I, along with many other knitters, have a love-hate relationship with Linen Stitch.

On one hand, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I can’t help but stop scrolling whenever I see a good Linen swatch on my Pinterest or Instagram feeds. On the other hand, it’s not very practical for real-life knitting. Check out the pros and cons below.

Pros of Linen Stitch:

• It lays perfectly flat
• The wrong side is also beautifully textured
• It’s stretchy horizontally
• It softens color transitions on striped yarn

Cons of Linen Stitch:

• This stitch knits tight. Use needles 1-2 sizes larger than recommended.
• Knits up very slowly due to all the slipped stitches
• The bind off edge can get a bit loose. Switch to smaller needles for the final Bind Off row

What you’ll need:

• Yarn of your choice
• Knitting needles 2 sizes larger than recommended

Abbreviations:

• k: knit
• p: purl
• sl1wyif: slip 1 stitch (purlwise) with yarn in front
• sl1wyib: slip 1 stitch (purlwise) with yarn in back

Instructions for knitting Linen Stitch:

Knitting Flat:

Cast on an even number of stitches
Row 1 (rs): *k1, sl1wyif, repeat from * to end of row
Row 2 (ws): *p1, sl1wyib, repeat from * to end of row
Repeat rows 1-2 until desired length is reached.

In the Round:

Cast on an odd number of stitches and join into a round, taking care not to twist.
Round 1: *k1, sl1wyif, repeat from * to last stitch, k1
Round 2: *sl1wyif, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, sl1wyif
Repeat rounds 1-2 until desired length is reached.

Chart: