This will help you design a pattern using a mixture of knit and purl, using just one colour. Click in the square above to change its colour. You can change the width of depth of the pattern.

The reason for making this page is that you knit alternate rows from different directions, plus you turn the knitting round so you knit from the back, doing purl rather than knit, and knit rather than purl. So the pattern shows the front of the pattern, with one colour showing the smooth stitches, and the other the knobbly stitches. So it can be hard to figure out what stitches to actually knit to make a specific pattern. So here you can do the designwithout worrying about what stitches will be used, and the page will automatically give you precisely the stitches needed for each row. It starts with stocking stitch, smooth on the front, so the pattern is rows of alternate knit and purl.

I must point out the the design may not look like the final result! Knitting does strange things. With rows of alternate smooth and knobbly, the knobbly tends to over-shadow the smooth (see welting). But columns of smooth and knobbly, the smooth over-shadows the knobbly (see ribbing). Mixing the two can produce unexpected results (see my Greek key!) Still, it's fun to try things out.

You can hide the pattern so there is more room on your screen for the design while you're making it. Click on "Show pattern" at the end to bring it back. "Reverse pattern" gives you the back of the pattern.

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