Faux Seed Stitch on the Machine

Recently, a fellow knitter wanted to know how to work seed stitch on the machine. With a smile, my response was "very carefully"..... honestly, without a garter carriage, who wants to hand manipulate every other stitch, every row?

It would be faster to hand knit! Hand Knitting Instructions Even number of stitches (Multiple of 2) Row 1: *knit 1, purl 1* Repeat across the row Row 2: *purl 1, knit 1* Repeat across the row Repeat these 2 rows for the pattern.

But, machine knitters can create a "faux" seed stitch using Tuck.
This is a one-row tuck. Because of the construction of the stitches, the purl bumps are distorted giving a hint of knit and purl stitches.

For programmable machines, set your machine to tuck the opposite needles, every other row. In other words, tuck on one row and knit 1 row plain. Tuck the opposite needles and knit 1 row plain. For manual machines, use the "hold" position. Hold every other needle and knit 1 row. Knit 1 row over all the needles. Hold the opposite needles and knit across. Knit 1 row over all the needles. The little tucks that form look like seed stitch!

Unlike hand knitting, the purl bumps are on the purl side only, but the knit side of the fabric can be equally (or even more) interesting. This would be useful as an all-over stitch pattern for blankets or scarves.

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Don't forget! Tuck stitch knits much wider and quite a bit shorter than stockinette. If you are combining the 2 stitches, you'll need to take this into consideration.

Watch the Knit it Now Tutorial "Stitch Types and Yarn Usage" for more information.

These two swatches have the same number of stitches and rows