Saturday, June 30, 2012

How to Knit Entrelac: An Entrelac Tutorial

At long last, here is the tutorial on Entrelac!  Below you will find a printable guide, with which you can knit a small sample of entrelac fabric.  When you feel comfortable with entrelac, you can use the directions here to create your own project.  Just substitute the number of stitches in the sample for however many stitches you want to use.

There is also a video demonstrating the small sample you can knit with the entrelac guide.  The video is in two parts, each about half an hour long.  I show the sample knit from cast on to bind off - how to knit the base or foundation triangles, the right side triangles/rectangles, the left triangles and wrong side rectangles, and finally the bind off triangles.

This tutorial is for knitting entrelac flat.  I also have a tutorial for Seamless Entrelac / Entrelac in the Round HERE.



This tutorial is just bare bones entrelac; there are many creative ways to expand on the basic entrelac I show you here.  As I mention in the guide, there are a couple of books on Entrelac that I know of (the first one I have), and a Craftsy class on Entrelac.  Here are the links:


Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting


HERE is the class on Craftsy, taught by Gwen Bortner








And here are the two videos:



27 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this very informative tutorial. I appreciate your sharing this skill and I look forward to knitting my first entrelac creation. :)

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  2. I was intimidated by this technique until I found your blog and these instructions. I am now knitting my first entrelac project and it is going really well. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills!

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    1. I would love to see how your project is coming along! Feel free to hop over to my facebook page and share some pictures.

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  3. Thank you for this simple example of a scary technique. I'm a left handed knitter and could easily follow along. I'd been admiring a kit for a baby blanket that used this technique, but didn't like the company's reputation for complex and mistake riddled patterns. My mother-in-law was also interested in this technique and not internet savy. So your PDF is perfect for her. Thanks again.

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  4. Thank you for a great video tutorial and the print out. I do participate in the classes at Craftsy but was not sure if I wanted to pay for another class in knitting since I am a beginner. Your videos helped me decide that I am going to give the class a try and also your pattern. You do a great job of teaching...will you teach on Craftsy? I hope so. :-)

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  5. Great tutorial! I also loved the crow cawing in the background.. lovely.. I am starting a scarf so am excited that I found a tutorial that I understand! Thanks again!

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  6. I am "trying" to knit a baby blanket using this pattern and having a terrible time. The first triangle is perfect but when I do the second one it seems to be attached at the bottom to what I just knitted???? I obviously am doing something wrong and have torn this out 3 times. Why doesn't the second triangle look like the first? I tried making several more but they were all curled and didn't even resemble a triangle. Would really appreciate hearing from you. I looked at your video several times and doing exactly what you show but it is not working? I need help.

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    1. The triangles are going to curl and look funny until the first tier of rectangles and side triangles have been worked.

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  7. Do you have to do squares in multiples of 5?

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    1. Hi Jean
      No the squares don't have to be in 5's. You can make them any number of stitches you like.

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    2. Great, thanks! And thanks for the great videos. I'm a beginner and so I'm following along very carefully. (and slowly:-). )

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  8. Hello everyone, I'm doing an entrelac pattern panel and I want something decorative in two left
    squares or triangle. Suppose I want to knit a daisy stitch with ten stitches. It says CO 4 plus 2 (both edges), how can I come up with ten stitches to make a beautiful daisy pattern? Do I have to knit first row in RS then do the daisy? I'm not confused but trying to figure how I can do that. Comments and feedback are welcome here. Thx!

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    1. You can incorporate any stitch pattern in an entrelac rectangle. You just use the multiple for whatever your stitch calls for. If your stitch pattern starts on a wrong side, you can begin working it on the wrong side of your entrelac panel. If the stitch pattern starts on a right side, then start working it on the right side of the entrelac. That is the way I find it easiest, I am sure others have their own way.

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  9. Greetings from Delhi, India
    I always wanted to try this entrelac knitting technique but was scared thinking it to be "not my cup of tea" kind but your beautiful tutorial changed that today. I am looking forward to knitting my first entrelac scarf very soon.
    Thank you so much.

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  10. Great post..!!
    May I know what yarn u using ..? Thank u

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    1. It was just some small skeins that came with a magazine I bought.

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  11. Thanks for the tutorial and your videos. They are very helpful. I am looking for a pattern for fingerless gloves or fingerless mittens. Do you or some body else know where I can find this? To be made with quite thin yarn.

    Heidi in Norway.

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  12. Ravelry is probably the best place to look for a pattern, and you can filter the results by yarn weight.

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  13. I want to knit my first entrelac project. Your tutorials seem very clear so I will give it a try. I see that the cast on is a multiple of 10. I want to use a worsted weight yarn in my stash plus I don't want my scarf to be as wide. I saw another entrelac pattern using worsted, multiples of 8 (24 cast on). Would your pattern work if I cast on say 20 or 30 instead of 40? thanks.

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    1. Yes, you can make your rectangles any number of stitches you like.

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  14. What size needles are you using and is this a varigated yarn? thanks

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  16. Thank you for teaching me entrelac! I got some interesting lavender/teal variagated yarn at a local sale and wanted to show it off. I started with an 'easy' yarn and did the sample. It came out great. I had to pay close attention to the instructions. I ended up reformatting them and it made my project go more quickly. I also got confused by the term 'right side' which is used to mean both the 'outside' of the finished fabric(right vs wrong side) and the righthand side of the front of the fabric(righthand vs lefthand side of each 'row', or whatever you call working across all of the rectangles. Maybe the rectangles' 'rows' are 'sub-rows'?). After doing the sample and twice as much into my project I no longer need the pattern, but it was challenging to figure it out at first. The video is wonderful. I followed along, pausing to catch up as needed. I went from complete confusion to not needing the pattern in 2 sessions. I knit with the yarn in my right hand and I found picking up on the perl side easier than the knit side. I want to learn to hold the yarn the other way and/or go back and forth without turning the work. I'm left handed but my mother taught me to knit right handed. Over fifty years later, I still don't do it as smoothly as she did. Anyway, thanks again for a great lesson on an interesting technique.

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  17. Thank you for the tutorial and the videos. I am trying to find the pattern for Anabelles Wrap. I can't find it on Craftsy, or anywhere else. Are you still offering that particular pattern? I'd love to try my hand at it if you do.

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    1. I'm sorry, the pattern is no longer available.

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    2. OK, I might be able to figure something out on my own. I just loved the look of your yarn choice and the wrap is stunning. Thanks again for your tutorial, I found it very helpful.

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