Book Review: Seed Stitch by Rosemary Drysdale

Most people, when they learn to knit, seem to learn the knit stitch and then the purl stitch. We make endless Garter Stitch and Stockinette Stitch projects before combining knit and purl in the same row, usually to add ribbing to the edges of projects that are still mostly worked in Stockinette Stitch.

But of course it’s the combination of knits and purls that accounts for a lot of the interest that possible in a knit fabric, and one of the most basic ways to get there is through Seed Stitch (or what the British call Moss Stitch, which is a whole different thing this side of the pond).

Seed Stitch in its basic form is simple: knit 1, purl 1 across and then do the opposite on the next row.

Rosemary Drysdale took this simple stitch pattern and twisted it in all sorts of ways for her lovely and inspiring sourcebook Seed Stitch: Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1.

The book includes a primer on the basics of working with Seed Stitch, such as how the pattern is worked on even and odd numbers of stitches, flat and in the round, and how one increases and decreases in the pattern.

Readers will then find swatches and instructions for 60 variations on Seed Stitch including projects with multiple colors, chevrons, cables, lace and other design elements.

Thirty-one patterns using some of these stitch patterns round out the book. There are five cowls, four scarves, six pillows, two bags, one throw, two baby blankets, three baby hats and two versions of a pint-sized cardigan, as well as a couple of hats, a pair of mitts, a poncho and two tops. All of them are rated easy except one, the Open Squares Cowl, which is rated intermediate (it’s an eye-catching cowl made with Seed Stitch and open squares made by casting off stitches).

A few of the patterns that caught my eye include the Striped Wristers, which have a cute zig-zag pattern worked in tweedy yarn; the Cropped Pullover, worked in two color Seed Stitch Stripes; and the Narrow Zigzag Pillow, which uses a two-color vertical chevron design that’s one of my favorites of all the stitch patterns in the book.

If you’re already a fan of Seed Stitch you are sure to enjoy this book, and if you’ve never gotten into knit 1, purl 1 before this book will make you realize there’s a whole lot more out there that can be a lot more interesting to knit.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback with interior flaps. Published September 2017 by Sixth & Spring Books. Suggested retail $21.95.