Around The World Entrelac

“Around the world”, or entrelac in the round, is exactly what it sounds like. You start with one or more squares in the centre and makes rounds that increase by four (if you are working in a square or rectangle) until you feel like you’re done, or you just can’t take it anymore 🙂

For this photo tutorial, I am making a square so I am starting with one small entrelac square in the centre. I will add four corners in round two, and then on round three and subsequent rounds, I will continue to add four corners, but also work on the sides as they get larger.

Tutorial supplies:

Worsted weight yarn in three colours

8.0mm hook

You can use any hook and any yarn. I am using three colours because I am showing the first three rounds. All rounds after that are done just like the third round. I will be making a six stitch/six row square using TSS. You can make your squares any size and use any stitch you want. I have TSS tutorials here.

I’m trying something new with my photo editor, and flipping the photos to show work from the right (I am left handed). If this works for you, let me know and I will keep doing it.

 

 

Round One (Centre):

Chain six, and work back and forth in rows of TSS to create a six stitch square.

Bind off row: chain one (mark this if you like) and work a slip stitch bind off across. Cut yarn. Why did I chain one? Because when you bind off, you end up with one slip stitch less than your original number. I need to be able to work into this side of the square so I need six stitches for that, not five. I suggest marking the chain one, simply because it can shrink and get a little tight. This is the only time in a bind off that you need to chain one.

 

 

 

 

Round Two (Four Corners):

First corner:

Using your new colour, attach in the chain one corner and chain six. Draw up loops in this chain and draw up an extra loop in the corner where you joined – this connects the first row of your corner square to the centre square. 7 loops on the hook. Instead of working a standard return pass, yarn over and pull through two loops across. This way you reduce your number back to six stitches and not seven.

Work a second row of TSS, picking up a seventh stitch in the next stitch of your central square. Work off as before. Continue like this until you have six rows completed. Work the slip stitch bind off and and join in the same stitch as the sixth row.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second corner:

Chain six as before, and pivot to next side edge of central square.

Pick up six loops o
n the hook and join in the same stitch in which you just bound off the previous square. Repeat as before, building a six row square that is joined to the central square. Bind off as before. Repeat this for the remaining two squares. Cut the second colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round Three (and all further rounds)

Attach yarn to a corner stitch and work a corner square on the corner square. In this row and all subsequent rows, you will work a corner square on the corner square from the previous round and then you will work other squares in the “valleys” between corners.

After binding off the new corner square, pick up six stitches in the “valley” formed between the two gold squares. Pick up a seventh stitch in the side edge of the next gold square. Work a return pass as established: yarn over, pull through two across. Make a six stitch/six row square in this valley. Because this is Round Three, your next square will be a corner square.

If you were to continue this, and go a fourth round, you would start with a corner square, make two squares in the valleys formed by the squares in the third round, and then make another corner, followed by two more side squares and so on until the round was complete. Each round increases by four.

 

Continue working corners on corners and sides squares in the valleys between corners. It’s fast, easy, and works up quickly.