Crochet A to Z: Love Knot

I’m doing the A to Z Challenge for the month of April with the theme “Learn to Crochet A to Z.” For more details, and to see previous posts, click here! 

Happy Good Friday… it’s hard to believe it’s almost Easter. Seems to have snuck up on me this year!

Today I’m excited to introduce a super cool, unusual stitch to you. It has several different names, such as the Love Knot, Solomon’s Knot, Knot Stitch, or Lover’s Knot, but Love Knot seems to be the most common (and it fits with the alphabet challenge). Here’s what it looks like:

There are many different ways you can incorporate the Love Knot into your projects – the above example is just four rows of it. I learned this stitch maybe a year into my crochet journey, and I was so excited because it works up really quickly – look at all the holes and laciness! It isn’t very durable, so it’s best for stuff like shawls or scarves that won’t get manhandled a lot. It’s the perfect stitch for spring and summertime.

You can also use it in stitch patterns like this. I dubbed this one the “Lacy Love Knot” stitch pattern, rather originally, and you can find the directions here if you’re so inclined. It’s a surprisingly versatile stitch, and it’s really easy to make.

The love knot is just a chain and single crochet – that’s it! I’m going to show you how to make a small sample like in the first picture. To do that, we’re going to make a foundation row of love knots and work back across.

Start with a slipknot on your hook and make one normal chain, just for a foundation. You can see the chain in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture above. Now we’re going to make a series of love knots – make an odd number of them for this love knot mesh to work out.

To make a love knot, pull up the loop on your hook until it’s longer than usual. The length will vary depending on what pattern you’re using, usually from a half inch all the way up to two inches. I like the half inch or 3/4 inch the best…try a half inch to start. You can see how that looks in the photo above.

Then, yarn over and pull through loosely so you don’t tighten that chain. You just made a super elongated chain stitch. Now, we’re going to make a single crochet into that space – see the pink strand of yarn in the chain? In other words, we’re going into the back bump of the chain, if you’re well versed in crochet terminology.

Just insert your hook, pull up a loop, and complete the single crochet as usual.

Here’s what that would look like when you’re done.

You’ll need an odd number of love knots to make this mesh work out. Count them by the single crochets.

At the end of the first row (if you can even call it a row), turn the work so you can go back across.

You’ll be skipping the first three love knots and working into the fourth one, where I’ve inserted the yarn needle. Make a single crochet into that stitch.

After that, make 2 love knots, skip the next love knot, and single crochet in the one after that. Repeat across. This forms the mesh pattern.

Here it is at the end of the second row (or first row, if you don’t count the foundation chain). We ended with a single crochet. Next you’ll be making 3 love knots and turning the work, just like you did at the end of the previous row.

For each subsequent row, just do the three love knots, turn, and single crochet in the first love knot. Then do two love knots, skip one, and single crochet in the one after that. You only have to remember this one row and just repeat it. You should end up with a mesh sort of like the one in the picture above.

If you want to get a straighter edge on the top, for the last row you can try this: make 2 love knots and turn, then single crochet in the first one. Then, all the way across, just make one love knot, skip the next, and single crochet in the one after that. This will form a straight line across the top. You might want to make the love knots a little longer, though – try pulling up a 3/4″ loop instead of a half-inch one, just so the edge doesn’t pull in. Feel free to experiment; this is just a suggestion for a starting point.

It’s a very basic pattern, but gives a lovely result, I think – and is perfect for showing off variegated yarns like this one! Love knots are also great for using fancy yarns, as long as they’re not too slippery, because then the single crochets will slide around a little bit. I’ve seen some fantastic shawls and the like done with textured yarns, because the love knot shows off the texture perfectly. It also doesn’t use a ton of yarn, so might be a good way to go to get the most out of your skein.

When you’ve mastered the love knot, there are lots of beautiful patterns out there for you to try! Check out this lovely Knot Stitch Shawl from Crochet Spot. I’ve been wanting to make this for years, and I think I might have the perfect yarn to try it out. Crochet Spot also has a great pattern for a Knot Stitch Capelet that I also love.

Have you tried the love knot before? What do you think of it?