Reading Written Instructions
You have probably looked into knitting books and thought, Is this English Knitting instructions contain a lot of information in terms and formats that are unfamiliar and intimidating at first. This chapter will enable you to understand what you are reading the next time you look at a knitting pattern. Reading a Knitting Pattern 58 Getting to Know Gauge 60 Gauge and Stitch Patterns 62 Make and Measure a Gauge Swatch 64 Sizing in Knitting Patterns 66 How to Read Knitting Charts 69 A knitting...
Knit or Purl Together Through Back of Loop
These two decreases are similar to the regular knit 2 together and purl 2 together decreases, only the 2 stitches are worked together through the backs of the loops instead of through the fronts. Both result in a left-slanting decrease on the front side of a piece of knitting. They are also referred to as k2tog tbl or p2tog tbl. Insert the right needle from front to back into the back of the next 2 stitches on the left needle. Knit the 2 stitches together as 1 stitch. Insert the right needle...
Knit or Purl Through Back of Loop
A common direction in knitting patterns is kl tbl or knit 1 through back of loop. Likewise, you often see pl tbl or purl 1 through back of loop. Knitting or purling through the back loop twists the stitch, and so it is a frequently used maneuver in textured, twist-stitch patterns. It is also used in the bar increase, where you knit into the front and back of the same stitch. You also find tbl in the decreases k2tog tbl and p2tog tbl.
Pick Up a Dropped Edge Stitch Several Rows Below
An edge stitch that has been dropped and allowed to run for several rows has a different appearance from a run down the interior of a piece of knitting. Instead of seeing a row of horizontal ladders, you see 2 loops at the edge The dropped stitch and a large loop of yarn. For this repair, use a crochet hook in the appropriate size for your yarn. 1 Insert the crochet hook from front to back through the dropped stitch. Pull the big loop through the hook to the front. 2 Repeat step 1 until you get...
Finishing Details
Sometimes the finishing phase of a hand-knit sweater can take almost as long as the knitting phase. However, because you have spent many hours knitting your project, you should spend a few more hours on finishing it to show it off in the best possible light. Besides blocking and seaming pieces together, there are also many finishing details that your project may need, such as buttonholes, collars, hems, and pockets. Pick Up Button Bands, Neckbands, Plackets, and Make Reinforce Buttonholes 176...
Double Make Increase
1 Working on the right side, knit across to the axis stitch. Perform a right-slanting make 1 increase, using the horizontal strand between the last stitch worked and the axis stitch. 1 increase see p. 105 for instructions , using the horizontal strand between the axis stitch and the next stitch to be worked on the left needle. Knit to the end of the row.
Cast On with Circular Needles
Choose a circular needle that is the appropriate diameter for your yarn, and that is at least 2 or 3 inches shorter than the circumference of the item that you're going to knit. If the needle is too long, you won't be able to join the round. You can use a circular needle that is much shorter than even half the circumference of your knitting. However, a needle that is too short will make it difficult to see your knitting, because it will be so gathered. 1 Cast on stitches in the same manner that...
Zin
1 Cast on in the color that will be the working yarn for the first 2 rows. For the first row a right-side row , knit the stitches, following the chart from left to right, in the working color, and slip the stitches in the second color purlwise, holding the working yarn at the back. 2 Working the same chart row on the wrong side, reading from left to right, purl all of the stitches in the working color, and slip the stitches in the second color purlwise, while holding the working yarn at the...
Straight Armhole
Straight armhole with straight sleeve cap Angular armhole shaping with angular sleeve cap Shaped armhole with rounded set-in sleeve Shaped armhole with set-in saddle-shoulder sleeve Right-angle armhole with set-in sleeve
Correct an Incomplete Stitch
A stitch is incomplete when the working yarn is not pulled through the loop. The stitch is transferred from the left needle to the right needle, but it is not knit or purled the working yarn is wrapped over the needle, crossing over the mistakenly slipped stitch. 1 Work across until you get to the incomplete stitch. 2 Insert the right needle as if to purl from back to front into the incomplete stitch. Pull it over the unworked strand and off the needle.
TIP Acr
The hole made with this increase is smaller than the yarn-over hole, and appears in the row below the row that you work it on. All you do is pick up the horizontal bar between the last stitch that you worked on the right needle and the next stitch to be worked on the left needle you do this by inserting the left needle from front to back under the horizontal bar. Then knit into the front of this picked-up strand you now see a little hole, and you have an extra stitch.
Pick Up a Dropped Stitch One Row Below
A dropped stitch is a stitch that has slipped off your needles. If you find that you have dropped a stitch on the row before the row that you're currently working, you can fix it with your knitting needle using this method. 1 Work across until you get to the dropped stitch. 2 Insert the right needle into the dropped stitch and under the horizontal strand the ladder behind the dropped stitch. 3 Insert the left needle from back to front into the dropped stitch on the right needle, and pull it...
Color Knitting
One of the most enjoyable aspects of knitting can be choosing the colors standing in the yarn shop, holding one ball of yarn next to another to see how they work together. You can use color in your knitting to create beautiful, vibrant designs using several methods simple horizontal striping Fair Isle knitting, which involves the stranding of two colors in one row slip-stitch color knitting, which is a deceptively easy way to create elaborate color patterns and intarsia knitting, which involves...
Bind Off Knitwise
Binding off knitwise is the most frequently used and easiest bind-off. You use it to bind off knit stitches. Remember to keep it loose. 1 Knit until you have a total of 2 stitches on the right needle then insert the left needle into the front of the first stitch that you knitted onto the right needle. 2 Pull the first stitch over the second knit stitch and off the right needle. You have now bound off 1 stitch knitwise, and you have 1 stitch on the right needle. 3 Repeat steps 1-2 until you have...
Make and Measure a Gauge Swatch
Before starting a project, always make a gauge swatch to ensure that you are knitting to the same gauge as the pattern. A gauge swatch is a small square of knitting that is used to measure how many stitches and rows per inch you are getting with a particular yarn on a certain size needle. It takes only a few minutes to make, and you will definitely not regret it. Many new knitters skip this step and spend hours on a sweater that ends up too big or too small. To make a gauge swatch, you need to...
Knit Using Circular Needles
When you knit on circular needles, you knit in rounds, not rows. Every round is a right side row, so if you're working in stockinette stitch, you do not have to purl. Take care not to let the stitches get twisted before joining your round. If they are twisted and you knit a few rounds, the entire piece of knitting will be twisted. The only way to correct this is to unravel all the way back to the cast-on row. In your right hand, hold the end of the needle to which working yarn is attached....
Bind Off Purlwise
This method is just like the knit bind-off, except that you purl instead of knit. You use it to bind off purl stitches. 1 Purl until you have 2 stitches on the right needle then insert the left needle into the front of the first stitch that you purled onto the right needle. 2 Pull the first stitch over the second purled stitch and off the right needle. You have now bound off 1 stitch purlwise, and you have 1 stitch on the right needle. 3 Repeat steps 1-2 until you have bound off the desired...
Understanding Yarn Labels
Most commercially produced yarns come with a label, or ball band. Always save the ball band with the yarn it contains useful information. The largest print on the ball band is the yarn manufacturer's name and logo, and then the name of that particular yarn. The ball band also includes the fiber content of the yarn. The ball band lists the weight of the ball and the yardage, or the length of yarn contained in the ball. Yarn companies assign numbers to indicate yarn color. These numbers differ...
Slipstitch Selvage
This selvage forms a neat and attractive chain along the side. You can use it decoratively, but it also works well for seaming or as a pick-up row for other edgings. 1 Row 1 right side Slip 1 knitwise this is a selvage stitch , work across the row to the last stitch, slip 1 knitwise this is also a selvage stitch . 2 Row 2 wrong side Purl 1 selvage , work across the row to the last stitch, purl 1. 3 Repeat rows 1-2 to work selvages on each edge. Bobbles add a playful three-dimensional accent to...
Reading A Stitch Pattern Chart
When a chart is used to represent a textured stitch pattern, each square is either empty or contains a symbol. Symbols vary from pattern to pattern. For simple knit-and-purl patterns, an empty square means, knit on the right-side rows and purl on the wrong-side rows. A square that contains a dot means, purl on the right-side rows and knit on the wrong-side rows. More complex stitch patterns, such as cable patterns, contain many symbols representing different techniques. Turn It Upside-Down for...
Garter Stitch Selvage
Knitting the first and last stitch of every row, and working the pattern stitch in this case, stockinette stitch in between forms a garter stitch selvage. It looks slightly different on the right side versus the left side. You use this selvage technique on the edges of a sweater back or pullover front to make seaming easy you can also use it to add a tidy edge on a scarf or blanket. 1 Row 1 Knit 1 this is a selvage stitch , work across the row to the last stitch, knit 1 this is also a selvage...
Finishing Techniques
After you complete the knitting stage of a project, it is time to move on to finishing. Finishing consists of weaving in the loose ends that hang off your knitting, blocking your knit pieces to the correct measurements, and putting the pieces together by sewing seams. Although most knitters prefer knitting to finishing, mastering the finishing techniques in this chapter will ensure that you are happy with your completed projects. Weave in Ends 144 Block Your Knitting 146 Sew Graft Assemble a...
Work Seamless Stripes in the Round
Because circular knitting is actually knitting a spiral, lining up stripes at the beginning or end of each new round can be tricky. You end up with a little stair step where the old round ends and the new round begins. Some knitters accept the stair step as a matter of course, which is fine. However, if you find this little imperfection undesirable, you can try the following to diminish the stair step. 1 After you finish the first color stripe, change to the new color at the beginning of the...
Knit One in the Row Below
You have probably come across the direction, knit 1 stitch in the row below before it is often used in textured stitch patterns, because it causes the fabric to pucker slightly. 1 Holding the working yarn at the back, insert the right needle from front to back into the stitch, directly below the next stitch on the left needle. Note Be sure to insert the needle all the way through to the back before knitting, so that the stitch above becomes caught up by the new stitch. 2 Wrap the working yarn...