I was reading a knitting book the other day that made it sound like seed stitch and moss stitch were the same knitting stitch, but that’s not actually true. I feel like there’s a lot of confusion because the same stitch might have different names in different countries, or just depending on who you ask.
In my world, seed stitch is worked on an even number of stitches. You repeat knit 1, purl 1 on the first row, then purl 1, knit 1 on the second row, so the knits and purls alternate from row to row.
I’m American, so I call this seed stitch. British knitters would call this moss stitch. So you might see it referred to as British moss stitch in patterns from the UK or elsewhere.
What Americans call moss stitch is a repeat of four rows, where the knits stack on each other for two rows, followed by a stack of purls for two rows. In other words, if you have an even number of stitches, knit 1, purl 1 across on the first two rows, then purl 1, knit 1 across on the next 2 rows.
Because you’re switching sides this will cause the knits and purls to stack for two rows, then switch positions.
To make it more confusing, American moss stitch is also sometimes called Irish moss stitch. It can also be called double moss stitch, which I think again is a British term but I’m not sure. (That’s two color moss stitch on the scarf shown above, changing colors every two rows in addition to which way the stitches go.)
No matter what you call it, these are both fun and easy knitting stitch patterns that give your project a lot of texture without a lot of work. They also give you lots of practice switching between knits and purls if you’re a newer knitter. And they lie flat because they have a balance of knits and purls across the fabric, so they’re great for scarves and other projects that won’t be seamed.
Check out some seed stitch knitting patterns and moss stitch knitting patterns (American terms there!) to learn more and play with these fun stitches.
Do you have a preference? I think I like seed stitch better, but they are both great.
