Inside Knits : Knitting Stitches, How To Knit

Yoga and Knitting: Learning to Loosen up with Mercedes

LisaShroyer — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:12:00 GMT

In this week’s post, I talk to designer Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark about heryoga practice, how it blends with her knitting life, and some of her current projects. Find more of Mercedes’ work and insights at www.mercedesknits.com.

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LISA: Let’s talk about yoga. I’ve been practicing for 3 years—I started because I was dealing with stress that led to, unfortunately, some anger management problems. A studio near me was offering a 7 week intro series and, on a desperate whim, I signed up. At the same time, I started hiking in the woods, just trying to get some balance, some peace, in my mind. Three years later, the combination of yoga and the woods has changed my life and my body. Why did you start practicing and what has it meant for you?

MERCEDES: Similar to my first experiences trying to pick up knitting (which took over a decade and 5 or 6 tries before it really “stuck”), I had short stints of yoga here and there since high school, but only got into it more in the last few years. Once I found my happy place with yoga, which really involved letting go and just being in the moment, it's become a pretty regular part of my self-care routine. Learning to be ok with my body in the moment, not getting annoyed at any inflexible spots, and understanding how to accept even tiny moments of a quieted mind (some days, that can be mere seconds, and I'll take it) all came more easily once I looked at yoga as a complete practice, and not just pretzel twisty poses to conquer. I practice yoga to help me have time to unwind and focus my attention, and to look at my body in a positive light.

LISA: In one of your blog posts, you talk about how working on a knitting book—which is an intense kind of work, I know!—led you to set some important goals: a 30-day yoga challenge, eating right, and getting enough rest. How have things been going since you set those goals? What lessons have you learned along the way?

MERCEDES: I've learned so much! First, as much as I love to exercise later in the day, yoga early in my routine helped set the tone for my day. If I left it until later, I'd be much more likely to get consumed by the day's task list and blow off my self-care time. I also learned how to approach yoga with a beginner's mind, giving myself the ok to be a little awkward, clumsy, unsure. It's like putting yourself in a somewhat vulnerable state, so the knowledge and confidence of the instructor becomes so much more important! I think being a student, in anything really, helps me appreciate and learn as a teacher, too. Getting clear instruction and support is so crucial to a good learning experience!

By the time the month was through, I felt like I had a good idea of what parts of my daily routine needed to change to keep up some solid habits. I kind of flaked out on some of these early the next month, because I took a two week road trip and the daily routine went out the window! Now I've picked the daily habits back up, and I'm making sure to get some physical activity every day, whether that's walking, weightlifting, running, or yoga. It helps my sleep cycle so much! It also helps counter the long hours of sitting at my laptop or knitting that happen most days.

LISA: So tell us about the book. When, what, and what do you love about it?

MERCEDES: I'm so excited about it, but the subject is still under wraps! I can say that it is slated to be released around Fall of 2014, and will be full of garment and accessory designs for women, and a few stylish knits for the guys, too. The sweaters and accessories stick to my usual design aesthetic, built on classic shapes with great detailing, mixing colorwork or textures to create flattering shapes that are fun to knit. So far every project has been something I'd love to wear!

LISA: You’ve sort of fashioned yourself a warrior for brioche knitting. (For our readers, I had the pleasure of taking a brioche class with Mercedes at a knitting retreat in 2012. I’ve been knitting a long time, but this is a particular technique that requires good instruction to get a grasp of. ) You’ll be teaching three classes in brioche at Interweave’s Knitting Lab in October. Tell us what students can expect to learn there.

MERCEDES: A brioche warrior! I like the sound of that. Is there a costume?

There will be three brioche classes that I'll be teaching Thursday and Friday of the Knitting Lab event; a brioche basics class to initiate new brioche stitchers each morning, and then two advanced brioche options during the afternoon sessions, one on brioche cablework and one on brioche colorwork. I'd love to see a small army of new brioche knitters head home with new skills from the event! For the basics class, we'll be talking about the structure of brioche knitting, which is really unlike any other knitting stitch but is based on some simple stitch manipulation that is so much fun once you learn the tricks and tips to make it work. We'll also go over cast ons, bind offs, and some basic shaping. Once knitters are familiar with the basics, the cables and colorworks classes build on that knowledge to add some great techniques to create even more visual interest and rich texture using the brioche stitch.

LISA: Ripping out brioche. Dropped stitches in brioche. Should it be as terrifying as it seems? You also have a DVD on brioche…does it offer help for the terrified knitter in these situations?

MERCEDES: It definitely does! Ripping and fixing mistakes in brioche is admittedly...weird. I think more than anything, having a solid grasp of the brioche structure is the biggest help, but there are some tips in the dvd to make fixing mistakes less stressful.

LISA: Brioche knitting is a complex series of strands that makes something uniquely beautiful. Kind of like yoga…a seemingly complex series of poses, moving limbs, dripping sweat, and breathing, that comes together and makes a transcendent experience for the practitioner. You remember the adage that everyone was spouting a few years back? “knitting is the new yoga.” For me, yoga was the new knitting when it came into my life. Do you see similarities between the two pursuits in your own life?

MERCEDES: Absolutely, although not always in the “zen knitting” kind of way! I'd go through these times of really wanting to be super bendy and blissed out in my yoga practice, only to get frustrated at my tight hips and knotted up calves or angry with myself for letting my mind wander off into the stressful thoughts of the rest of my life. Similarly, I'd have students in my beginner knitting classes who would ask, “Isn't this supposed to be relaxing?” as they clutched their needles with what I dubbed “the beginner death grip”, and I could see they were having those same sorts of anxieties and worries about getting it perfect (and so had I, when I had first picked up the needles). In both pursuits, I'd end up making some great strides when I loosened up and let go a little, giving myself permission to mess up, rip out, or even just scrap a project altogether! It's totally about the adage, “Perfection is the enemy of good.” All of a sudden, I'd realize I really was blissed out, and the movements of yoga and knitting were pretty dang relaxing. I love the feeling of just getting to know a new asana or a new stitch, experimenting to see where my body or the yarn wants to go, what the options are. There's always so much to learn!

Steeks: Cutting the Edge

AmyPalmer — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:23:00 GMT

In both Interweave Knits Fall 2012 and Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2012 (look for that preview soon!), we've included patterns that utilize the sometimes scary technique of steeking. If you're itching to knit patterns from either of those issues, or are simply curious about the technique itself, we're sharing Eunny Jang's Beyond the Basics article on steeking from Interweave Knits Winter 2006.

From the late nineteenth through the middle twentieth century, masterpieces of stranded color work—Fair Isle sweaters, stockings, and caps—were handknitted with fantastic speed by knitters of the Shetland archipelago in northern Scotland. In addition to their considerable skill and experience, Fair Isle knitters often employed a shortcut that today’s color-work knitters can find just as useful: steeking.

What is a steek?

A steek is a column of extra stitches used to bridge two edges of knitting. Steeks let you knit an entire sweater in the round without reverting to knitting flat (back and forth in rows; Figures 1 and 2). Steeks can be worked between the right and left fronts of a cardigan, the front and back edges of an armhole, and/or the sides of a neckline. Openings are created by cutting along the center of the column of stitches—and sleeves, neckbands, and buttonbands are picked up along the cut edges. In preparation for cutting, the steek can be reinforced (but it can sometimes be left as is). When the garment is complete, the cut edges are trimmed and neatly tacked down on the wrong side of the garment, creating a tidy facing. Although steeks are most often worked in color patterns, if you prefer knitting in the round to working flat, you can use them in solid-color sweaters as well.


Figure 1	Figure 2

Why use steeks?

Circular knitting is desirable for several reasons. For many knitters, the knit stitch is faster to form than the purl stitch, and having the right side of the work always facing the knitter makes it easy to see the color pattern. When you don’t switch to flat knitting, gauge remains consistent. Seams are minimized or eliminated altogether; and very little finishing is required. The many ends of yarn that result from color changes in Fair Isle patterns can be hidden within a steek, eliminating the need to weave them in later.

What about unraveling?

The thought of cutting into knitted fabric is counterintuitive at best. Doesn’t the knitting unravel as soon as it is cut? Not when the circumstances are right. Steeking capitalizes on the reluctance of knit stitches to unravel from side to side. You can further secure the cut edges by choosing a “sticky” yarn (hairy animal yarns such as traditional Shetland wools felt so readily that the slight friction created in the knitting process mats the hairs together and discourages unraveling). You can also work frequent color changes and use a tight gauge within the steek, and/or you can use one of several reinforcement methods, such as sewing or crocheting.

How to work a steek

Although there are as many ways of working steeks as there are knitters, some general principles are useful:

The steek itself—the bridge of extra stitches—may be composed of as few or as many stitches as the knitter feels comfortable with, typically between six and ten stitches. More stitches should be used in high-stress areas and with slippery yarns, while fewer can be used in lower-stress areas and with yarns prone to felting.
The steek is flanked by one border stitch on either side, which separates it from the body of the sweater. This border stitch, always worked in the background color in any given round, provides a guideline for picking up stitches for sleeves and bands, as well as for seaming.
The steek stitches should be worked in a stitch pattern with frequent color changes, for example, a 1x1 vertical stripe (Figure 3) or a check pattern (Figure 4). Stripe-patterned steeks provide a useful visual guide for reinforcing and cutting.
Whether you use an even or odd number of steek stitches, you cut the steek along its true center. With an even number of stitches, the steek will be cut between the two center stitches. For example, you would cut between the fourth and fifth stitches of an eight-stitch steek. With an odd numbers of stitches, you would cut through the center stitch. For example, you would cut through the fourth stitch of a seven-stitch steek. Odd numbers are necessary for crochet-reinforced steeks, which are worked over the center three stitches of the bridge, while other securing methods are more easily applied to an even number of steek stitches.
Reinforcement, if any, should be applied as close to the cutting site as possible.

Cut along the center white column of stitches.

Cut between the third and fourth columns of stitches.

Where to place a steek

To incorporate a steek into a garment knitted in the round, cast on the number of stitches you plan to use for the steek wherever there will be an opening in the finished sweater: at the center front of a cardigan or jacket, and at the beginning of armholes and front and back necklines.

Plan to begin and end each round in the center of the first steek, that is, at the center front of a cardigan, or, for a pullover, at the side, where it will eventually fall in the center of an armhole steek. Hiding the join within a steek disguises the jog in the pattern that circular knitting creates, and eliminates the need to weave in the many yarn ends that color changes create.

Working a steek for the center front of a cardigan The steek stitches that bridge the center-front edges should be cast on with the body of the sweater, as the first few and last few stitches of the cast-on round. For example, if your pattern calls for 180 sts, and you are adding an 8-stitch steek, cast on 188 sts. For even-numbered steeks, the beginning of the round will fall at the center of the steek, with an equal number of steek stitches straddling the join. For odd-numbered steeks, the center stitch will be the first stitch of the round.

Begin the round by working the steek stitches in a checked or striped pattern (four sts in our example), place a marker, and work the first round of the sweater proper until you reach the steek stitches at the opposite end (the last four sts). Place another marker and work the remaining steek stitches in the steek pattern. Continue to work the sweater as established until you reach the beginning of the neckline shaping. Then bind off or place on holders the steek stitches, along with the other stitches that form the base of the neckline. On the next round, cast on for a neckline steek as explained below.

Working a steek for an armhole opening If you’re working a pullover, cast on the number of stitches called for in the sweater pattern (steek stitches aren’t added until it’s time to shape the armhole). Begin the round at the side of the sweater. Place a marker for the other side “seam,” and work in the round until you reach the armholes. Before casting on for the steek, put the stitches that form the base of the armhole, the ones you would bind off in flat knitting, on a length of waste yarn. For example, if you would normally bind off four stitches on the first row of armhole shaping for the front and back, then work the last round before shaping begins to four stitches before the end of the round. Place the last four stitches of the round and the first four of the next round (eight stitches) onto a piece of waste yarn. Because steeks are often narrower than the stitches over which they’re formed, the held stitches may form a slight pouch. Waste yarn is the best choice for holding unused stitches because rigid stitch holders may distort the gathered knitting.

Now you're ready to cast on for the first armhole steek. Over the held stitches, cast on one stitch in the background color as the right border stitch, then the steek stitches (usually six to ten), then one for the left final border stitch. For all steeks, the longtail cast-on is the quickest, least bulky way of casting on the extra stitches. When working with two colors, treat one strand as the tail and the other as the working yarn.

Work across the sweater body to the next set of armhole stitches—the four stitches before and after the next side marker. Place the stitches on waste yarn, and cast on as before for the second armhole steek. Continue knitting in the round, working any armhole decreases that your sweater pattern calls for while you maintain a striped or checked pattern over the steek stitches. On the last row, bind off all steek stitches.

Working a steek for a neckline opening A neckline steek lets you shape both sides of the neck while continuing to knit in the round. To place a steek at the neckline, work to the neckline bindoff. Bind off or place on a holder the stitches that form the base of the neckline; then cast on the extra stitches as for armhole steeks. You don’t need to add a border stitch at the neckline, the last stitch at each edge of the sweater’s neckline will form the border stitch.

When working in Fair Isle, decrease stitches from the main fabric on either side of the steek, right up against the neckline edge, working ssk decreases at the right edges and k2tog at the left to maintain pattern continuity.

Reinforcing and cutting steeks

There are several methods for reinforcing steek stitches before cutting, each appropriate to different circumstances. All of them require good light; patience; a small, sharp pair of scissors; and steady nerves.

Unreinforced The traditional steek, worked in sticky Shetland wool in a garment with a very dense gauge, calls for no reinforcement at all. The friction you create as you knit will mat and felt the fabric very slightly, stabilizing the area to be cut and minimizing fraying. Simply cut carefully down the center of each steek, working in a very straight line and snipping just a few threads at a time.

Crocheted Crochet steek reinforcements firmly bind together the sides of two adjacent stitch columns to hold the cut ends securely in place. The method is ideal for sticky or smooth animal fibers still at relatively dense gauges: the applied binding adds security even to yarns that don’t felt readily, but it relies on a firm base fabric to stay in place. Crocheted steeks are not suitable for plant fibers or for superwash wools, since the base fabric must have some natural cling.

Regardless of how many stitches are used in the steek, a crocheted reinforcement is worked only on the three center stitches. Picture the two legs of the V formed by each knit stitch. For a crocheted steek, a line of single crochet binds together each half of the center stitch with the near half of the adjacent stitch. The left side of the steek (with the right side of the work facing) is worked first, from bottom to top. Then the right side is worked from top to bottom.

Begin by turning your garment sideways, so that you’re looking at the steek with the cast-on edge on the right-hand side and the steek itself lying horizontally. Using a crochet hook of the same or slightly smaller diameter than the working knitting needles and a contrasting strand of the knitting wool, start at the cast-on edge and insert hook into the adjoining halves of the left-flanking and center stitches in the first row of the steek (Figure 5). Yarnover and draw a strand of the reinforcing yarn through the two stitch halves (Figure 6). Yarnover again and draw the yarn through the loop, creating a single crochet stitch. Move on to the next pair of stitches above in the steek (or to the left as you look at the steek sideways). *Insert your hook into the adjoining pair of “legs” in this pair, yarnover and draw up a loop (Figure 7). You'll now have two loops on your hook; yarnover and draw yarn through both loops, then move onto the next pair of stitches in the steek. Repeat from * to the top edge of the steek; your steek should look like Figure 8. Cut the working yarn, and pull it through the last crochet stitch to fasten off. To work the right half of the steek, turn the work, start at the bind-off row, and work single crochet through the adjoining halves of the right-flanking and center stitches in the same manner, back down to the cast-on edge.


Figure 5	Figure 6

Figure 7	Figure 8

When completed, the lines of crochet should slant neatly away from the center cutting site, rather like an open book. Gently pulling the two lines apart will show a ladder of the base knitting—actually the purl bumps of the center stitch. Cut carefully between the crochet lines, taking care not to snip into the crochet itself. The cut edges should be neat and very secure.

Sewn When you use a very-slick-plant or synthetic fiber, sewing is the only way to ensure that a steek will not unravel. Because sewing stitches have no elasticity, some of the flexibility inherent in knitted fabric is lost when you use a sewn reinforcement. Save this method for when crocheting will not provide enough security.

For both handsewing and machine sewing, stitch as close as possible to the cutting line, within one-half or one whole stitch on either side. When you handsew, backstitch with very small stitches that split both the knit stitches and floats (the strands of unused color on the back of the fabric). When you machine sew, set the machine for a small stitch and move in a very straight line down either side of the cutting line. For either method, make as many passes as you deem necessary, though one is almost always sufficient.

Picking up and knitting from a steek edge

Once the steek is cut, you can pick up stitches just inside the cut edge, along the purl channel between the border and body stitches, and work button and neckbands. In a drop-shoulder sweater, the sleeve stitches can be picked up around the armhole between the border and body stitches and the sleeve worked down to the cuff. Figure 9 shows a stitch being picked up at the edge of a steek; notice how the needle picks up the bar between the border stitch of the steek and the first stitch of the body, both of which were worked in the background color. In shaped sweaters, the sleeves may be knitted separately and sewn in along the line created by the border stitch. In every case, the steek flap will naturally fold to the wrong side along the pick-up or seam line. Once all finishing work is completed and the sweater has been washed and blocked, the steeks should be finished neatly by trimming away any frayed ends and tacking down the flap with a simple whipstitch or blanket stitch (Figure 10).


Figure 9	Figure 10

With every washing and wearing, the facings will full a little more, eventually creating a durable, hard-wearing finish on the inside of the garment.

Grafting In Pattern, Part 2: Top-To-Top

Joni Coniglio — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:00:00 GMT

In Part 1 of my post on grafting in pattern, I focused on top-to-bottom grafting. In Part 2, I'll look at top-to-top grafting.

Knitters employ various methods for remembering the correct sequence of steps when using Kitchener stitch to join two sets of live stitches together. The most popular methods involve chanting phrases such as, "Knit off, purl on, purl off, knit on."

The center back seam (from the underarm to the neck) in Sarah Fama's Manuscript Vest was joined with top-to-top grafting. Joining the seam with three-needle bind-off would have left a very visible (and bulky) seam in a place where a seam would detract from the
look of the garment.

But have you ever wondered how these methods work---or why, in some cases they don't? (Perhaps you've found yourself getting frustrated because the same formula that you've used countless times for grafting the toe of a sock doesn't work as well when you use it to graft two garter or seed stitch pieces together.)

It all comes down to knitting structure and how it can be duplicated by drawing yarn through live loops, using a tapestry needle, while at the same time joining the live loops on two different needles together.

First, let's take a brief look at knitting structure and how stitches are created using a knitting needle. To create a knit stitch, you insert the knitting needle into a loop from front to back and draw another loop through from back to front. A purl stitch is created by inserting the knitting needle into a loop from back to front and drawing another loop through from front to back.

To recreate a single knit or purl stitch using a tapestry needle and a strand of yarn requires two steps. A knit stitch is created by drawing the yarn through an existing loop first from back to front (purlwise), then from front to back (knitwise). A purl stitch is created by drawing the yarn through a loop first from front to back (knitwise), then from back to front (purlwise).

For Katya Frankel's Quatrefoil Cups, the live stitches on the front needle were grafted to the provisional cast-on stitches, using a garter stitch graft. With stitch patterns such as stockinette stitch or garter stitch, you can use either the top-to-bottom grafting method I described in Part 1, or the top-to-top method. The only difference between the two is that there will be a slight jog at the sides with the top-to-top method.

When you graft live stitches on the front needle to live stitches on the back needle top-to-top, you are creating two distinct pattern rows simultaneously, one on each needle. Moreover, because the wrong side of the work on the back needle is facing you as you graft the stitches from right to left (assuming that you are grafting right-handed), the pattern row on this needle is being grafted in reverse. And, if that's not enough to make your brain start hurting, there's one more thing: the pattern stitches on the back needle are upside down and shifted a half stitch to the left in relation to the pattern stitches on the front needle!

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let's back up a few steps.

As I said earlier, when the live stitches on the front needle are grafted to the live stitches on the back needle, two pattern rows (one on each needle) are created simultaneously. What makes this possible is the serpentine structure of the knitted row (or, in this case, the grafted row).


Illustration 1

Illustration 1 shows a row of four grafted stitches, with the rows above and below it omitted. The four X's at the top of the row indicate the top loops of the grafted stitches that are a continuation of the pattern on the front needle. There is another row of loops that runs along the bottom of the row and faces in the opposite direction. These four loops, also marked by X's, are a continuation of the pattern on the back needle. The tops of the loops grafted on the front needle form the running threads between the loops grafted on the back needle, and the running threads between the loops grafted on the front needle form the tops of the loops grafted on the back needle.


Illustration 2

It helps to look at each pattern row first individually, then show how the two rows fit together into one grafted row. In traditional Kitchener stitch, the type of grafting you might use to close the toe of sock, the stockinette stitch pattern is continued on each of the stitches on the front needle (illustration 2) by drawing the yarn through the loop on the needle first purlwise (leaving the stitch on the needle because the yarn needs to go through each stitch twice) and knitwise (removing the stitch from the needle because the stitch is now complete). I like to use chart symbols to represent the loops on the needle.

The grafted stockinette stitch pattern on the back needle (illustration 3) looks identical to the pattern on the front needle (and is), but it's achieved in an entirely different way.


Illustration 3

In top-to-top grafting, the stitches on the back needle are oriented upside down in relation to the stitches on the front needle and are shifted a half-stitch to the left (illustration 4). In addition, they are grafted with the wrong side of the work facing the knitter, so the stockinette stitch on the back needle is achieved by working a purl graft on the purl side of the work. A purl graft is the exact opposite of a knit graft: the yarn is drawn through the loop on the needle knitwise (leaving the stitch on the needle), then purlwise (removing the stitch from the needle). Since the row is grafted from right to left (assuming you are grafting right-handed), each pattern row on each needle progresses from right to left, as well.

As the row is grafted, the grafting yarn alternates between the stitches on the two needles (illustration 5), going through the first half of a stitch on the front needle, then moving to the back needle and going through the first half of a stitch on that needle (the two set-up steps). It then moves to the front needle again and goes through the second half of the first stitch and the first half of the next stitch, then moves to the back needle where it goes through the second half of the first stitch and the first half of the next stitch. The sequence of second half/first half on each needle is repeated across the row until one stitch remains on each needle. The row ends with the yarn going through the second half of each remaining stitch. Each time the second half of a stitch is worked, it is removed from the needle.


Illustration 4

Hopefully, breaking the process down in this way will make the grafting process seem a little less mysterious. In fact, the steps follow a very logical order. Below are the written instructions for stockinette stitch grafting. By comparing each step of the instructions to the path the arrows take through the chart symbols in illustration 5, it is easy to see how the steps relate to the creation of the pattern on each needle.

Begin with two set-up steps:

Purlwise through the first stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the first stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

Repeat four steps until 1 stitch remains on each needle:

Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.


Illustration 5

End with two steps:

Knitwise through the last stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the last stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.

By the way, the grafting chart could just as easily have consisted of two stitches on each row, instead of four. The chart only needs to be as large as the smallest multiple of the stitch pattern (and a minimum of two stitches).

Pretty much any pattern can be charted in similar fashion (and I usually just use a piece of graph paper and a pencil for this).

Take garter stitch, for example. In this chart (illustration 6), I use a shaded box to represent purl stitches (as viewed from the right side of the work).The last row worked on the front needle was a knit row on the wrong side, which resulted in a purl row on the right side. The last row worked on the back needle was a knit row on the right side. To continue the garter stitch pattern on the front needle, a row of knit stitches must be grafted on that needle; to continue the garter stitch pattern on the back needle, a row of knit stitches must be grafted on that needle from the wrong side of the work, resulting in purl stitches on the right side of the work. This is where the fact that you are grafting a distinct pattern row on each needle really becomes evident. You must account for the two rows when planning how to end the pattern on the front and back needle, in preparation for the grafting.


Illustration 6

GARTER STITCH

Begin with two set-up steps:

Purlwise through the first stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the first stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

Repeat four steps until one stitch remains on each needle:

Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

End with two steps:

Knitwise through the last stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the last stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.

As the stitch pattern repeats get larger, so (obviously) do the grafting repeats. A grafting multiple will be four times the multiple of the stitch pattern, because each stitch of the pattern repeat requires four grafting steps (two on each needle). For example, the K2, P2 rib shown here is a multiple of four stitches, plus two, so the grafting will require a multiple of sixteen steps, plus eight. It's easy to see how the written instructions for grafting can get very long and complex with even the smallest changes to the stitch pattern.


Illustration 7

K2, P2 RIB

Begin with two set-up steps:

Purlwise through the first stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the first stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

Repeat sixteen steps until two stitches remain on each needle:

Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

End with six steps:

Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the last stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the last stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.


Illustration 8

SEED STITCH

Seed stitch is a pattern with knit and purl stitches that alternate across every row as well as from row to row. If you work it over an odd number of stitches (back and forth), you can work every row the same: *K1, p1; rep from *, end k1. The chart (illustration 8) shows the last wrong side row worked on the front needle and the last right side row worked on the back needle, with the grafted row between. The knit and purl stitches alternate even on the two pattern rows of the grafting. Since the seed stitch pattern is a multiple of two stitches, plus one, the grafting steps will be a multiple of eight, plus four.

Begin with two set-up steps:

Purlwise through the first stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the first stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

Repeat eight steps until one stitch remains on each needle:

Knitwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Knitwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the front needle, leave the stitch on the needle.
Purlwise through the stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Purlwise through the next stitch on the back needle, leave the stitch on the needle.

End with two steps:

Knitwise through the last stitch on the front needle, remove the stitch from the needle.
Knitwise through the last stitch on the back needle, remove the stitch from the needle.

THE HALF-STITCH JOG


2 X 2 Rib swatch

As we've seen, when stitches are grafted top-to-top, the piece on the back needle shifts to the left a half-stitch in relation to the stitches on the front needle. (This always makes me think of tectonic plates!) The result of this shift will be more or less noticeable, depending on the stitch pattern being grafted. With patterns such as stockinette stitch and garter stitch, the jog will be completely invisible, except maybe at the side edges. But with patterns such as K2, P2 rib that have both knit and purl stitches on the same row the jog will be more noticeable.


Garter Stitch Swatch


Seed Stitch Swatch

That is, it will be more noticeable if the rib is stretched so that the transition between knit and purl stitches is visible. If the rib is relaxed, the jog won't show quite as much.

In seed stitch, where the pattern alternates every stitch, it's more difficult to see the jog.

This may seem like a lot of information to process in one sitting---knit, purl, remove, leave on, top-to-top, top-to-bottom, right side, wrong side, upside down and half-stitch jog to the left. The best way to make sense of it all is to pick up your needles and knit a few swatches. Work through the examples and then try your hand at creating your own grafting charts.

I welcome your comments and/or questions!

Joni

Does a Grafted Row Count as One or Two Pattern Rows

Joni Coniglio — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:15:00 GMT

In my article, "The Ins and Outs of Grafting," which recently appeared in the premiere issue of knit.wear magazine, I mentioned the fact that, when trying to determine how to fit the grafting into the row repeats of a stitch pattern, you should allow for two pattern rows, instead of just one. I'd like to talk a little more about that here. (Note: In the article, I described both top-to-top and top-to-bottom grafting, but for now, I'm going to limit the discussion to top-to-bottom grafting, which is very different from top-to-top grafting. So for the moment, put aside what you know about grafting the toe of a sock!) But first, here's a short quiz: You've designed an infinity cowl that will be joined end-to-end. You want the pattern to continue around the entire circumference of the cowl, uninterrupted by a seam, so your plan is to cast on using a provisional cast-on and graft the live stitches to the cast-on stitches. Your stitch pattern has a 10-row repeat. You start with Row 1 of the pattern after the provisional cast-on, then repeat Rows1-10 until the cowl is the right length. In order for the pattern rows to match up perfectly when you graft the stitches together, you will need to do which of the following: A) End with Row 9 of the pattern and graft Row 10. B) End with Row 8 of the pattern and graft Row 9. If you answered A, you are probably in the majority. It does seem like the logical choice. After all, since the grafted row is only one row, it follows that you'd end one row shy of a full repeat before grafting the stitches together. The correct answer, however, is B. You should end with Row 8 of the pattern (two rows short of a complete repeat) and graft Row 9. But if you start with Row 1 of the pattern after the provisional cast-on and end with Row 8 before grafting Row 9, won't you have a gap in the pattern where Row 10 should be? No, there won't be a gap because Row 10 already exists, albeit in an "unfinished" state, in the provisional cast-on stitches. The row is unfinished because the loops that are secured by the waste yarn aren't attached to another row of knitting, so are neither knit stitches nor purl stitches (and won't be until the grafting yarn is drawn through them). You could say that Row 10 is a pattern row "in-waiting." During the knitting process, loops of yarn are drawn through other loops to create a new row of stitches. If you look closely at the place where the two rows intersect, you can see that the top of the loops of the lower row wrap around both "legs" of the loops from the upper row. If the stitches of the new row are knit stitches, the top of the loops from the row below will disappear behind the legs of the new loops (the two legs of the old loop form the "V" of a knit stitch); if the new stitches are purl stitches, the top of the loops from the lower row will be in front of the two legs of the new stitches (the top of the old loop forms the "bump" or "ridge" of a purl stitch). As we can see, it is the relationship between the two rows of loops that determines whether the new stitches are knit or purl stitches. When live loops on the front needle are grafted to live loops on the back needle, a pattern row is created when the grafting yarn is drawn through the loops on the front needle. At the same time, a separate pattern row is created by drawing yarn through the loops on the back needle. In top-to-bottom grafting, the tops of the stitches on the front needle are joined to the bottoms of the stitches on the back needle (which are the running threads between the provisional cast-on stitches). It is the running threads of the cast-on stitches that are placed onto the back needle in preparation for grafting. When it comes to grafting in a pattern that contains both knit and purl stitches, top-to-bottom grafting has a distinct advantage over top-to-top grafting: the stitches of the grafted pattern will line up perfectly with the stitches of the rest of the pattern. This is because the grafted row is no different than any row in a piece that has been worked from the cast-on row up to the bound-off row (in top-to-top grafting, there will be a half-stitch jog in the pattern because one of the pieces being grafted is upside-down). In top-to-bottom grafting, the grafted stitches are an exact replica of stitches created when loops are drawn through other loops with a knitting needle. Because of this, the steps required to graft each stitch should match the vertical alignment of the pattern. Look closely at a single stitch in the middle of several rows of Stockinette stitch and follow the path the yarn takes through the loops above and below it. You will see that there are four places where the yarn passes through another loop: first it goes through a loop in the row below, then it travels upward at a diagonal and passes through a loop in the row above (this loop is upside down and not directly above the stitch, but a half stitch to the right of it), then the yarn moves to the left horizontally where it passes through another upside-down loop (this one a half stitch to the left), then moves downward at a diagonal and passes through the same loop in the row below that it passed through the first time. Each stitch has the same four anchor points: two below in one loop and two above in a half-loop each. In top-to-bottom grafting, a single grafted stitch follows the same path: The tapestry needle is inserted into a loop on the front needle, the yarn is drawn through and the stitch remains on the front needle. The tapestry needle is inserted into a loop on the back needle and the stitch is removed onto the tapestry needle, but the yarn isn't drawn through until the next step. The tapestry needle is inserted into the next loop on the back needle, the yarn is drawn through and the stitch remains on the back needle. The tapestry needle is inserted into the same loop on the front needle as before and the stitch is removed onto the tapestry needle, but the yarn isn't drawn through until the next step. These four steps are repeated for each grafted stitch. The direction in which the tapestry needle is inserted into a stitch on the knitting needle at any given time will depend on the pattern being grafted. To graft a knit stitch on the front needle, insert the tapestry needle through the loop purlwise in Step 1 and knitwise in Step 4. To graft a knit stitch on the back needle, insert the tapestry needle through the loop purlwise in Step 2 and knitwise in Step 3. To graft a purl stitch on the front needle, insert the tapestry needle through the loop knitwise in Step 1 and purlwise in Step 4. To graft a purl stitch on the back needle, insert the tapestry needle through the loop knitwise in Step 2 and purlwise in Step 3. Since the grafting conforms to the structure of each stitch, it is possible to use the stitch charts from the pattern as a guide to the sequence of steps. Simply pick two rows of the chart and use the lower row for the front needle graft and the upper row for the back needle graft. Each knit stitch on the lower row of the chart will represent a knitwise graft on the front needle (purlwise, then knitwise into one loop), while each knit stitch on the upper row will represent a knitwise graft on the back needle (purlwise through one loop, then knitwise through the next loop to the left). For purl grafts, the knitwise and purlwise steps are reversed. In the following swatches, I show how various patterns can be grafted using charts. For each swatch, I used a provisional cast-on and worked a few inches in the pattern, beginning with a wrong-side row, then I bound off the stitches. I like to start with a wrong-side row above the provisional cast-on so that I can use the cast-on tail for the grafting (I leave it long, about four times the width of the piece). For the portion of the swatch below the grafted row, I cast on regularly, worked a few rows, and ended two rows before where I started the pattern above the cast-on. Before I removed the waste yarn from the provisional cast-on in preparation for grafting, I picked up an extra stitch at the corner (the cast-on tail side) so that I had one more stitch on the back needle than on the front needle. I did this because I wanted a half-loop at each side of the back needle and only wanted the grafting yarn to go through those stitches one time, instead of two. This matches the structure of the knitted fabric as it's worked from the cast-on row up to the bound-off edge. The arrows in the charts show the path the pink grafting yarn takes through the loops on the front and back needles. The letters represent the knitwise (k) or purlwise (p) direction the yarn takes through each loop to create knit and purl stitches. The white boxes represent knit stitches (as viewed from the right-side of the work) and the gray boxes (and boxes with dots) represent purl stitches (as viewed from the right-side).

Swatch A

For Swatch A, I worked garter stitch by purling every row. The back needle portion begins with a "valley" (achieved by purling on a WS row) and the front needle portion ends with a "ridge" (achieved by purling on a RS row). When I grafted, I worked a knit graft on the front needle and a purl graft on the back needle. The purl bumps of the grafted row (shown in pink) are on top of the knit "V's."

Swatch B

For Swatch B, I worked garter stitch by knitting every row. The back needle portion begins with a "ridge" (achieved by knitting on a WS row) and the front needle portion ends with a "valley" (achieved by knitting on a RS row). When I grafted, I worked a purl graft on the front needle and a knit graft on the back needle. The purl bumps of the grafted row (which appear in the main color because they are the tops of the stitches on the front needle) are below the knit "V's."

Swatch C

For Swatch C, I worked in Seed Stitch. Since I had an odd number of stitches, I worked every row the same: *K1, p1; rep from * to last st, end k1. Because I started with a WS row above the cast-on, there is a purl stitch as viewed from the RS of the work on each side of the row. The front needle begins and ends with a knit stitch. Because the grafted row creates two pattern rows, the knit and purl grafts need to alternate, just as they do in the Seed Stitch pattern itself. To graft Seed stitch, I just alternated Versions 1 and 2 of the Garter Stitch charts (starting with Version 2).

Swatch D

Click Here for Larger Image

Swatch D shows a Zig Zag pattern consisting of four purl bumps on each diagonal line. The chart shows how the grafted row connects the purl bumps at the top of the zig zag with the purl bumps at the bottom of the zig zag. I again used the Garter Stitch charts above and added a symbol for a Stockinette graft (on the first grafted stitch, then every 3^rd grafted stitch).

Swatch E

For Swatch E, I cast on 20 stitches and started with the WS row of the pattern above the grafted row. I worked a cable crossing on the 2^nd row, then every 4^th row. On the front needle, I ended with a cable crossing row in order to continue the four-row repeat of the pattern when I added the two pattern rows during grafting. Here I used a combination of Stockinette stitch grafting (for the four-stitch cable) and Reverse Stockinette stitch grafting (for the two stitches separating the cable pattern).

By mixing and matching the four grafting symbols I've shown here (Stockinette, Reverse Stockinette, and two versions of Garter Stitch), you can graft pretty much any combination of knit and purl stitches. Just remember to account for two pattern rows for the grafting and pick up the extra stitch at the edge of the back needle so that you have one more stitch on the back needle than on the front.

Joni

Summer yarns

LarissaG — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:00:00 GMT

Hello WitKnits,

I've done some knitting since last we spoke. I thought I would continue my yarn stories with a closer look at the yarns from the Interweave Knits Summer 2011 issue's Yarn Spotlight on page 12. These are the yarns and tools that I collected to feature in Interweave Knits Summer 2011.

These are the yarns we showcased.

And here are a few more colors of those yarns.

Since I did recommend sampling and playing with yarns that are new to you, I thought I should take my own advice and knit some of these up. I made a couple brioche stitch scarves. I love brioche stitch for a scarf, it makes a balanced, reversible fabric and it resembles ribbing but you don't have to purl.


This is the Knit Collage Gypsy Garden, knit in brioche stitch on very large, Susan Bates Luxite size 35 (19 mm) needles. This is a fun, festive yarn, with little surprises that knit in as you go along. Also, the JUL Silver shawl pin is a lovely addition.		This is the Universal Yarn Papier, knit in brioche stitch on the Kollage Wooden Square size 13 (9 mm) needles.This yarn has a nice drape and hand. I love the idea of knitting with paper, but also that no one would know unless I told them.


		And, a few more photos of my projects.

I love the ribbing like ridges of brioche stitch but also as you stretch brioche fabric horizontally, you'll see a beautiful latticework that is more evident in the blue scarf. For those who want a refresher on brioche stitch:

Cast on an even number of stitches.

Row 1 (setup): * yo, sl 1, k1, rep from * to end.

Row 2: " yo, sl 1, k2tog, rep from * to end.

Repeat row 2 to desired length.

I didn't get to do more than swatch with the Lion Brand LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel. It is a very interesting yarn and I want to think of something clever to do with it. I'm thinking fingerless gloves, perhaps with chain maille at the cuffs. If anyone has worked a project in that yarn that they are willing to share with us, let me know. Or if someone wants to take my idea and run with it, I'd love to see how it turns out.

Cheers,
Larissa

The Mechanics of Knitting (And How to Graft Two Circular Pieces Together)

Joni Coniglio — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:33:00 GMT

In my last post, I mentioned that my brother Patrick, a mechanical engineer, once referred to me as a "fabric engineer," after I had described a knitting technique to him (a non-knitter), using some of my knitting illustrations.

It's funny, but until that time I never realized my brother and I had so much in common. After all, I went to art school and he to engineering school.

As a knitting illustrator, I was fortunate enough to be able to combine two loves: drawing and knitting. But looking back, I can see that my interest has always been in the mechanics of knitting, more than anything else. I want to understand how knitting works. In order to make the most accurate drawings, I've had to knit and dissect hundreds of swatches. And after years of scrutinizing knitted stitches, I've come to a deep understanding of the elements that make up the structure of the knitted fabric. And sometimes this understanding comes in handy when I encounter problems in my personal knitting projects.

Not long ago, I was working on a cowl that required grafting two circular pieces together. Usually, when instructions tell you to graft stitches, they're referring to the grafting most commonly used to graft the toes of socks. But the set-up of the stitches was completely different from that of sock toes, so why use the same grafting technique?

For example, when you knit circularly, you are actually creating a spiral. When you graft the toes of socks, you are joining one half of the spiral to the other half (illustration 1).

Illustration 1

But with the cowl, I needed to join two separate spirals (illustration 2).

Illustration 2

In the illustrations, I made the circular pieces different colors so that it would be easier to tell them apart. I've also drawn the pieces off the needles to make it easier to see what's happening with the stitches. The green piece represents the stitches on the front needle (FN) as you're grafting, and the blue piece represents the stitches on the back needle (BN). The grafted row (shown in dark green in illustration 3) forms another spiraled row between the two pieces.

Illustration 3

Cut the yarn on the FN stitches, leaving a tail about four times the circumference of the piece, and use this for the grafting. The tail coming from the BN stitches should be long enough that it can be woven in, but not so long that it gets in the way when you're grafting. (In illustration 4, I've drawn the tails shorter than they actually are so that they don't obscure the stitches.)

Illustration 4

Illustration 5

Place a removable marker in the stitch in the row below the last stitch of the round on the BN stitches (marked with an asterisk in the illustrations). This stitch will come into play at the end of the grafting.

Hold the circular needles together, holding the piece with the longer tail in front. Thread the grafting yarn through a tapestry needle and follow these steps (illustration 5):

Step 1
Insert the tapestry needle purlwise (from WS to RS) into the first stitch on the FN, pull the yarn through, leaving the stitch on the knitting needle.

Step 2
Insert the tapestry needle purlwise (from RS to WS) into the first stitch on the BN, remove the stitch from the knitting needle but don't pull the yarn through; just leave it on the tapestry needle until the next step.

Step 3
Insert the tapestry needle knitwise (from WS to RS) into the next stitch on the BN, pull the yarn through, leaving the stitch on the knitting needle.

Step 4
Insert the tapestry needle knitwise (from RS to WS) into the first stitch on the FN, remove the stitch from the knitting needle but don't pull the yarn through; just leave it on the tapestry needle until the next step.

One knit stitch has been grafted, which is shown in dark green in the illustration.

Repeat Steps 1-4 for every knit stitch around (illustration 6) until you have one stitch remaining on each needle.

Illustration 6

Place a removable marker in the stitch on the FN, then remove the stitch from the needle (you need to secure it first with the marker or it will unravel). Place a marker in the stitch on the BN and remove the stitch from the needle. This stitch won't unravel because the yarn has already passed through it once in Step 3 of the previous grafted stitch, but the marker will help to identify it in the next step.

On the BN stitches, remove the tail from the stitch marked by the asterisk (illustration 7).

Illustration 7

Then with the tapestry needle and grafting yarn, go purlwise (from WS to RS) through the FN stitch, removing the marker; purlwise (from RS to WS) through the BN stitch, removing the marker; knitwise (from WS to RS) through the stitch with the asterisk, removing the marker; and knitwise (from RS to WS) through the FN stitch.

The grafted row is now complete (illustration 8).

Illustration 8

To weave in the tails, I work duplicate stitch over a couple of stitches, taking each tail to the opposite side of the gap, then run the tail through to the inside of the tube.

What I've described above is top-to-top grafting, or grafting the last round of one piece to the last round of another piece. But if you are grafting the last round of one piece to the provisional cast-on of another piece, you must first create a stitch with the cast-on tail as shown in illustrations 9 and 10. The stitch created by the cast-on tail will be the same as the last stitch of the round in the top-to-top grafting example (compare illustrations 4 and 10).

By the way, if you are grafting in a ribbing pattern to a provisional cast-on row, simply substitute "knitwise" for "purlwise," and vice versa, in Steps 1-4 for every purl stitch. The stitch on the front needle will tell you which four steps you need to work at any given time.


Illustration 9		Illustration 10

Fabric Engineering

Joni Coniglio — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:09:00 GMT

I'm the new Project Editor at Interweave and will be a regular contributor to this blog. I'm also new to blogging (this is my first-ever post), so please bear with me as I learn the ropes!

I may be learning a lot of new things right now, but I'm not new to knitting. I've been a technical editor and knitting illustrator for over 25 years. In that time I have edited hundreds of patterns and illustrated thousands of stitches. As a result, I've gained a deep understanding of the structure of the knitted fabric. My brother Patrick is a mechanical engineer who owns and operates a small engineering firm in Taipei. One day, I was describing a knitting technique to him using some illustrations, and he said, "Oh, I see, you're a fabric engineer!" I love that description--it's entirely accurate. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to discover some new (to me) knitting technique, especially one that will improve the appearance of the finished project. I'd like to share my discoveries with you because, well, the truth is I just love talking about technical "stuff." But also because I believe a successful project is really just the product of a hundred "elegant" details. And each detail we master raises the level of our "knitting game."

Take, for instance, Daniela Nii's beautiful pillows in the Spring 2011 issue of Interweave Knits.

(Illustration 1)

Daniela uses a technique called "diagonal intarsia." Typically, in intarsia, a diagonal line is the result of simple color changes. These color changes create a "stairstep effect" which, in this case, would blur the strong lines that make the pillow design so effective (illustration 1).

Instead, Daniela uses a combination of increases and decreases on each side of the color change to move the colors while maintaining a straight line between the colors (illustration 2). And because the increases

(Illustration 2)

and decreases are always paired, there is no change in the stitch count. A right diagonal is achieved by decreasing stitches in the first color section while increasing stitches in the adjoining color section to the left. A left diagonal is achieved by doing the opposite: increasing in the first section and decreasing in the second.

You can use any type of increase or decrease methods you choose. I've seen patterns which used Make 1's and even loop cast-on's for increases, but I think the lifted increases that Daniela uses result in the neatest color transitions. For the left diagonal, she worked a lifted increase into the right side of the last stitch of the first color section (illustration 3), then knit the last stitch.

(Illustration 3)

Then she began the next color section immediately with an ssk decrease. For the right diagonal, the first section ended with a k2tog decrease, and the next section began with a knit stitch, then a lifted increase worked into the left side of the stitch that was just knitted (illustration 4).

The angle of the diagonal lines can be adjusted by changing the rate at which the increase/decrease rows are worked. For a more acute angle, work them every other row. Or for a more oblique angle, work them every fourth row.

(Illustration 4)

It may take some experimenting to get the results you want. So, get out your knitting needles and do some "fabric engineering" of your own!

Thanks,

Joni

Inside Knits : Knitting Stitches, How To Knit

Yoga and Knitting: Learning to Loosen up with Mercedes

Steeks: Cutting the Edge

What is a steek?

Why use steeks?

What about unraveling?

How to work a steek

Where to place a steek

Reinforcing and cutting steeks

Picking up and knitting from a steek edge

Grafting In Pattern, Part 2: Top-To-Top

Does a Grafted Row Count as One or Two Pattern Rows

Swatch A

Swatch B

Swatch C

Swatch D

Swatch E

Summer yarns

The Mechanics of Knitting (And How to Graft Two Circular Pieces Together)

Fabric Engineering