The ribbed heart stitch pattern is a textured knitting pattern that looks like little stacked hearts, against a background of reverse stockinette stitch. It may look complicated to work, but it’s really not that hard. You create the effect by pulling up loops from the center of a stitch, a couple of rows below the one that you’re working. These loops are slipped a couple of rows, before they’re anchored by doing some regular left- and right leaning decreases. It’s a versatile stitch pattern that can be used in any place you’d used regular ribbing. However, because it’s so pretty, it’s lovely as all-over patterning for blankets, for example.
This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 5 stitches + 2, and in a four-row repeat. Please note that in this swatch, I’ve added 2 edge stitches on each side.
Materials used
Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Vintage Pink.
Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.
Stitches used
- k – knit
- k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
- p – purl
- pulling up a loop – in this stitch pattern this means that you insert your knitting needle into the knit stitch in the middle of the 3 knit stitches, 4 rows down. Next, wrap the yarn around the needle, and pull it through. Take a look at the photograph below to see how this looks like.
- skp – slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch. Replace this decrease with a ssk, if preferred.
- sl – slip 1 stitch purl-wise
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Ribbed heart stitch instructions
Set-up row 1 (RS): P2, *k3, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Set-up row 2 (WS): K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.
Set-up rows 3-4: Rep set-up rows 1 and 2 once.
Row 1 (RS): P2, *pull up a loop through the knit st in the middle of the 3 knit sts, 4 rows down, k3, pull up another loop through the same st, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 2 (WS): K2, *move the working yarn to the front of the work and sl1, p3, sl1*; rep *-* to end.
Row 3: P2, *skp, k1, k2tog, p2*; rep *-* to end.
Row 4: K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.
Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern until desired length.
Below you can see how this stitch pattern looks, first as seen from the right side, and then from the wrong side of the fabric.
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