We mark our territory with walls and fences, declaring some plants desirable and disdaining others as weeds. Nature has her own ideas about what belongs where, and when it can, the wild comes creeping up to our fences and infiltrates our tamed gardens. Sometimes her gifts are shy and delicate; sometimes, like buttercups, they can be bold and bright.

Your fence striped with buttercups can be vivid in hot, wild colors or soft in lighter, cooler shades.

A yarn with body rather than drape is recommended.

Choose a needle and yarn combination that makes a fabric you like.

Options shown are three rows of buttercups with longer stretches of a simple lace and a seven-row end or five rows of buttercups with shorter stretches of lace and an eleven-row end pattern. Either end choice can be used for either body option.

Charts are provided for the setup, lace, buttercups, and ending rows. Fully written.

Sample A used a size 8 needle with 500 yards of heavy handspun fingering, for a finished and blocked size of 48.5” cast off edge and 67.75” along the straight edge. Gauge blocked at 10 stitch buttercup width = 3.25”; 6 stitches in k2tog & yo = 4”

Sample B used Alexandra’s the Art of Yarn Safari, fingering, 398 yards, on a size 6 needle and a finished and blocked size of 37” cast off edge and 52.5” straight side. Gauge blocked at 10 stitch buttercup = 2.5”; 8 k2tog & yo = 4”

Stitches used:
k, p, k2tog, ssk, yo
2/2 RC
lli and rli - left lifted increase and right lifted increase, worked in leg of stitch below.

Markers recommended for buttercup pattern.

An additional file for low vision accessibility is included in 22 point Arial, black on white, no italics, left-justified, 1” margins, no columns, only page number in footer, a key for abbreviations, written with no chart.

Like the buttercups? Check out the many stitch patterns created by Naomi Parkhurst at her site String Geekery.

Make sure you are using the latest version!

Full disclosure:
Change 1 - Corrected Buttercup Stripe Rows 13 & 14 from repeat Rows 11 and 12 to repeat Rows 1 and 2.
Change 2 - Corrected Row 3 to Row 1 for starting body after buttercup stripes. It’s a matter of using the correct row for whether you have an even or an odd stitch count, in case you’ve added or missed an increase and don’t want to go back.
Change 3 - Corrected number of buttercup stripes in more lace version. v4

Thank you, Diana!

#handspun