Vine Lace
diagonal lines of eyelets that climb like a trailing vine, an open, leafy lace
Vine lace pairs yarn overs with leaning decreases so the eyelets travel on a diagonal and read like the trailing stems of a climbing vine. In each repeat a yarn over adds a hole while a knit-two-together or slip-slip-knit removes a stitch and tilts the fabric in one direction, so the line of holes marches up and across rather than straight, and mirroring the lean makes leaf-like or zigzag versions. Because the increases and decreases balance on every patterned row, the stitch count stays constant, and often the wrong-side rows are plain purl, which makes vine lace one of the more approachable all-over laces. It gives a light, airy, drapey fabric that opens up beautifully when blocked, so it is a favourite for shawls, summer tops, and scarves. Use a lifeline and a chart while you learn it, since a misplaced yarn over or decrease throws the diagonal off. It uses less yarn than a solid fabric of the same size because of the openwork.