Seed stitch is what I and other British knitters call moss stitch, but in this post I'll be quoting an American writer, so for the duration of the post, I'll refer to it as seed stitch. (I'm not going to be consistent, though - I cannot bring myself to call stocking stitch 'stockinette', so I won't.)
Back in 2010, not long after I started knitting again, I came across a quote from The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt: "Seed stitch is 30 percent shorter than Stockinette, and 18 percent wider." As well as introducing me to that wonderful book, the quote was an amazing revelation. I knew that rib is used for welts because it's stretchier than stocking stitch, but apart from that, it had never occurred to me that different stitch patterns behave differently - I thought that the choice of stitch pattern was all about what the resulting fabric looks like. I knew that seed stitch is slow to knit, because of the constant switching from knit to purl, but I hadn't really understood that it's also because it takes more rows to the inch than stocking stitch. (Yes, I know I should have.)
Since I came across her quote about seed stitch, I have read June Hemmons Hiatt 's book, and bought my own copy of the revised second edition. And I have generally been much more aware of the characteristics of different stitch patterns.
Just recently, I have been thinking about various stitch patterns, and decided to do some experiments of my own. I knitted swatches of different stitches, all using the same yarn, same number of stitches, same needles, same length of yarn. Here are two of the swatches, in seed stitch and stocking stitch.
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| Seed stitch |
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| Stocking stitch |
It's easy to understand why seed stitch takes more rows per cm. than stocking stitch - the vertical lines of stitches (wales) are kind of concertinaed, producing a thicker fabric. I can't really see why it should be wider (but then as it isn't, for me, I'm not well placed to understand it). So I don't know why there is such a discrepancy between my swatches and the account in Principles of Knitting. Perhaps different knitting methods affect the width (i.e. yarn in right hand v. yarn in left hand, picking v. throwing, or whatever you want to call them). Or perhaps it's just that different people knit differently. It's intriguing.
I knit with the yarn in my right hand, the throwing method (aka English style). If any reader knits seed stitch that is wider than stocking stitch, please tell me what knitting method you use - I'd love to know.
This is interesting. It proves how risky it is to substitute one stitch for another when knitting. I like moss stitch in small sections but can't bring myself to knit more than a couple of inches of it. All the going backwards and forwards with the yarn wears me out!
ReplyDeleteHello Barbara. I am absolutely amazed as I'd convinced myself I would need to make all sorts of alterations to a lovely pattern I've bought and my brain just doesn't work well these days. I just don't know how to thank you enough. Sue, Otley
ReplyDeleteHi Sue. I'm so pleased that you found it helpful - though I think you'd need to do your own swatches just to be sure. I still don't understand the claim that moss stitch is wider than stocking stitch and so for some knitters it may be.
DeleteHi Barbara. I think a lot of knitters make claims without making sure they are correct but seeing your swatches it's obvious the difference is quite hefty.
DeleteHello Barbara. I am absolutely amazed as I'd convinced myself I would need to make all sorts of alterations to a lovely pattern I've bought and my brain just doesn't work well these days. I just don't know how to thank you enough. Sue, Otley
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, I am short on yarn and the pattern is in seed stitch cable, I will knit it in stockinette stitch cable (long irregular crosses not true cable), this is a big help
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen. I'm so pleased you found the post helpful - hope your knitting turns out well, and you have enough yarn.
DeleteThanks for this, saved me wasting a lot of time. I'm pretty new to knitting and was going to swap stocking stitch for moss in a pattern I like, as I find moss stitch really annoying I always make mistakes, so I will look for another pattern
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to hear that this is still a useful post, more than 5 years after i first wrote it. Good luck with your knitting. Barbara
DeleteStill a very useful post - thanks! I am knitting a lovely cardigan pattern. The body is a bit shorter than I would like, but reading here that the stocking stitch I intend to use for the sleeves (in place of the moss/seed stitch the pattern suggests) will use less yarn, I can be confident enough to make the body a bit longer. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny - hope your cardigan works out for you. Running short of yarn is a nerve-wracking experience - good luck!
DeleteVery informative post, thank you! Have you ever done the seed stitch in 2 colours, alternating the colours between right side and wrong side ?
ReplyDeleteHi Sumana, I have only knitted swatches, but I have tried it. There's a post about it here: https://barbaraknitsagain.blogspot.com/2014/02/two-colour-moss-sttich.html I think I prefer the version with two rows in one colour and then 2 in the other, rather than swapping after each row.
DeleteVery interesting post, thank you! Have you ever tried knitting the seed stitch in 2 colours, alternating the right and wrong side ?
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeletehave you by any chance done the same comparison between your moss stitch and a 'double moss stitch' (or how would you call it then..) - with that I mean a moss stitch double vertically, so two knits and two purls on top of each other?
I'm wondering what the difference will be in length between these two the lazy way aka without knitting swatches ;)
cheers
I haven't done the comparison, but I'd guess it would be exactly midway between stocking stitch and (single) moss stitch in length.
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