A knitted scaffold comprising at least two silk yarns in a knit direction and a yarn member diagonal to the knit direction to thereby provide a knitted fabric or mesh for surgical use that can retain its shape and/or resist collapse when opposing forces are applied at an angle from the knit direction. The knitted scaffold may include at least two yarns laid in a knit direction and engaging each other to define a plurality of nodes. The at least two yarns can include a first yarn and a second yarn extending between and forming loops about two nodes. The second yarn has a higher tension at the two nodes than the first yarn. The second yarn substantially prevents the first yarn from moving at the two nodes and substantially prevents the knitted mesh from unraveling at the nodes.