Stockinette Stitch

            After a long night of electing and knitting we've ended up with a hung parliament (huzzah no Tory majority) and I've ended up with 4 completed swatches thank you david dimbleby for being my knitting/ election entertainment. The next basic stitch is stockinette stitch also known as the plain sweater stitch this is often the first stitch people learn when knitting, this stitch unlike garter stitch is not the same on both sides. On the RS of the work the stitches form interlocking V's on the reverse or the purl side the fabric resembles a tighter garter stitch. Also unlike garter stitch the fabric has a tendency to curl when worked flat (not so much in the round).

  Above is a close up on the stitches where you can see the clear V shape at the top the stitches are crossed at the bottom the stitches are knit and purled normally.

The above image shows 3 forms of stockinette stitch, plain, crossed, and twisted (in order from the bottom up the red box shows the change in stitches) as you can see the fabric tends to curl inwards (see the curved red line).

Swatch is as follows: 4 Ply Wool - 2.5mm Needles - 30st by 60 rows worked flat - Chain COFF- Double Loop CON

             Plain stockinette is almost as easy as garter stitch it is simply 2 rows:

row 1: K all st

row 2: P all st

             Crossed stockinette makes an appealing and unusual texture compared to regular stockinette and is achieved by twisting the stitches on every other row, this stitch is possibly the original stitch as twisting your stitches is automatic if you use the Arabic method of knitting the oldest form of knitting. It can be done one of two ways:
row 1: Ktbl all st                                                OR                                      row 1: K all st
row 2: P all st                                                                                                 row 2: Ptbl all st
             Twisted stockinette has less lateral stretch than plain stockinette it is also more sturdy so it's useful for things that need to take more wear and tear like sock heels. It's achieved by twisting all the stitches
row 1: Ktbl all st
row 2: Ptbl all st

That's todays stitch! Phew that was a long one! now go knit!