How to Knit Two-Color Brick Stitch [Tutorial]
This post contains spoilers for the Clue 3 of the Spring It On! mystery shawl. Don't read ahead if you haven't yet knit the clue!
The third clue of the pattern has another one of those choose-your-own-adventure moments in which you get to decide between two options. The easy option is to knit straight-up four-row stripes with two colors. The advanced option — which is really easy, too! — is a two-color brick stitch made with slipped stitches.
One of the colors makes up the "bricks", the other is the "mortar". The lines between the bricks are elongated stitches that are made by slipping the same stitch on four consecutive rows. Be sure to slip the stitch with yarn in front on wrong-side rows so the right side of the work looks smooth.
Here's how you knit it.
Two-Color Brick Stitch
The brick stitch is worked over a multiple of 8 + 1 stitches and 16 rows.
With Color A:
Row 1 (RS): Knit.
Row 2 (WS): Purl.
Rows 3–4: Repeat Rows 1–2 once more.
With Color B:
Row 5 (RS): (Slip 1, knit 7), repeat to last stitch, slip 1.
Row 6 (WS): Slip 1 with yarn in front, (purl 7, slip 1 with yarn in front), repeat to end.
Rows 7–8: Repeat Rows 5–6 once more.
With Color A:
Rows 9–12: Repeat Rows 1–2 twice.
With Color B:
Row 13 (RS): (Knit 4, slip 1, knit 3), repeat to last stitch, knit 1.
Row 14 (WS): Purl 1, (purl 3, slip 1 with yarn in front, purl 4), repeat to end.
Rows 15–16: Repeat Rows 13–14 once more.
Here's how it looks charted.
You can change the look of the stitch pattern my modifying the length and width of the pattern repeat. In this variation from KnittingStitchPatterns.com the "bricks" are 5 stitches wide and worked in modified garter stitch. The "mortar" is just 2 rows high. This creates a wonderful 3D effect that's great for dishcloths or other scrubbies!
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