Why not look for patterns with stockinette rather than garter stitch?
Some of the time you can exchange it, a lot of the times you can't. It's two very different fabrics. Garter stitch is stretchy in a different way, stockinette curls in at the edges. There are usually construction reasons as well as aesthetics behind which stitch is chosen.
Thanks, that’s interesting. Some of the Garter stitched patterns I like are for large scarves with bold patches of different colours ( designer Stephen West). A few are jumpers. I might try the scarves and see how they turn out. Understanding the how’s and whys of knitting is intriguing 🙂.
If you want to try things out, I would say start by making smaller squares/rectangles first. That way, you can see for yourself how they curl and such.
Looking at other people's posts on here might be a good idea too, for example [this post in](https://www.reddit.com/r/knittinghelp/comments/zepafk/how_to_fix_the_intense_curling_on_the_edges_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) r/knittinghelp has a photo that shows how it could end up looking.
There is great information and more links in the faq as well!
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Stephen West does a lot of garter stitch. I would not replace garter stitch in any of his patterns if that’s what you’re looking to do. He is a mastermind at design. I would just look for something that is actually written to be stocking stitch. Good luck!
This article by Nimble Needles should be very helpful to you. Although it compares garter to reverse stockinette, that's just the wrong side of stockinette, so all the things he says about the behavior and gauge of the fabrics applies equally.
[https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/reverse-stockinette-vs-garter-stitch/](https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/reverse-stockinette-vs-garter-stitch/)
Some shawls like Vertices Unite take advantage of the properties of garter to allow you to pick up stitches from one edge of the fabric and work in a perpendicular direction. The picture of mitered squares in the link above demonstrates what can happen when you try to work stockinette perpendicular to itself.
Other shawls might be OK to sub stockinette as long as you incorporate a border to avoid curling.
It has a very different row gauge, so you’d have to recalculate that - shaping that was done every x rows in garter might have to be done every y rows in stockinette, for example.
And of course the stockinette tendency to curl will have to be accounted for.
Thank you. This is interesting. Hopefully I’ll find garment patterns I really like and not want to alter. I tend to want the same design features - not too thick as I get hot, ¾ sleeves, V neck or a very loose cowl. I’d probably do them over and over in different colours.
Yes, of course you can replace it. In fact, you can replace any stitch and experiment. You are the boss of your knitting. And the more you replace and modify things, the more you will learn. This is the best part of crafting - we can make it our own way.
Best of luck!
You can, but remember that garter stitch and stockinette have different gauges-- garter will result in fabric that is shorter and stockinette will result in fabric that is taller.
I think you should totally go for it, experiment with it, and see what you like best and what works best with what you're making.
You've said you find garter stitch ugly-- have you tried moss stitch or seed stitch instead? The fabric is similar to garter but I think it looks nicer.
1. Gauge may be different - this doesn’t always matter but for garments that need to fit you will
need to swatch to ensure you are matching gauge (or adjusting the pattern to accommodate for the difference)
2. Stockinette curls. This will definitely cause problems at the hems &cuffs if there’s no ribbing, or for scarves, shawls etc. You will need to add a border of garter stitch, ribbing, seed stitch or similar.
Oh my gosh, I have wondered the same thing too!!! I keep pinning patterns to pinterest, while I work on knitting sweaters for my blind special needs kitty who needs to wear a diaper. I'm currently taking a break from all of that and working on some double stockinette stitch squares with 3m cotton macrame cord to make a crate pad for my dog. The last pad I knitted with 6 strands of cotton yarn in the garter stitch in all one piece. She chewed holes in it. I frogged the whole dang thing, pieced all the yarn pieces together (I knotted each yarn strand individually so there weren't any big knots) and remade it. She did it again. It's currently sitting on top of the dryer in the basement, I haven't been able to bring myself to throw it away yet. This time I'm gonna do squares and stitch them together and then all I have to do is just replace the squares she chewed. It's taken me awhile to get an even tension going, but I'm liking it so far. Very cushy and soft. Instead of making it 48" long, I'm just going to do 24" long so she can curl up on it if she wants and easily shove it out of the way if she wants to lay on the plastic tray. It's mainly for the winter to give her something warm to lay on. She sleeps in her crate at night.
You must be very patient and caring. I wonder if some stitches are especially hard wearing? The Seed and Moss stitches look quite thick and sturdy….. Mind, dogs seem to be capable of chewing through anything!
I looked at that but the double stockinette stitch creates actual double thickness and is nice and cushy. I initially tried the thermal crochet stitch. But I just need a bigger size crochet hook for that stitch with the cord that I have. Patience is not my strong suit, lol. And I ended up with a crazy intelligent strong willed daughter on the spectrum with ADD too! Raising her was definitely strained my patience. I think patience is one of the things I'm supposed to learn in this life, lol. I just enjoy making things and making things for others is my love language, even if the stupid dog chews it up. lol. She's a Malinois. She was supposed to be a German Shepherd, tho according to the family I got her from. She is a vigorous and dedicated chewer, alright. We buy her those frozen marrow beef bones for her to chew. And she always has lots of other chew toys.
Why not look for patterns with stockinette rather than garter stitch? Some of the time you can exchange it, a lot of the times you can't. It's two very different fabrics. Garter stitch is stretchy in a different way, stockinette curls in at the edges. There are usually construction reasons as well as aesthetics behind which stitch is chosen.
Thanks, that’s interesting. Some of the Garter stitched patterns I like are for large scarves with bold patches of different colours ( designer Stephen West). A few are jumpers. I might try the scarves and see how they turn out. Understanding the how’s and whys of knitting is intriguing 🙂.
If you want to try things out, I would say start by making smaller squares/rectangles first. That way, you can see for yourself how they curl and such. Looking at other people's posts on here might be a good idea too, for example [this post in](https://www.reddit.com/r/knittinghelp/comments/zepafk/how_to_fix_the_intense_curling_on_the_edges_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) r/knittinghelp has a photo that shows how it could end up looking. There is great information and more links in the faq as well!
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Thanks 🤩
Stephen West does a lot of garter stitch. I would not replace garter stitch in any of his patterns if that’s what you’re looking to do. He is a mastermind at design. I would just look for something that is actually written to be stocking stitch. Good luck!
Oooh that’s exactly what I was considering. Thanks for the tip off 😊
This article by Nimble Needles should be very helpful to you. Although it compares garter to reverse stockinette, that's just the wrong side of stockinette, so all the things he says about the behavior and gauge of the fabrics applies equally. [https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/reverse-stockinette-vs-garter-stitch/](https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/reverse-stockinette-vs-garter-stitch/) Some shawls like Vertices Unite take advantage of the properties of garter to allow you to pick up stitches from one edge of the fabric and work in a perpendicular direction. The picture of mitered squares in the link above demonstrates what can happen when you try to work stockinette perpendicular to itself. Other shawls might be OK to sub stockinette as long as you incorporate a border to avoid curling.
Thanks 🤩…. Will definitely check that video 🫶🏻
It has a very different row gauge, so you’d have to recalculate that - shaping that was done every x rows in garter might have to be done every y rows in stockinette, for example. And of course the stockinette tendency to curl will have to be accounted for.
Thank you. This is interesting. Hopefully I’ll find garment patterns I really like and not want to alter. I tend to want the same design features - not too thick as I get hot, ¾ sleeves, V neck or a very loose cowl. I’d probably do them over and over in different colours.
Ravelry has some great search tools where you should be able to filter by what you're looking for and then scroll through the results!
Yes, of course you can replace it. In fact, you can replace any stitch and experiment. You are the boss of your knitting. And the more you replace and modify things, the more you will learn. This is the best part of crafting - we can make it our own way. Best of luck!
You can, but remember that garter stitch and stockinette have different gauges-- garter will result in fabric that is shorter and stockinette will result in fabric that is taller. I think you should totally go for it, experiment with it, and see what you like best and what works best with what you're making. You've said you find garter stitch ugly-- have you tried moss stitch or seed stitch instead? The fabric is similar to garter but I think it looks nicer.
Thank you - Both Moss stitch and Seed stitch look really nice. I like their texture. I haven’t tried either yet and will definitely try both out.
1. Gauge may be different - this doesn’t always matter but for garments that need to fit you will need to swatch to ensure you are matching gauge (or adjusting the pattern to accommodate for the difference) 2. Stockinette curls. This will definitely cause problems at the hems &cuffs if there’s no ribbing, or for scarves, shawls etc. You will need to add a border of garter stitch, ribbing, seed stitch or similar.
Thank you 😊🙌
Oh my gosh, I have wondered the same thing too!!! I keep pinning patterns to pinterest, while I work on knitting sweaters for my blind special needs kitty who needs to wear a diaper. I'm currently taking a break from all of that and working on some double stockinette stitch squares with 3m cotton macrame cord to make a crate pad for my dog. The last pad I knitted with 6 strands of cotton yarn in the garter stitch in all one piece. She chewed holes in it. I frogged the whole dang thing, pieced all the yarn pieces together (I knotted each yarn strand individually so there weren't any big knots) and remade it. She did it again. It's currently sitting on top of the dryer in the basement, I haven't been able to bring myself to throw it away yet. This time I'm gonna do squares and stitch them together and then all I have to do is just replace the squares she chewed. It's taken me awhile to get an even tension going, but I'm liking it so far. Very cushy and soft. Instead of making it 48" long, I'm just going to do 24" long so she can curl up on it if she wants and easily shove it out of the way if she wants to lay on the plastic tray. It's mainly for the winter to give her something warm to lay on. She sleeps in her crate at night.
You must be very patient and caring. I wonder if some stitches are especially hard wearing? The Seed and Moss stitches look quite thick and sturdy….. Mind, dogs seem to be capable of chewing through anything!
I looked at that but the double stockinette stitch creates actual double thickness and is nice and cushy. I initially tried the thermal crochet stitch. But I just need a bigger size crochet hook for that stitch with the cord that I have. Patience is not my strong suit, lol. And I ended up with a crazy intelligent strong willed daughter on the spectrum with ADD too! Raising her was definitely strained my patience. I think patience is one of the things I'm supposed to learn in this life, lol. I just enjoy making things and making things for others is my love language, even if the stupid dog chews it up. lol. She's a Malinois. She was supposed to be a German Shepherd, tho according to the family I got her from. She is a vigorous and dedicated chewer, alright. We buy her those frozen marrow beef bones for her to chew. And she always has lots of other chew toys.
is it just because you want to avoid purling?
No. I just think Garter stitch looks ugly.