To Stockinette or Not to Stockinette

Carla Hibbard sent me a copy of  Nancy’s new book so that I could pass it on to you!  How cool is that?  So, we’re going to have a contest.  Not a comment contest, (although you do need to leave a comment) but a 'real' contest. A random number generator will pick the winner. To sweeten the deal,  Nancy will autograph the book (at the signing next Saturday) and I'll throw in a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Raspberry colorway, and a little sheepy tape measure. How sweet is that?

Here's what you need to do to be entered in the drawing. Tell me why you love OR hate to knit Stockinette.  In my opinion, Stockinette is highly underrated.  It is the purest process of knitting.  It creates a beautiful fabric that shows off the yarn and if purl stitches are added it creates the perfect backdrop for a pattern. Stockinette can create a classic sweater and it can be easily shaped into many different styles.  It allows a knitter to multitask while knitting without the worries of tracking a pattern. Stockinette allows a special yarn to show it's 'stuff'. It is the ultimate in meditative knitting.  Stockinette is the process at its most basic, at its finest. I remain a Stockinette Avenger.

Now, don't just say Stockinette is boring. What is it about the process you DON'T like if you are not a Stockinette fan.  Tell me what it is about the process if you DO like it and you are an Avenger, too.

Tell me what you think by Thursday October 6th at 5:00 MDT.  I'll let the winner know on Friday and will get details as to how you would like your book personalized.

Discuss....

Comments

[Kathleen]

I like stockinette in the round cause it is easy. I like it flat because I have a very good purl rhythm. I can purl, I think, easier than I can knit--less having to look that I caught the right stitch. While I love my cables...with my life and kids often times stockinette type projects are just more managable for me.

Can't wait to see you latest stockinette FO!

[Joan]

I have often been taken to task for making too many plain stockinette stitch garments and garter stitch things too. Sometimes your life just wants to be soothing and the act of knitting plain, particularly in the round, lets you just go on autopilot while creating something beautiful and useful at the same time. My Polo sweater (4th one on the needles) and raglans from the top down are just perfect for relaxing. There is just something about simply making stitches.

[Mary J]

To me, Stockinette is the background for great things to happen. It can just be a great yarn that needs a smooth place to shine or in combination with a busy pattern so that your eye has a place to rest.

I enjoy stockinette during scary movies, long plane flights and visiting with friends as it is not fussy and I don't have to pay that much attention to it.

[Kim]

I am not sure why people do not like Stockinette......it is one of my favorites, next to lace. There are times in your life when the mindless rhythm of the knit is very soothing. When my mind is crowded with other things, I always reach for my stockinette projects, whether socks, hats or sweaters. Soothes the soul a bit ;-)

[carla Hibbard]

Hiya, I don't want to win the book back! However maybe I'll be commenter #10 million and win another prize!
I do like stockinette that is when I get to do it in the round!-

[Karen]

I love stockinette stitch. It is soothing and simple. It can be mindless since you can work to the end of the row without too much thought. Stockinette frees you to do something else at the same time. When I learned to knit as a child I didn't consider myself a knitter until I could do stockinette stitch and create the same smooth fabric I saw my mother knit. It is the gateway to everything else.

[Erin]

Stockinette is comfort. It creates the smoothest of fabrics that are just what you want to surround your face and neck in a warm scarf. It may seem a bit boring to some people, and miles of purl-back rows can be tiring at times, but it is really the best way (IMHO) for some of those beautiful hand-painted yarns or sinfully-soft fibers to really take center stage. At that point, it's really about the yarn.

[Cassie]

I swear, this is a set up. Because you knew I'd have to comment, but I already have the book.

I'm the one who doesn't like stockinette. Why? I find it monotonous.

I guess what I enjoy about knitting is the creation of the fabric. Cables and lace do that for me - I can create something really great. Plain stockinette does nothing for me.

[Lolly]

Hi Margene! Fun contest. I am with you on the Stockinette Avenger--I love stockinette all the time--flat or in the round. It is simple enough to do somewhat mindlessly--making it ideal for knitting and reading at the same time (which is a necessity with all of the grad school reading!)

Have a happy weekend~

[Teri]

I love stockinette. I think that's the stitch that made me want to become a knitter. Imagine the fascination of a non-knitter trying to figure out how all of those Vs hook together. :)

[Norma]

Being one of the original Stockinette Avengers, of course you know what I'm going to say. Wow, the commenters so far have said it more elegantly than I can. My desire and taste has always been, about a lot of things in life, "simple elegance." And in knitting, that desire also carries through. Other patterns are sometimes pretty, sometimes too busy. Other patterns (sometimes) make a fabric that is too puffy, too "fat" for my taste. The fabric of stockinette is the most zen of fabrics. It has the best drape and is the most relaxing to look at. Not to say that other patterns can't also be great, but often stockinette is the ONLY stitch that can show a particular yarn to best advantage.

And, like other commenters have said so far, my knitting is meant to soothe after a long, hard day at work. Having to do hard math or follow a chart is just not what I'm going for. If knitting or fiber arts were all I did all day (i.e., it was my "work" or my "job" or if I didn't have anything else to do), and/or if I were going for some sort of medal or to try to "wow" somebody, I suppose the objective would be to do all kinds of fancy stitches or intricate patterns. However, if it meant I never finished anything or hated it when it was finished and would never wear it, it's just not "me" to engage in that kind of exercise just for the sake of doing it. Some people like that challenge of saying they've done every stitch imaginable, and they produce lots of "swatches" of patterns. And some people are able to make wonderful things with all of the above, and they really do wear them and they really do finish them. That's fine for them, but it doesn't go with my taste or objectives.

[Elizabeth D]

I love stockinette -- in the round, or back and forth, for me it's like walking along the beach next to the ocean. It helps me empty my mind and just rest. And I can just appreciate the wool sliding through my fingers without asking it to do anything.

[Lizzy B]

I'm with those that love stockinette. When I learned to knit I demanded to learn how to knit stockinette because it is the "look" that made me want to learn to knit. I learned to knit and purl simultaneously, and when I teach people to knit, I teach them stockinette because knowing how to knit stockinette flat enables you to knit absolutely anything. And THAT is empowering.

I'm also probably one of the few people in the world that likes the purl stitch more than the knit stitch. I love to purl so much that I have considered purling socks in the round instead of knitting them. (Yes, I'm odd, I know.) I actually get mildly annoyed when I don't get to purl. While knitting in the round is certainly easier in the finishing dept, (usually) I lament the lack of purl. I simply think it is elegant. I'm still fascinated to see it take shape, and I probably always will be!

I think stockinette is the best way to showcase a yarn's texture and/or color. My first handspun sweater is largely stockinette with a few eyelets thrown in because I wanted the yarn's character to show through. (It's a 2 ply with each ply a different color.) The stockinette portions are my favorite sections due to the fabric it makes.

[Marcia]

I basically enjoy stockinette for all the reasons mentioned before me: simplicity, comfort of the finished fabric, comfort of the process, can be done while multitasking. But, I knit "English" most of the time and find the purl stitch not to be a burden. On those rare occasions when I knit Continental, I admit I swing over to the Stockinette Haters camp!

[Betsy]

love and sorta hate stockinette. I love it because it is a no brainer and frankly sometimes we need that. Such as a knitting group, watching CSI, or just you have had a bad day and you need to knit but not think. Hate it because it goes round and round and nothing much happens. When you are doing the final sleeve of a sweater for your son who is 6'3" and over 250 pounds of college charm it gets ~ well ~ BORING. But knitting it while yapping at the knitting group makes it all worthwhile!!!!!!!!!

[Carole]

I love the rhythm of stockinette. While I'm not as crazy about purling as I am about knitting, I like that after a purl row I get to relax with a knit row. And I love the fabric that stockinette produces. Like Norma said, it shows off the yarn better than most other stitches. And in the round, well then it's just all good.
Nice topic and I've enjoyed reading what others have said. Thanks, Margene!

[Nathania]

I love broad, smooth expanses of fabric. Stockingette drapes better than most any other solid stitch. And I can knit it without looking at it. In the dark. In the car. In front of the TV. And never worry that I'm going to make a mistake. Let's face it, sometimes you just need the simplicity of stockingette as a break from texture or color work, or to highlight the shape of a sweater or the color changes of a self patterning or handpainted yarn, or, or.... there are so many things about it to love!

[Cara]

I can go both ways. For me, st st has it's place in the pantheon - I like what Elizabeth D said - it's nice for clearing your mind - although I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a walk on the beach. ;-)

For me, st st really only works if the yarn is TOP NOTCH! Whether it be the colors or the texture, I need the yarn to be the focal point of the piece. Stockinette with bad yarn is a killer.

And sometimes, it makes me antsy. If I'm in a mood (read: crazy) st st can make me more crazy. Sometimes you need something intricate and delicate and HARD to get you out of your mind - too many thoughts can swirl around with st st.

I prefer st st for socks. Of that I'm sure. Especially the striping kind.

In conclusion, I'm making a sweater in st st right now of the most beautiful Manos colorway and I find myself stopping to admire the gorgeous fabric quite often. And st st on big needles goes very, very fast!

[Cathy]

I both love it and hate it. Especially in the round. I love it because it's great tv knitting, I don't have to count, I don't have ot pay attention, I just knit. But...I get bored easily, which is probably why I learned to knit so fast. I love a challenge, and poor stockinette just isn't a challenge. I like shaping, lace, and counting. I've been knitting just over a year and I've already done socks (3 pairs, 1 pair in progress), lace, shawls, washcloths, 1 sweater for a toddler (neighbor's kid), and started 2 for me. Note the term started. I got sidetracked off of one and think I'm going to have to frog it and start over. The other is stockinette in the round. And when I work on it, it goes pretty quickly. But...I get bored....

[June]

I neither love nor hate it. It's just a technique. It does make a blank canvas, and some people prefer unadorned and unpatterned knitwear. It really lets the yarn itself shine, whether it is texture or color. The sweater I'm working on for my father (made of handspun yarn in shades of peacock - blue, green, teal, copper, gold) looked best as stockinette, although I did try a cable-and-rib swatch, as well as a double seed swatch. It definitely has its place. Also, you can read and knit stockinette.

[Chelle]

I really enjoy stockinette because I like the look of it; and more importantly, because the rhythm of it feels like yin/yang - a nice balance. I'm speaking of course when it is done straight and not in the round. You do a row of knit; a row of purl; how balanced and relaxing!

Even when I'm doing it in the round, it is a nice relaxing mindless rhythm that is soothing, especially when I'm feeling stressed. Chelle

[Marie Stanley aka marie in florida]

quick, clean, pure knitting. where else would i put my lace?
marie in florida

[Mindy]

I love it because it is so meditative. I don't have to think, just be, when I knit stockinette. I also like that I can do other things at the same time. My favorite is that I just love the way it looks. It shows off the yarn and is never to fussy.

[Beth S.]

I like the clean simplicity of stockinette. It allows the yarn to speak for itself, whether it's a brash handpaint or a rustic solid.

Stockinette also allows a garment to be shaped to fit the wearer: short rows, darts, etc, just aren't possible in any other kind of knitting. I love a heavily cabled Aran as much as the next person, but it's hard to make an Aran look like anything other than a big square box. Stockinette, by contrast, is fluid. You can make it look like anything.

The best thing about stockinette, though, is the picot-edge stockinette sock. Heaven on five needles, especially for commuter knitting.

[Kim]

I love Stockinette; to me it is the perfect canvas to show off the shape of a piece. It's smooth and it lays nicely. It's great to knit in the round(with socks and sweaters, for example), because it always turns out even and nice. It also seems to be a good litmus(sp?) test for knitting skill; to knit flat stockinette well you have to have an even balance between your knit and purl stitches(something that I am struggling with now as I purl looser than I knit). To me a really well knit piece of stockinette shows your prowess and potential as a knitter :) Have a great weekend!

[Patti]

What a great question! (I do love questions) My first thought is TV knitting, or really tired after a long day knitting. I hadn't thought about the drape, but that's very true. I'm wearing one of my favorite shawls right now, and it's mostly stockinette with a few rows of dropped stitch thingies for interest. And it's a wonderful stitch for showing off a nice variegated yarn - I've started over on socks a couple of times because a complex pattern was too much with a variegated yarn.

[Sneaksleep]

I actually really like stockinette. I like the way it creates a really solid and smooth feeling fabric. Strange as it might sound, I really feel a sense of accomplishement when I make a garment that is primarily stockinette--it seems the most tangible and permanent of all the stitch patterns, somehow. It also does the best job of showing off any kind of yarn (except for weird fuzzy novelty yarns which I don't care for anyway). For example, I'm using some handpainted yarn to do a pair of socks right now, and though the ribbed cuff looks OK, now that I'm on the smooth foot part, it looks truly gorgeous. Also, as far as sweaters as concerned, really bumpy stitch patterns simply don't look good on a busty woman such as myself. Far better a fine-gague, waist-shaped stockinette number for me! Finally, it's simple, and allows me to slip quite easily into the meditative state I like to think of as "knitting zen."

[Rebekah]

Well personally I have no problems with stockinette. I like it because it's mindless, it's therapuetic because you can easily get into a rhythm, and it's basic. I like basic. Plus I love hand-painted yarns and they just look better in stockinette (well in my humble opinion that is). In fact maybe the next project I'll do will be with some hand-painted and I'll dedicate my stitch to Stockinette. An Ode to Stockinette. But then I even like Reverse Stockinette. I don't mind purling one bit in fact I have a sweater I knitted for my husband in the round in reverse stockinette. Please do not gasp in horror. It's really quite, well it was really quite a nice sweater, I'm soon to be ripping it out and redoing it though as it doesn't fit him and I made some errors in my design.

So an Ode to Stockinette it will be. Lalalalalalalala. I'm a pianist too, maybe I'll just write me a song.

[Snow]

Like all stitches, Stockinette definitely has its place. I need to be in the right mood for a project involving nothing but miles of stockinette, but its simplicity is unreplaceable. Basic, necessary, sometimes dull, but absolutely perfect for many occasions. Where would we knitters be without stockinette? Gotta have it, gotta love it.

[Lauren]

I am a very slow purler but still do love Stockinette but I especially love when in the round, no purling! The wonderfull drape of the material produced is what sucks me in every time. The stich really allows me to get a sense of the paticular characteristics of a yarn. I am about to embark on a reverse stockinette sweater, by the end I have a feeling my purling speed will have improved, well at least I can hope right!

[wool winder]

I like things simple. Simple never seems to go out of style--just like stockinette. The rhythm the needles take on with this pattern is steady and reliable. The resulting fabric, beautiful in its simplicity. More complicated stitch patterns have their place, but when I want to relax, it's stockinette for me.

[erika]

I, like you, enjoy enjoy stockinette stitch. I find it to be especially meditative. After working on a complicated stitch pattern, it is like coming back to an old friend.

[Eliza]

I find Stockinette to be the foundation of my knitting. I love how Stockinette brings the yarn together into a beautiful and cohesive fabric; and how the shape of the stitches can vary depending on the spin of the yarn. I haven't tired of Stockinette in the years I've been knitting and always have at least one project in my bag that is plain old Stockinette. I have done my fare share of stitch patterns, and I keep coming back to the classic look created by Stockinette. I love that I can create something I find to be so interesting, that I can be so fascinated by each stitch and how they come together. Amazing.

[regina]

I love stockinette. I enjoy the challenge of doing more complex stitch patterns, but stockinette is something I can do without much thought, and produces beautiful fabric.

I find it very relaxing to do stockinette, which is often the perfect thing to do after the dishes are washed and the kids are in bed, y'know?

[Kitty]

My last 2 projects and current project are Stotckinette. I'm finding that I love the meditative state I'm able to achieve in its rhythm; I'm loving the garments for their simplicity; I'm appreciating the texture and beauty of the yarn I've chosen for the garments.

[Angela]

I love complicated knitting, but I am also a lover of stockinette. Perfect for pick-up socks (the kind you carry everywhere in your purse or bag). Knitting in the dark at movies, knitting while visiting with non-knitting friends, knitting in the car on long car-trips so you don't get car-sick from looking at your work all the time.

Nothing else has quite the drape and fluidity of stockinette in a fine yarn.

[Sue]

Mmmmm, I love stockinette. It is mindless, meditative and the perfect knitting for when there are distractions abound: like husband, kids, dog, & the TV.

[Ellen]

I used to hate it, but then I realized what I hated was the boring yarn---flat dull monochromatic colors. I discovered spinning, and there is nothing prettier than stockinette in a lovely natural colored yarn--dyed or undyed--with all those subtle color variations. Gorgeous!

[Other Julia]

How can one not love stockinette? It definitely has it's place. Just like garter. It allows the yarn to shine, or some other feature of a knitted item. I love the plainness of stockinette as well, sometimes I even like reverse stockinette, and you can't get that without doing stockinette, now can you? I like to balance my knitting, cable work, plain knitting, lace work, plain knitting. It keeps me humble and connected to the basics.

[Ryan]

Without stockinette, we couldn't make swatches. And if we couldn't make swatches, we couldn't calculate our gauge. And if we couldn't calculate our gauge, none of our hand-knit clothes would fit, nothing would be shaped the way it's supposed to be, and fisticuffs would break out between knitters and the people they gave things to. The divorce rate would skyrocket. There would be no point to patterns because everybody's finished project would be guaranteed to look different and be a different size; there would be no point to yarn labels because the weight of the yarn and the gauge wouldn't matter. Knitters would become frustrated and stop knitting, and hundreds of yarn manufacturers would go out of business. Knitting as we know it would cease to exist, chaos would break out, and anarchy would reign. In short, the future of the world depends on the existence of stockinette.

[Kris]

I love stockinette because it gives me variety. I enjoy complicated stitch patterns, but I can't do them all of the time - sometimes I need something mindless. I have a lot of reading to do for grad school, and it's soothing to me to be able to work on a stockinette project while reading.

[Kathy]

I love stockingette! There is something so calming and focusing about concentrating on each stitch one by one as it happens and being right there in the moment. It also helps that stockingette is lightning fast and perfect for color work of all kinds. Now, I like to shake things up and do all kinds of patterns, but plain old vanilla stockingette will always be a keeper for me.

[Sarah HB]

I personally LOVE stockinette stitch while I absolutely HATE the look of garter stitch alone.

There are times when I just want to knit but not have to put a lot of thought into it and a stockinette project is the perfect cure, relaxing but something pretty as the finished product.

Besides, without stockinette as the starting point, what would we use to add our fancy bobbles and lace stitches???

[Knit Chick]

Why I LIKE stockinette... As a beginner, once you're able to create it, you feel like a real knitter! It really is the "purest process of knitting". My favorite way of obtaining this look is to knit in the round, but I won't scoff at other methods. It's a wonderful one to even fall back on, especially if one becomes frustrated with working various techniques. You can always rely on stockinette to ground you.

[Teresa C]

I didn't read the previous comments, so I am sure I am just repeating. I have a love/hate relationship with stockinette. I really dislike knitting st st in the round. I feel as if I go absolutely nowhere fast and need more to show progress. Not that it isn't about the process, it just feels as though I am spinning my wheels. I will do it, and often, and happily for socks. I don't mind it on the flat, but my rows often look uneven which will cause me distress, something I always say I am going to spend an afternoon swatching to fix and never do. I love to purl though, so the flat works best for me. I love to knit complicated things. I love texture, holes or cables or twists and since I don't usually find knitting difficult at all (I can work most things in front of the tv) I find it all relaxing (I know, I know, but I actually LIKE the challenges of matching and perfecting things, even if I do throw one or two things across the room). BUT-as I get more *ahem* mature I love the classic line of a plain st st sweater. The way it will cling or drape, and I find myself drawn to the sweater that has design elements other than stitch. I may throw in a cable here or there, but I like to wear stockinette.

Now-I was going to hunt down this book this weekend, I guess I can wait. Not that I ever win anything, and since I actually did win something this week (can anyone BELIEVE IT?) I know my chances are slim here. Wish me luck, I'm dying for that book! Pick me! Pick me! P.S. You know that Norma already has it don't you? ;)

[Liz]

Maybe because I haven't been knitting for all that long, I see stockinette as my friend. I love the way it looks, and I love that I can knit without watching my hands or thinking much. I have tried a wee bit of lace, but I don't feel that I am yet up for the challenge. My knitting time is for me, and it should be fun. Stressing over a lace pattern or a cable chart just isn't fun for me. Yet.

Maybe I'm a Plain Jane, but it seems most of the sweaters I like to look at (and wear the most) are stockinette.

[Jayme]

I love and hate stockinette for the same reason, it is mindless. I can almost do it in my sleep. This means it is perfect for SnB or watching a movie but it has been known to put me to sleep as well.

Jayme

[Sydney]

I love stockinette, both flat and in the round. I'm a continental knitter, so I don't find purling much more trouble than knitting, and I can do both without looking at or thinking about what I'm doing. My fingers are on autopilot and they act as a focus for all my nervous energy. I can listen to a lecture, watch a movie, or read a book, and knit at the same time. And I agree, stockinette is one of the most attractive and simple stitches. I never get tired of it.

[Kristi]

I *love* stockinette in the round because it is incredibly fast and yields a lovely, classic fabric. I'm not as big of a fan of it when knit flat as my purling is a fair bit slower, but I still like it. It is simple and sophisticated and it can also easily be executed in dark movie theaters or during engrossing television shows with ease and no worries of mistakes!

[PumpkinMama]

I just won a prize from you, so don't put me in the drawing, but I want to answer too.

I like stockinette, and never even knew that people disliked it (or disliked purling) until I started reading blogs. Its the most basic of basic and I like simplicity.