Eight-point star knitting chart

About this design

The eight-pointed star, often called the Selbu rose after the Norwegian village famous for its mittens, is one of the most recognisable colourwork motifs. Each star here is 17 rows tall, in Y01 Snow on Y35 Navy, with four long arms and four diagonal arms around a small open centre. The stars are symmetrical top to bottom and side to side, so once you have knitted the first half you work back through the same rows in reverse.

Knitting the chart

The motif repeats every 24 stitches, and the chart shows 2 repeats across 48 stitches. Every patterned row uses two colours. The longest float is 23 stitches, so catch long floats behind the work every three to five stitches. The tips of the stars have long floats of navy behind white and white behind navy; catch them every three to five stitches.

Sizing and uses

At 20 stitches and 28 rows per 10 cm, the 48-stitch chart is 24 cm wide and the 17 rows are about 6.1 cm tall. Any stitch count that is a multiple of 24 works, so 48 stitches make a pair of stars for a mitten back, 96 an adult hat with four stars, and 144 or more a yoke.

Colour plan

Navy does the most work, 69% of the 816 stitches, followed by Snow at 31%. Every colour is used at least 252 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. Every square of the grid is filled.

Working notes

The longest float is 23 stitches, and 17 rows have a float longer than 5 that should be caught on the wrong side. Every row uses at most two colours, so it can all be worked as stranded colourwork.