You will need two skeins/balls of a smooth worsted weight yarn, one each of two stringly contrasting colors, and a pair of US size 8 or 9 (5-5.5 mm) needles. The darker of the two colors will be your "black" yarn and will be used to work the "black" rows on the chart; the lighter color will be your "white" yarn and will be used to work the "white" rows on the chart. (If your two colors are close to each other in value, arbitrarily pick one to be "black" and one to be "white.")

TO EXPLORE MOSAIC KNITTING: Cast on 25 sts with your "white" yarn and knit one or two rows. Using the Simulated Basketweave chart:

1. Work two repeats of the chart in garter stitch. That is, knit every right and wrong side row, remembering to always slip stitches with the yarn held to the back.

2. Work two repeats of the chart in stockinette stitch. That is, knit every right-side row and purl every wrong-side row, remembering to always slip stitches with yarn held to the back.

3. Work another two repeats, this time working all "black" rows in garter stitch and all "white" rows in stockinette stitch. As a further extension of the particular treatment, you might want to try working just the solitary "white" stitches in Rows 3, 4, 11, and 12 in garter stitch and the rest of the "white" stitches in stockeinette stitch.

4. Now, knit two rows in "black." repeat steps 1-3 above, reversing the positions of the colors. That is, switch the designation of your colors, working the black squares with the yarn you previously called "white" and the white squares with the color you previously called "black."

5. Optional: Rotate chart 90 degrees so that the rows become the stitches, and the stitches become the rows. Pick your favorite treatment (garter stitch, stockinette stitch, or a combination of the two) and work two repeats, continuing to to use the colors in reverse position, as designated in step 4. In a pattern such as he Simulated Basketweave, the effect is very subtle; with other patterns, though, you may find a whole different look when the rotated chart as followed.

6. Using "white", knit two more rows. Bind off.

Try doing this exercise with another mosaic pattern stitch of your choice.

TO USE IN A PROJECT: Work a sample swatch to the length specified in the project you've selected from "A Trio of Easy Mosaic Knitting Projects". This swatch will be done in a single treatment, as suggested below:

1. Bag -- work in garter stitch or stockinette stitch, or if this is not your first foray into mosaic knitting, a combination of garter and stockinette stitches as described in step 3 of "To Explore Mosaic Knitting."

2. Hat -- work in garter stitch so to have a maximum amount of stretch in the cuff.

3. Pillow -- work in garter stitch or if this is not your first foray into mosaic knitting, a combination of garter and stockinette stitches as described in step 3 of "To Explore Mosaic Knitting." (Stockinette stitch can be used, but is not as interesting in the finished project because it has the least amount of texture in the three possible treatment.)