Lice pattern

Lice are single stitches in a contrast colour, spread evenly over a background colour. It is the simplest colourwork pattern there is, and the best place to learn knitting with two strands.

What is lice pattern

A louse is one stitch in a different colour from the rest. Between the lice you knit the background colour. The lice sit at a fixed distance, both across and up, and form an even, dotted field.

The name is old and fairly blunt: the little dots are scattered across the knitting like lice. That is why a sweater in this pattern is called a lusekofte in Norwegian, and hats and mittens in the same pattern are called luselue and lusevotter.

Lice pattern can cover a whole garment, but is most often worked as a band: on the sleeve, across the body, between two borders, or as a transition between a dense pattern and a plain section.

How to knit lice pattern, step by step

You knit with two strands on the same round. We call the background colour B and the lice colour L. See holding the yarn if you haven't held two strands before.

1. Hold B in your right hand and L in your left. Or lay both over your left index finger, with B closest to the nail.
2. Knit with B until you reach a lice stitch in the chart.
3. Knit the lice stitch with L.
4. Drop L. It hangs at the back of the work.
5. Knit with B to the next lice stitch. L lies loosely across the back in the meantime.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 to the end of the round.
7. On rounds without lice, knit with B only. Leave L resting at the start of the round.
8. When you need L again, twist it once around B at the start of the round. That keeps it close to the knitting instead of in a loose loop.

Hold the strands the same way through the whole band. If you switch hands partway, the lice change size.

Floats and tension

The strand resting at the back of the work is called a float. It runs from one louse to the next. The float has to be as long as the stitches it sits behind. If it is shorter, it pulls the knitting in.

1. Before you knit a lice stitch, spread the stitches on the right needle out a little. They should lie at their full width.
2. Knit the lice stitch without pulling on L.
3. Check the wrong side after the first 10 cm. The floats should lie flat against the knitting, not tight like a guitar string.

How long can the floats be

With 3 or 4 stitches between the lice, the floats are short and you don't need to do anything with them. With more than 5 stitches between, catch the float halfway along:

1. Lay L over B at the back of the work.
2. Knit the next stitch with B. L is trapped behind the stitch.
3. Carry on as before.

Don't catch in the same place on two rounds in a row. L may show through on the right side if you do.

Why lice pattern pulls in less

In a dense colourwork pattern you change colour all the time, and both strands run behind almost every stitch. In lice pattern almost all the stitches are B. The knitting therefore behaves almost like plain stockinette, and the gauge barely changes. Only L has long floats, and that's the one to watch. Still, knit your swatch in the pattern. See gauge swatch.

How to read a lice chart

								4
								3
								2
								1
8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

1. One square is one stitch. One row is one round.
2. Dark square is L. Light square is B.
3. Start at the bottom right. That's round 1, stitch 1.
4. Read the round from right to left.
5. The chart shows one repeat, or a few. Repeat it all the way around.
6. When you have knitted the top row, start again at row 1.

In the chart above, knit round 1 like this: 1 L, 3 B, repeat. Round 2: B only. Round 3: 2 B, 1 L, 1 B, repeat. Round 4: B only. The louse on round 3 lands halfway between the two lice below. There's more on charts and repeats under reading patterns and charts.

Lice pattern variations

Staggered lice

The most common version. Each lice round is shifted half a repeat to the side, as in the chart above. The lice sit on the diagonal from each other, and the field looks even from every angle.

Lice in a straight line

								4
								3
								2
								1
8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

The lice sit directly above each other. The pattern looks more graphic and forms clear vertical rows of dots. Count extra carefully, because a louse that lands one stitch off really shows.

3, 4 or 5 stitches between

The spacing decides how dense the field is:

• 3 stitches between (repeat of 4): dense and clear. Good for hats, mittens and narrow bands.
• 4 stitches between (repeat of 5): a little airier. Works with stitch counts divisible by 5.
• 5 stitches between (repeat of 6): sparse. The floats are still short enough to lie flat without catching.

												4
												3
												2
												1
12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Vertically, 1 or 3 rounds of B between each lice round is most common.

Double lice

Some patterns call it double lice when two L stitches sit together. They can sit side by side on the same round, or directly above each other on two rounds. The lice get bigger and show from further away. The chart in the pattern shows which version is meant.

Lice when the stitch count doesn't divide evenly

In the round, the rounds form a spiral. If the stitch count doesn't divide evenly into the repeat, the pattern shifts by itself on every round. You can use that on purpose:

1. Choose a stitch count that leaves 2 stitches over when you divide by 4. For example 58 or 62.
2. Knit *1 L, 3 B* all the way round. The round ends with 1 L, 1 B.
3. Carry straight on into the next round, without restarting the repeat at the marker: 2 B, then *1 L, 3 B*.
4. The lice on the new round land halfway between the lice below. It carries on like that every round.

You get staggered lice without counting from a chart. The same thing happens with “1 L, 1 B” over an odd number of stitches, but then the lice sit so close that the field turns into a check. The sleeves of Gingerbread use the same trick, with lice over an odd number of stitches. Try it on a swatch first, so you can see whether the shift turns out the way you want.

At the marker the transition is slightly skewed, because the rounds spiral. Put it under the sleeve or at the side, where it won't show.

Lice pattern knitted flat

When you knit flat, read right-side rows from right to left and wrong-side rows from left to right. The floats must always lie on the wrong side of the garment. On wrong-side rows, that is the side facing you.

A simple trick: put all the lice rounds on right-side rows. Then you knit the wrong-side rows in B only. In the chart above the lice are on rounds 1 and 3, which both become right-side rows.

Common mistakes

• The lice are small and sink in. L is pulled too tight. Spread the stitches out before each louse.
• The lice stick out or look uneven. L is too loose, or you're holding the strands differently from round to round. Pick one hand per colour. Small irregularities even out when the garment is blocked. See blocking.
• Tight wrong side, and the field pulls in. The floats are too short. Turn the work inside out and knit with the wrong side facing out, so the floats sit on the outside and become long enough by themselves. Or go up one needle size for the lice band.
• The colours seem to swap places. The colour that travels furthest around the needle comes out slightly bigger. That's often the strand in your left hand, or the lower strand on your finger. If you swap which strand lies where, the colours swap strength too. Keep L in the same place all the way.
• A louse ends up in the wrong place. Place a stitch marker for every repeat. Then you only count to 4 or 6 at a time. A single louse in the wrong colour can be covered with duplicate stitch afterwards.
• Loops at the start of the round. L has rested without being twisted. Twist it around B every time you start a new round.

Yarn and colours

The lice are small, so contrast has to do the work. Lightness matters more than colour. Light pink on light green disappears, even though the colours are different. Dark brown on caramel shows up clearly.

1. Put the two balls next to each other.
2. Take a black-and-white photo with your phone.
3. If they look almost the same grey, the lice will be faint. Choose a lighter or darker L.

Use two yarns of the same weight. Smooth wool gives crisp, round lice. Brushed yarn like mohair and Fluff gives lice with a soft edge, where the colour bleeds a little into the background. Both are lovely, but they give two completely different looks. Wool with a bit of grip holds the floats in place, so they sit more neatly on the wrong side.

Weave in the ends on the wrong side at the very end. See weaving in ends invisibly.