Rowan Knitted with Love Knit Along - Release Eight - Downloadable PDF

Rowan Knitted with Love Knit Along – Release Eight: Bead & Lace Heart Square by Martin Storey

Release Eight of the Rowan Knitted with Love Knit Along is a downloadable PDF pattern designed by Martin Storey. This instalment introduces the Bead & Lace Heart Square, a decorative knitted square that forms one component of a larger ongoing knit-along project. The finished squares are used to construct a range of projects including blankets, throws, and cushions, making this release both a standalone technique study and a meaningful contribution to a growing heirloom-quality piece.

What Is Being Made

The Bead & Lace Heart Square is a single knitted square featuring an ornate heart motif rendered in a combination of lace knitting and bead embellishment. Depending on which finished project you are working towards, multiple squares of this design may be required:

• Large Blanket: 4 squares in Island Blend colourway A Lemon 908
• Medium Blanket: 3 squares in A Lemon 908
• Cushion 1: 1 square in A Lemon 908
• Cushion 2: 1 square each in A Marine 905 and A Empire 906
• Cushion 3: 1 square in A Empire 906
• Cushion 5: 1 square in A Marine 905 and 1 square in A Lemon 908
• Cushions 4 and 6: This square does not apply to these cushion designs

The variety of colourways — Lemon 908, Marine 905, and Empire 906 — allows the same square pattern to take on very different characters depending on the finished project, giving knitters flexibility while maintaining a cohesive aesthetic across the full knit-along collection.

Techniques Used

This square is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it suitable for knitters who are comfortable with basic knitting but ready to expand their skills into more decorative territory. The two headline techniques are lace knitting and bead knitting, both of which are used together to create the heart motif at the centre of the square.

Lace Knitting

Lace knitting involves a series of deliberate yarn-overs paired with decreases to create an open, airy fabric with decorative holes. In this square, lace stitches are used to outline and fill the heart shape, giving it an elegant, delicate appearance. Lace knitting requires careful attention to stitch counts across each row, as yarn-overs add stitches that must be compensated for by corresponding decreases. Knitters new to lace are advised to use stitch markers and to check their stitch count regularly.

Bead Knitting

The bead embellishment adds a tactile, sparkling dimension to the heart motif. Beads are pre-strung onto the working yarn before knitting begins, using a specific threading technique described in the pattern. A sewing needle that fits through the bead holes is threaded with a length of sewing thread, which is then knotted into a loop. The working yarn is placed through this loop, and beads are slid from the sewing needle over the thread and onto the working yarn. This process is repeated until the required number of beads has been loaded onto the yarn. Beads are then placed into the knitted fabric at specified points in the pattern, typically by pushing a bead up close to the needle and working the next stitch to secure it in place. This technique, sometimes called pre-strung bead knitting, requires planning ahead, as beads must be loaded in reverse order of use.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch – the foundational stitch forming the body of the square
• Purl stitch – used to create texture and contrast within the design
• Yarn-over (YO) – creates the decor