Horseshoe Lace stitch: For knitting scarves and shawls

The Horseshoe knitting pattern is one of those lace stitches that appears complex, but is in fact quite simple.

The only techniques required other than knitting and purling, are yarn over and the central decrease which is responsible for the embossed column that we see in the middle of the “horseshoe”.

It’s a pretty versatile stitch because it can be used for knitting a shawl, just by repeating the 11 stitch pattern as many times as needed (as shown in the pictures), or, as a central panel, to embellish the sleeves or the front of a sweater (I have done both, the shawl and the central panel in a raglan sweater).

The Horseshoe Lace stitch is an elegant pattern, and in my opinion, it deserves to be practiced more…

So, grab your needles, some yarn, and let’s get started!

Abbreviations

CO: Cast on

st: Stitch

RS: Right side of the work

K: Knit

P: Purl

yo: yarn over (or yarn forward)

S2K1pass2: This is a central decrease (slip 2 stitches knitwise, knit the next, and pass the slipped stitches over).

N.B.:

The odd rows form the right side of the pattern. The even rows form the wrong side, and will be purled.

2 stitches will be decreased on each odd row, so, in order to keep the same amount of stitches, don’t forget to make the 2 yarn overs (which replace the 2 stitches removed).

The selvedge stitches (the first and the last) will be knitted on each row.

Horseshoe Lace stitch knitting pattern

CO multiples of 11; i.e.: 11 * 2 = 22 stitches. These include 2 selvedge stitches.

1º row (LD): *K1, yo, K3, S2K1pass2, K3, yo, K1*. Repeat from * to *, to end.

2º and every even row: K1, Purl to last st, K1.

3º row: *K2, yo, K2, S2K1pass2, K2, yo, K2*. Repeat from * to *, to end.

5º row: *K3, yo, K1, S2K1pass2, K1, yo, K3*. Repeat from * to *, to end.

7º row: *K4, yo, S2K1pass2, yo, K4*. Repeat from * to *, to end.

8º row: As per row 2.

These eight rows create the pattern. Repeat them until the desired length is reached.

When finished, BO purl-wise after a row 7.

This is the wrong side of the work:

Enjoy the video:

Horseshoe Lace stitch pattern

I hope you like it, and thank you for watching!

Hugs, and happy knitting 🙂

Carolina – So Woolly

PS: The following stitches are similar, please take a look

How to knit the Spring Lace stitch pattern

How to knit an easy lace pattern in four rows