the technique as we are not really creating stitches, just loops. The yarn used is not really knit to begin with, just pulled through holes in our knitting and then knit together to gather and close the stitch.

I will be exploring this stitch some more in future pattern for the ebook.

Link to video on how the work the “leaf stitch”

Materials:
Cowls – 90m each of two colours of super bulky – samples were knit with Handmaiden Flouf, 9mm US #13 24 inch circs, markers and the regular notion.
Hat – 60m of main colour and 20m of contrast colour, 9.0mm US #13 dpn’s and 16 in circs and 6.5mm US #10.5 16 in circs, 6.5 or 7mm crochet hook for hat cast-on, markers and the regular notions. Note – Hat is knit top-down.