The Royal Lamp stitch is an intricate lace design featuring tall, elegant openings that resemble lanterns or lamps lined up in a row. It’s built over a 23-stitch repeat and worked with sets of five yarn overs that are later twisted together, forming elongated, graceful eyelets framed by textured stitches. The result is a striking vertical lace pattern with refined symmetry and gentle movement.

This stitch adds sophistication to lightweight cardigans, shawls, and summer tops. Its play of light and shadow shows best in smooth yarns — think mercerized cotton or silk blends — where the openwork can truly glow like tiny lamps in fabric form.

Chart:

According to chart, cast on 23 stitches for each pattern repeat. When working back and forth in rows, add 6 extra stitches (including 2 edge stitches, 2 stitches before arrow a, and 2 after arrow b, as shown on the chart). Knit the cast-on stitches in purl, then continue following the chart.

After completing the 26th row, shift the pattern as shown for rows 27 and 28 — that is, start at point c. On the right-side rows, after the edge stitch, work 2 purl stitches and end the row symmetrically. On the wrong-side rows, knit those 2 edge stitches. After the 52nd row, start the pattern again from the beginning.

Figures 8a and 8b show how to work the five yarn overs — slip the yarn over with the tip of the right needle (fig. 8a) so that you can later knit it more easily as a twisted knit stitch (fig. 8b).

When working in the round, only work the stitches between arrows a and b. On the 2nd round and every even-numbered round after that, reverse all the symbols from the chart — knit the purl stitches, purl the knit stitches, and work the twisted and decreased stitches in the opposite way. For example, on the 2nd round, after the yarn over, knit 2 together through the back loop, purl 3, knit 2 twisted, purl 3, and so on.

After 52 rounds, repeat the pattern from the beginning.

Chart Legend:

• Solid Black Square = (1 knit stitch)
• Empty White Square = (1 purl stitch)
• Circle = (1 yarn over)
• Solid Black Diamond = (1 twisted knit stitch)
• Empty White Diamond = (1 twisted purl stitch)
• Black Triangle pointing Right = (K2tog – knit 2 stitches together)
• Black Triangle pointing Left = (P2tog – purl 2 stitches together)
• Black Triangle pointing Down = (K3tog – knit 3 stitches together)
• Black Diamond with lines through it = (K2tog twisted – knit 2 twisted stitches together)
• White Diamond with lines through it = (P2tog twisted – purl 2 twisted stitches together)
• Triangle pointing Up (S-shape inside) = (SSK – slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over)
• Triangle with vertical line on left side = (Slip 1, Purl 1, Pass Slipped Stitch Over – a left-leaning purl decrease)
• Tall Triangle = (Centered Double Decrease – slip 2 as if to knit, knit 1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over)
• Box with Circle, Square, and x3 = (Knit the group of stitches as many times as prescribed by the number, here 3 times)