How to Crochet the Solomon's Knot Stitch

Want to learn to crochet the Solomon's Knot? Good! It's a really interesting stitch which, as your work grows, produces a very pretty, lacy - and quite stretchy! - fabric:

Sample rows of Solomon's Knot Stitch

We'll start with the basic stitch. Then we'll move on to working rows. After that, I'll tell you a few things I've learned about this most mysterious of stitches ;)

If you're using UK terminology, sc = UK dc

Working the Solomon's Knot Stitch

I'm going to work a short length of Solomon's Knots for our foundation row.

Many patterns will tell you to start by chaining 2, then working a sc into the 2nd chain from hook.

But I am going to begin with 1 chain, then I'll start my knots.

Some patterns also ask you to work two different lengths of knot.

All my knots are the same length :)

The loop I pull up for my knot is not very long, about half an inch, which is just over a centimetre (1.27 cm to be precise!) - but you can pull up longer loops if you like, whatever you feel comfortable with.

This is a stitch that seems complicated, but isn't; a little practice, and you'll be knotting like crazy! And this stitch does work up fast, which is always a very big plus.

See how I crochet the basic Solomon's Knot stitch:

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Ready to begin? Let's go!

Start with a slipknot; ch 1.

Now for our first knot.

Hold your slipknot and 1st chain firmly.

Pull up a loop with your hook as if you're going to make a long chain.

As I pull up that long loop, I also catch the yarn around my hook to pull through the loop in just a moment:

Long chain, pulling yarn round hook

Pull yarn through long loop. You've just made a long chain stitch! 

Now check out where we'll make the next stitch:

Back loop of chain stitch arrowed

Work 1 sc into that loop; it's the "back loop" of your long chain stitch.

Then make another long chain stitch, and work 1 sc into the back loop again.

We've worked two Solomon's Knots:

Two knots worked

Work another 6 Solomon's Knots:

8 knots worked

Ok, we have 8 knots. And now we're ready to work a row :)

Working Rows of Solomon's Knots

Turn your work. You'll have two loops at the top between the sc stitchs and one loop at the bottom.

Count to the 5th sc from hook. The 1st loop is just by the hook, the 5th is next to my fingers:

My fingers show where to work the next sc

Work a sc into that sc:

sc worked into sc

Work 2 Solomon's Knots:

Next 2 knots done

Skip next sc, sc into next sc:

sc made after skipping next sc

Work 2 Solomon's Knots, skip next sc, join with a sc into 1st ch you made at the very beginning:

sc made into beginning chain stitch

Work 3 Solomon's Knots:

3 knots worked for the turn

Turn:

The piece is turned

Skip 1st sc on row (your joining sc); skip 1st long chain loop and sc into what I call the "top middle"  sc, which I have stitch marked:

Stitch marker shows where to work next

Here's the completed stitch:

sc into sc, having skipped 1st sc of row

Work 2 Solomon's Knots, skip next two chain loops, sc into next "top middle" sc:

Next 2 knots, skipping next sc, sc into next sc

Work 2 more Solomon's Knots, skip next 2 chain loops, join with a sc into last sc of row:

And the last 2 knots worked and joined

Work 3 Solomon's Knots and turn:

3 knots crocheted, and ready fo the next turn

Skip 1st sc on row, skip 2 long loops, sc into "top middle" sc; (work 2 Solomon's Knots, sc into next  "top middle" sc) twice:

The next row done

Then keep going! Work 3 Solomon's Knots for your turns and 2 as you work along the row.

Three patterns on the site that use Solomon's knots:

Solomon's Flower:

white flower

Solomon's Square:

pink square

Solomon's Scarf:

white lacy scarf

Solomon's Knots FAQ!

I don't know about you, but quite a lot of questions came into my mind as I began to work on my knots. So here are my FAQs - answered!

How long should each stitch be?

This depends on the pattern. Some patterns will give you an exact length of the "long chain" to pull up; in other patterns, it's up to you.

In many patterns I've seen, you have to work stitches of two different lengths, as I mentioned above. I've tried to avoid that in the designs I've created.

How do you work the sc into the sc?

An excellent question! I noticed that you could work your sc into the sc by

  • going under two loops of the sc...
  • ... or by working right into the middle of the sc

Then I read an excellent series of articles by Vashti Braha about working Solomon's Knots - which she calls Love Knots.

In her second article, she talked about working under three loops instead of two.

You can work under two loops of the sc as normal:

Hook under 2 loops

Or you can work under three loops - the top two loops and the loop at the back:

Hook under 3 loops

Apparently, this is a more secure way of working the knot - especially if the item has to be washed a lot or will get a lot of use.

I think that for now, you can work your single crochets just as you wish, and once you've got used to the stitch, you can start to think about these little tweaks.

Is there a good edging for a piece made with Solomon's Knots?

Hmmm... you know, once you've made up a sample piece with this stitch, you'll soon see how stretchy it is! You can pull it one way and another, and it will move very freely.

I've tried putting edges around a square made with Solomon's Knots. The stitches in the middle of the square didn't like that very much; almost any edging will be firmer and tighter than the stitches it encloses. The edging ends up being a hard frame around a rather soggy middle!

Now, some items I have seen do have edgings, so it's not impossible. And you can check out my pattern for a Solomon's Knot Scarf which has a simple edging at the beginning and end.

But generally speaking, don't expect to work some knots and whizz around the edge with some shells etc, as you might be disappointed.

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