For years I’ve been fascinated with the process of entrelac knitting. It looks so complicated, but in reality, is very simple if you can just maintain enough attention span to finish a row in a sitting. It’s really only a pain when I sit it down mid-row and don’t remember which direction I’m working when I pick it up again.
Entrelac knitting looks like a woven fabric when it’s worked. When it’s felted, though, it looks like diamonds – similar to argyle without the extra stitches.
Entrelac is a technique that can produce either the most stunning effects, or make me woozy with the vomitous color combinations chosen. There is no in between for me. Occasionally I wonder, was the knitter blind to have chosen that combination? On the other hand, I more frequently wonder, how the knitter had the amazing patience to complete such an intricate project.
A few years ago I did a sweater this way. Ambitious, I know. That was my first entrelac project. If I ever find the photos, I’ll post them.
During the process, I realized that intricate is a bit of an overstatement. Really, the question should be, how is it possible that the knitter remained uninterrupted long enough to finish each row. It requires nothing more than basic knitting skills, patience, and the abilities to both read and count. A lot. I know. Some days, nearly insurmountable obstacles for my attention span, but I finished and am now enjoying.
Recently the need for a cool tote bag and a desire to work a more challenging pattern led me back to entrelac and a classic colorway. Rather than knit the bag back and forth, then seam it together, it is knit entirely in one piece from the bottom up with three skeins of Universal’s Deluxe Worsted Wool.
Want to knit one yourself?
PDF Pattern ::: $5.50
Printed Pattern ::: $6.50 + SH
