Is there a video to show me how to do horizontal lace?
I did three rows of purl
then K2, yo ssk but when I ssk I do not make a hole (lace)???
What might I be doing wrong, what to do differently?
Horizontal lace
The yo is just a wrap around the needle, so bring the yarn around it to the back, slip the next 2 sts and knit them together making sure you don’t knit the YO in with them. It just looks like a loop on the needle at that point, and won’t show as a hole until you work it on the next row. Do a few rows then see how it looks.
Why do you call it ‘horizontal’ lace? Lace doesn’t have a direction like horizontal or vertical.
The pattern stitch is called [I][B]Horizontal Lace[/B][/I]. RI (WS) purl across; Row 2 and 3: Purl across Row 4: K2, *yo, ssk, rep from * to last st, end k1. Rep rows 1-4 for pat.
I think I was bringing the YO to the front but not moving it again to the back. I will try this, thanks. How do you knit the 2 slips together when you are just slipping them to the right needle? Is that something you do in the next row? I was slipping two and then knitting the next stitch. ??? confused.
If you look under the Glossary tab at the top of the page under ssk there’s a video that shows you how to do this step. Slipping 2 and then knitting the next isn’t a ssk.
The pattern stitch is called [I][B]Horizontal Lace[/B][/I].
Okay, that makes sense…
The ssk is a dec which should be explained in your pattern as slipping 2 sts separately and knitting them together. Slipping them and knitting the next st is going to throw off the pattern completely. With the 2 sts on the R needle, insert the L needle into the front of them, and wrap the yarn around the R needle (which is behind) and knit them together that way.
Thank you for your help. The video taught me how to do the ssk.
But on my pattern I have to do YO first and then ssk. So my yarn is in front and then I loop it around and OVER the two joined stitches now on the R needle and it is a bear to get that to knit.
Next question. Is that correct AND on the next row I am to purl across, do I pick up the two stitches as if they are one stitch now to make the “hole” in the lacework AND does that not now make my pattern have way fewer stitches than the 59 I am supposed to be working on???
Thank you if you are able to answer this part of my query.
Thank you for your help. On my pattern I must do a YO first and then the ssk. So the yarn is in front and I have to loop it over front to back and around to knit the two stitches together. It seems hard to manuver. But I did it. Is this correct? And then see my question to the other helpful knitter about next row purling across. Which stitches do I purl? The two together as one or each separately?
Seems if I do the latter I end up with not enough stitches in the patten…???
No the yarn won’t be in front. K2 and the yarn is in back, wrap the yarn around the needle for the yo just like when you knit a stitch, and the yarn is in back. Then slip the 2 sts to the R needle, put the L needle into both of them in front of the R needle and wrap the yarn around the R needle to knit them together. You might have to put a finger on the yo loop to keep it away from the 2 slip sts.
Doing the ssk makes 2 sts into 1, so on the next row there’s only 1 st, plus a loop from the yo. Purl both of those, but not 2 sts where the dec was. That happened on the last row and made just one stitch so you can forget about whether you had 2 there, it’s just one st now.
The YO adds the stitch that you lost by doing the decrease. That’s what lace is - the incs match the decs so you end up with the same number of stitches. At least in beginner lace. There’s some patterns that have different numbers on different rows, or uses the YOs as incs for triangular shawls, but that’s beyond where you are now.
“But on my pattern I have to do YO first and then ssk. So my yarn is in front and then I loop it around and OVER the two joined stitches now on the R needle and it is a bear to get that to knit.
Next question. Is that correct AND on the next row I am to purl across, do I pick up the two stitches as if they are one stitch now to make the “hole” in the lacework AND does that not now make my pattern have way fewer stitches than the 59 I am supposed to be working on???”
It won’t be so difficult to knit the 2 sts together if you do the yo loosely. You can hold the yo in place with you right index finger while you do the knit to together part of the ssk.
On the next row, purl the ssk stitch, which is now going to look like one st over the needle not two. Purl the yo. You’ve increased one st by doing the yo and you’ve decreased one st by kntting 2 tog so there won’t be an increase or decrease here.
Thank you again for your help. I followed the video directions more carefully a third time around plus your helpful written advice and finally got it right. Now I get to decide to leave it with one row of 15 lacy holes then 19 lacy holes and finally the desired 28 lacy holes in the third row or rip it all out again and start over!!! LOL
I have never ripped as much as I have in learning this. (It’s on the back do you really think my 7 yr old grand daughter will notice? I should get the front right now!!! 
Your seven-year-old granddaughter will never notice the difference in the lace pattern, no one will. She’ll love the gift and the fact that it was made by you. As long as you have the correct number of sts now, you should be good for the remainder of the pattern. Enjoy!
Oh wow I was just getting ready to rip out and start over.
Maybe it’s not so bad after all. The last two rows of lace should be fine. And the front I can do perfecto now. (I hope) LOL If not I’ll refer back to this thread to remind myself what I did then. There are only four rows of the lacy pattern at the bottom. Then I have to do something like it again later to knit hearts across the front and back.
Again a million thanks for your help!!!
Hi Imc, just a reassurance post, Im new to knitting and recently did a scarf with the yo, ssk too, I too had to unknit and rip a few times to get my head and fingers around it but it was a great learning curve and in no time I was working them like someone who knew what they were doing. I was so worried the scarf would look awful, but at the end of the day I was really chuffed with how it turned out, a pretty project I would be happy to wear in public. You’ll be knitting that stitch without even thinking about it in no time.