By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have made a little mosaic swatch of a simple brick pattern, which happens to be the foundation of quite a few cute and easy projects (like the Ballband Dishcloth above).
You’ll also learn how to switch colors neatly when making stripes (which is key in mosaic knitting because you only knit one color at a time, so you have to alternate between the yarns every couple rows – read: stripes).
Lastly, you’ll learn my favorite quick tip for binding off that will make any swatch lay flat and even (gotta love that).
Row 1: (RS): With MC: K. Row 2: (WS): Purl. Row 3: Switch to CC: *K5, Sl 1, rep from * to last 5 sts, end k5. Row 4: *P5, Sl 1, rep from * to last 5 sts, end p5. Row 5: With MC, repeat row 1. Row 6: Repeat row 2. Row 7: With CC, k2, *Sl 1, k5, rep from * to last 3 sts, end Sl 1, k2. Row 8: P2, *p5, Sl 1, rep from * to last 3 sts, end p2. Row 9: With MC: K. Row 10 (WS): BO in knit¹.
¹“Bind off in knit” means knit each stitch as you bind it off (even though you’re on the WS).
Knitting the whole swatch should take 20-30 minutes (that’s just a guess). My video is about 10 minutes long, and I show you everything except for the plain knitting rows.
Prepare Your Yarn and Needles
Bazinga chunky self striping yarn Chunky yarn is my favorite for practice swatches
Time to get your yarn and needles out! Find two colors of yarn that are the same weight, that is, two worsted-weight yarns, two bulky-weight yarns, etc.
Get a pair of straight needles in the size recommended on your yarn band (US size 7 for worsted weight and US size 9 for bulky weight).
Bulky yarn is my favorite choice of weights for swatching and learning new techniques.
Next, look over the instructions for the Easy Mosaic Brick Pattern below. If you understand most of the abbreviations, give it a go and try to knit the swatch on your own!
Try the Swatch On Your Own First
The reason I want you to try this swatch on your own first is because when you watch the video with me, you will have some experience and context. You also might have some questions you want answered. It’s also good practice in just trusting yourself to read a new pattern, uninfluenced by any prior explanation.
If you don’t want to knit the swatch on your own, or don’t understand the pattern instructions, that’s ok – I’ve explained everything in the videos and in the photo tutorials that follow.
(In my upcoming mosaic knitting video class, Fantastic Mosaics, I give you tips and troubleshooting videos to help you get the most out of this tutorial, so if you have any trouble at all, know that there’s more than just what you see here.)
