Entrelac

The word entrelac is French in origin, entrelacer – to interlace. This means

to cross one another, typically passing alternately over and under, as if woven together;
intertwine.

Entrelac is a form of modular knitting in which rectangles are knit and joined together to
create a basket weave pattern. Triangles border the rectangles – a foundation row of
triangles gets you started, and a triangle on each side to even out the fabric, and finally, a
row of triangles at the top bind off the knitting. And while it may sound complicated, it
really is very easy.

You will probably see other entrelac instructions that vary from what I have below.
Everyone has their own favorite way to knit entrelac. The purpose of this tutorial is to
give you a good idea of how entrelac works, so that you can follow any pattern you want
to knit, even if the instructions aren’t exactly the same.

I also want to take a minute to talk about slipping the first stitch on rows. In entrelac, you
will always need to pick up stitches. While you don’t have to slip stitches, it makes all
that picking up a lot easier. So how do you know when to slip the first stitch? The way I
remember it is this: Working on Right Side Rectangles, slip the first stitch of all right
sides – simply slip the first stitch as if to knit. If working on Wrong Side Rectangles, slip
the first stitch of all wrong sides – simply slip the first stitch as if to purl. That’s it, and it
will give you a nice clean edge to pick up on the return tier.

You can use any yarn you like for entrelac. You can use several different colors, or just
one. Yarns with long color repeats (Patons Lace, for example, or Plymouth Yarn Baby
Alpaca Grande Handy Dye) work well and look very impressive.

Let’s get started with our sample.

For our sample, let’s say we want four rectangles, each five stitches wide. Five is going
to be our “magic” number. From here on out, that is the number of stitches we will be
working with for each step until time to bind off.

4 rectangles x 5 stitches = 20, so we will cast on 20 stitches to get our foundation row of
triangles going.
FOUNDATION TRIANGLES:

Row 1: Purl 2, turn (WS)

Row 2: Knit 2, turn
Row 3: Purl 3, turn
Row 4: Knit 3, turn
Row 5: Purl 4, turn
Row 6: Knit 4, turn
Row 7: Purl 5, do not turn

Repeat from Row 1 until you have worked all four triangles. You will have something on
your needles that looks like it is very wrong – but it is very right! Don’t worry,
everything will even out. Now we are ready to move on to the next step. Turn the work.

RIGHT SIDE TRIANGLES:

Row 1: Knit 2, turn (RS)

Row 2: Purl 2, turn
Row 3: Knit into the front and back of the first stitch (KFB), then slip, slip,
knit (SSK) to join our right side triangle to the next triangle/rectangle on the
needle. Turn.
Row 4: Purl, turn
Row 5: KFB, knit one, SSK, turn
Row 6: Purl, turn
Row 7: KFB, knit two, SSK, do not turn

This completes our right side triangle. We are now ready to begin our right
side rectangles.

RIGHT SIDE RECTANGLES:

Row 1: Pick up and knit 5 stitches along the triangle/rectangle below, turn
(RS)
Row 2: Purl, turn
Row 3: Knit 4, SSK to join our right side rectangle to the triangle/rectangle
below, turn
Repeat Rows 2-3 until you have worked all of the stitches from the
triangle/rectangle below.

Do not turn the work after the last stitch from the triangle/rectangle below has been eaten
up. Continue from Row 1 until you have worked across the row and attached a rectangle
to the last triangle.

This completes our row of right side rectangles. We are now ready to make
our left side triangle.

LEFT SIDE TRIANGLES:

Row 1: Pick up and knit 5 stitches along the edge of the triangle/rectangle
below, turn (RS)
Row 2: Purl two together (P2tog), purl 3, turn
Row 3: Knit, turn
Row 4: P2tog, purl 2, turn
Row 5: Knit, turn
Row 6: P2tog, purl 1, turn
Row 7: Knit, turn
Row 8: P2tog, do not turn. You will have one stitch on your right needle.

This completes our left side triangle. We are now ready to begin our wrong
side rectangles.

WRONG SIDE RECTANGLES:

This is important! Up to now, each time we have picked up stitches, we have picked up 5
stitches, our “magic” number. The first set of stitches you pick up after completing the
left side triangle, will be one less than our “magic” number. Why? Because we already
have one stitch on our needle from that left side triangle.

Row 1: Pick up and purl 4 stitches, turn (WS) Including the one remaining
stitch from the triangle, you will have a total of 5 stitches
Row 2: Knit, turn
Row 3: Purl 4, P2tog to join our wrong side rectangle to the rectangle below,
turn
Repeat Rows 2-3 until all of the stitches from the rectangle below have been eaten up. Do
not turn the work after the last stitch from the rectangle below has been eaten up.
Continue from Row 1 until you have worked all of the rectangles and are at the end of the
row. Remember, you will need to pick up 5 stitches for the rest of the rectangles. Only
the for the first rectangle will you pick up 4.

When you are ready to finish things up, you will need to work a row of bind off triangles.
You need to work a row of right side rectangles and your left side triangle before binding
off. The bind off triangles are worked on the wrong side.

BIND OFF TRIANGLES:

A word on stitch count before we begin binding off. Up to now, we have been working
with 5 stitches. During the bind off, we will be working with one more stitch, for a total
of 6 stitches. This extra stitch helps keep the bind off process flowing smoothly.

Row 1: Pick up and purl 5 stitches along the left side triangle – counting the 1 stitch you
already have on your needle after completing the left side triangle, you will have a total
of 6 stitches. Turn (WS)
Row 2: Knit, turn.
Row 3: P2tog, purl 3, P2tog – this will join the first bind off triangle to the
rectangle below. Turn.
Row 4: Knit, turn
Row 5: P2tog, purl 2, P2tog, turn
Row 6: Knit, turn
Row 7: P2tog, purl 1, P2tog, turn
Row 8:Knit, turn
Row 9: P2tog twice. You will have two stitches on the right needle, and one
on the left needle from your rectangle at this point. Turn.
Row 10: Knit, turn
Row 11: P3tog

You have now completed the first bind off triangle. Continue from Row 1 until all
stitches have been bound off.

You have just done entrelac!

This sample is just a basic recipe for entrelac. You can substitute any number of stitches
you like for the 5 used in this sample to create your own entrelac project.
This was done in stockinette, but you can also do garter stitch or work in any other stitch
pattern. Garter stitch will give your rectangles a more square shape. One thing to
remember about garter stitch, is that when you pick up on the wrong sides, you will still
need to purl. Also, it is probably a good idea to use a split ring marker, safety pin or
something else to mark the front of the work to avoid confusion.

Entrelac can also be done in the round. It is not necessary to knit the side triangles in the
round. You can even do triangular entrelac – this is explained in the book:

Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting by Rosemary Drysdale

This is an excellent book if you are looking to expand beyond stockinette or
garter stitch entrelac.

There is an entrelac class on Craftsy by Gwen Bortner. She also has a book,
Entrée to Entrelac.