How To Work "sl1 wyif"

The Melded Scarf, get the pattern here, is a straight forward pattern to knit with 1x1 ribbing and stripes. So why is there a “sl1 wyif” worked at the end of each row and what does that mean? “sl1 wyif” is an abbreviation which means slip 1 stitch purl-wise with yarn in front. Because the "sl1 wyif" is worked at the end of the row, that slipped stitch creates a selvedge edge which gives the scarf a neat, finished edge. It also has the neat side effect of pushing and hiding the carried yarns from the stripes (video tutorial coming Thursday) away from the edge of the scarf. 

The "sl1 wyif" along with it's opposite "sl1 wyib" - slip 1 stitch purl-wise with yarn in back - is also a big part of Mosaic Knitting, which you can learn more about here.

So how do you work a "sl1 wyif"?

A post shared by April Klich (@aprilklich) on Feb 15, 2017 at 9:43am PST

1. Bring yarn to the front of the stitch

2. Slip stitch purl-wise to the right needle

Since this stitch is sitting on the end of a row, you’ll turn the scarf and start knitting the next row. No other special techniques required.  

Pattern: Mosaic Sisters

I am thrilled to finally share the Mosaic Sisters! Why sisters? Because each mosaic design, though unique, shares several traits. They all have wide stripes, are knit in garter stitch, and have geometric designs. The pattern is a set 3 three different designs that can be turned into kitchen towels, washcloths, and coasters. Or anything else your needles desire. Mosaic knitting makes the cloths the perfect thickness and texture to be useful in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Since the basis of the patterns is garter stitch, the cloths won't twist or curl. Since they're all sister designs, you can make them in as many or as few colors as you want. Make a whole set in 2 colors or mix and match for maximum rainbow. 

If you're nervous about working mosaic knitting for the first time, I wrote a few tutorials to help. Mosaic Knitting 101 will show you the basics, and the next tutorial shows how to carry yarn up the side of the work. To cast on, I recommend the long-tail cast on - it's great with cotton.

I had the idea for the Mosaic Sisters years ago. At the time there was only one cloth, the oldest sister of course, and it had a different name. I knit the first sample, wrote the pattern, and made the chart. For one reason or another I never published it. Years later I saw a call to submit designs for home related patterns. The oldest sister came to mind, but I knew I couldn't just submit one - that's when the middle sister came along. Spoilers - the submission wasn't accepted. Now two designs were hanging out on my hard drive. Once the sting of disappointment wore off, I looked at them again and decided to add a third pattern to the set, the youngest sister. I've been swatching, charting, knitting, and putting the pattern together ever since. It's been a long road, but I'm glad that the sisters are finally getting their debut. 

To celebrate the Mosaic Sisters release, the pattern is free until Sunday, December 6 11:59 PM PST. Afterwards, it'll go to it's regular price of $5. No coupon or Ravelry account required. Happy knitting! 

Mosaic Sisters

Sizes: Kitchen Towel - 8.5" x 14"; Washcloth - 8.5" x 8"; Coaster - 4.25" x 4"

Gauge: 5 sts = 1" in pattern

Needles: US 6 (4mm) straight or circular needles 

Yarn:  Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn in 4 colors

Shown in Knit Picks Dishie - Swan, Azure, Crème Brulee, and Tranquil

For the kitchen towels: 37g / 70 yds each color

For the washcloths: 20g / 39 yds each color

For the coasters: 7g / 14 yds each color

Stripes and Carrying Yarn Up The Side

The Mosaic Sisters pattern- a set of colorful mosaic knit kitchen towels, washcloths, and coasters - is here! Meet the sisters and get the pattern.

Check out the other tutorials for the Mosaic Sisters: The Long Tail Cast On and Mosaic Knitting 101. 

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In Mosaic Knitting 101, I showed that mosaic knitting is just stripes and slipped stitches. Knitting stripes is fun, but weaving in ends for every color change is not. The first few times I knit stripes, I cut the yarn at the beginning and end of every color. Ugh. Thankfully, there’s a way to carry yarn up the side of the piece which means you don’t have to spend as much time weaving in ends as you did knitting. The carried yarns will twist together as you work and tuck themselves in nicely behind the edge stitches.

For Narrow Stripes

If you’re working 2 row stripes there’s only one step to carry your yarns up the side. For the sake of clarity, yellow is Color 1 and white is Color 2. When it’s time to change colors, hold color 1 to the back of the work and start working the next stripe. You can drop Color 1 after you’ve got a few stitches of the new stripe on the needles because the two yarns are now twisted together. 

Is it possible to hold the yarn to the outside of the work instead of along the back? Definitely, but there is one benefit to holding the yarn to the inside. It’s faster because you always know what strand you just used and what strand to grab next. Plus, it easier to keep the yarns from tangling which means you get to spend your time knitting and not untangling yarn. Which ever direction you choose, be consistent and stick with it for the entire project.

For Stripes That Don’t Start At The Edge (And Wide Stripes Too)

So what about when a stripe starts a few stitches in from the edge of work? The Middle Sister of the Mosaic Sisters pattern has a row that starts this way. You’ve got a couple options and neither of them involve cutting the yarn or weaving in more ends. Both choices equally effective, it’s just a matter of what you think looks better. 

Option 1 is treating the stripes above and below the short stripe as one wide stripe. 

Begin by holding Color 1 to the back of the work just like with the narrow stripe. Slip the stitches at the beginning of the row and work the short stripe with Color 2. When you’re finished working the short stripe, twist the two colors together and start working with Color 1 again. Don’t forget to keep a little slack between the edge and the first knit stitches so the edge doesn’t pucker.

Option 2 starts a little differently. When you start the short stripe with Color 2, hold Color 1 (green in this example) to the outside instead of against the back. Finish the short stripe.

Now hold Color 2 to the the outside. When you start the next stripe by bringing up Color 1, it holds Color 2 in place. Go back to twisting yarns to the inside until the next short stripe. 

I know I recommended earlier to twist to the inside, but twisting to the outside on stripes that start away the edge works well in this case. When paired with inside twists, the occasional outside twist prevents longer strands of yarn from being carried up the side and potentially snagging. 

Mosaic Knitting 101

The Mosaic Sisters pattern- a set of colorful mosaic knit kitchen towels, washcloths, and coasters - is here! Meet the sisters and get the pattern.

Check out the other tutorials for the Mosaic Sisters: The Long Tail Cast On & Stripes And Carrying Yarn Up The Side.

Mosaic knitting is a technique that creates beautiful and intricate finished projects with the simple slip stitch. What it makes it different from other types of color work is that you’re only working with one strand of yarn at a time. For such a simple technique, mosaic knitting is quite versatile. It can be worked in garter stitch or stockinette. It can be smooth or textured. It can be worked flat or in the round. The patterns can be bold and geometric or create simple images and all manner of things in between. There’s no limit to the type of project it can create either. Mosaic knitting can create scrubby washcloths, cushy socks, warm shawls, slouchy hats, and colorful blankets.

How Mosaic Knitting Works

Aside from slipped stitches, the real reason why mosaic knitting works is that it's based on 2 row stripes.  So if you can knit stripes, you can mosaic knit.  

To work a stripe of mosaic knitting, you work across the first row and slip certain stitches purl-wise to create the pattern. On the second row, the stitches slipped on the first row are slipped again. Then it's time to make the next stripe. Drop the first color and work the next stripe with a second color and slip more stitches. As the stripes repeat, the slipped stitches build on each other. The below GIF shows the stripes and slipped stitches adding up to make the finished design. 

Standard Mosaic Knit Abbreviations

Mosaic patterns are presented as written, charted, or with a combination of the two. Small patterns might only be written.  The key abbreviations in written mosaic patterns are slX, wyib, and wyif.

sl means to slip a stitch purl-wise and the X afterward tells you how many stitches to slip. wyib and wyif are paired with slX.

wyib means to slip the stitch with the yarn held behind the work on the wrong side. wyif means to slip the stitch with the yarn held in front. If you don’t see wyib or wyif or any variant of them, it’s assumed that the yarn is always held to the back of the work. 

The other important abbreviations are MC, Main Color, and CC, Contract Color. The different colors might also be referred to as C1 and C2 or Color 1 and Color 2. 

Here is a swatch of a simple mosaic pattern where there are slipped stitches on the garter rows (white) and a stockinette background (blue). The written pattern for the swatch reads like this:

Cast on 15 stitches (a multiple of 4+3) with C1.

Row 1: With C1, knit

Row 2: purl

Row 3: With C2, *k3, sl1wyib*, repeat between * * to end of row, k3

Row 4: *k3, sl1wyif* k3

Repeat the 4 rows until piece is desired length. End on Row 2 and bind off. 

How To Read Mosaic Charts

If the above pattern were charted, there are 2 fairly standard ways the chart could be presented and it’s designer’s choice. The difference between the two styles is in how the 2 row stripes are presented: a stripe, 2 worked rows, per chart row OR every row is charted. Personally, I prefer the chart where it’s one stripe to a row because it gives a better visual of the finished pattern. If I make a mistake early in the pattern, I find it easier to notice if I have the chart to compare it too. Also, it's easier to find my place again if I put the project down for a bit.  

The two styles do share some similarities. Both will show show what color to use either in column on the right side or on the chart row. Rows are usually numbered. Both charts will use the same symbols to show when to slip. There are 2 common versions of the slip symbol. Always read the instructions on the pattern though in case the designer has different instructions for a symbol. 

V means to slip the stitch purl-wise with the yarn held on the on the wrong side to the back of the fabric.  A V with a horizontal line through the middle or underneath means to slip the stitch purl-wise with the yarn held in the front on the right side of the fabric. 

To work from the 1 stripe (2 rows) to a chart row style, you read the rows first from right to left and then backwards from left to right. This means that each row is worked twice; once forwards for the right side and once backwards for the wrong side. If the pattern is worked in the round than you’d work both rows from right to left because you’re always working on the right side of the fabric. 

To work from the 1 chart row equals 1 knit row style, you’ll always read from right to left. The 1 to 1 style chart is more common for mosaic patterns knit in the round. However, as is the case with the Pair-a-normal Socks, the same mosaic effect can sometimes be made with 1 row instead of 2. 

That’s everything you need to get started with mosaic knitting and start the Mosaic Sisters! Have fun and knit on!