Eight useful techniques in knitting
My Mom showed me how to knit a stitch. I learned the rest on my own over the years. The following are some techniques I use most in my projects. They give a project the kind of quality finishing one finds in designer clothing.
The answer is, unless you want to do something special (see below), always the "front" leg. "Front" is defined as the leg that is in front of the other when holding the work flat. It is not to be confused with which leg is in front of the needle and which is behind. Sometimes, the front leg is in the back of the needle. Confusing enough? Here is what I mean:
It is easiest to see with the first loop on the needle (rightmost, with the yarn attached). The part of the loop that passes behind the needle is on the right, while the part of the loop that passes in front of the needle is on the left. The part of the loop that passes behind the needle is therefore ahead of the part of the loop that passes behind the needle and you would knit into that leg (knitting reads like manga, from right to left).
You would do this to work the next knit row
As opposed to this. That would get you a twisted loop.
There are cases where you want twisted loops. These are sometimes used to create visual interest or to obtain a tighter weave (usually used in ribbing at the edge of a sock or hat). In the first picture in this post, if you look closely, I worked a row of twisted loops. Can you see it?
Here is an example of twisted ribbing used on the edge of a hat.
If the stitches are to be picked up horizontally to the work, the best thing to do is to leave the stitches that need to be picked up at a later time on a stitch holder. Patterns rarely tell you to do that, but it is the best way.
Often, however, one has to pick up stitches along the vertical edge of the work, perpendicular to the rows. Then technique #2 above comes in handy. One has a series of well-defined loops on the edge of the work to work with. Furthermore, the number of loops is about right (one loop for 2 rows).
Pull loops of the yarn with the right side facing, from the back of the work to the front of the work (unless you are looking for a special look - see for instance my imitation tweed dress).
Yarn is multi-ply, typically 4 or 3. This means that the thread is made up of 3 or 4 threads twisted together. When you get to the end of a ball of yarn, stop knitting when you have about 15 cm left. Of that 15 cm, separate about 5 cm into individual threads. If you are working with 4 ply, separate the yarn into two parts, 2 threads in each. If you are workign with 3 ply, do the seperation 1-2.
Take the end of your new ball and do the same to it (split the first 5 cm). If you are working with 4-ply yearn, grab one 2-thread end from the exhausted ball and one 2-thread end fromt he new ball. Twist them together. The other halfs are hanging. Carefully holding the joined parts together, resume knitting. Retwist as needed, when you get to using the 5 cm join to make stitches. You want to twist just right so that it mimics the original twist.
Watch that the unsused bits of strings end up on the back of your work. I like to tie them together so that they do not end up working their way to the front when I wear or wash the garments. Once they are tied, you can cut some of the extra length. Leave enough so that the joints will not come undone.
If you are working with 3-ply, you take the 2-ply end from one ball and the 1-ply end form the other ball so you end up with 3-ply yarn again.
This makes for a nearly invisible join. If you like, you can do all your joins near the edges (sacrificing some yarn) for even more invisible joins.
Lace knitting thread is also multi-ply, but much harder to separate and then you end up with spider web thread. Not so strong and not so easy to work with. Making invisible joins is not possible so it's better to have continuous thread, but in a bind, here is what works for me.
First, pick a part of the pattern that has a solid knitting bit (not too many holes) to do your join. Join the new thread by tying it to the other with a plain double knot. Tie the knot tight and join the ends with the thread, in the direction that they want to go.
Work a few stitches with the double thread, making sure the ends end up on the back side of the work. The result is not completely invisible, because a few stitches are "fat", having been worked with double instead of single thread.
Sometimes holes produced by right and/or left leaning increases are desirable. I have exploited that in my ruffle knit skirt, where I needed to dramatically increase the number of stitches over one round to create a ruffle at the bottom.
Beginning of row decrease: Knit 2 stitches, slip one then another one, pick up the two stitches just slipped onto the right needle and knit them together, making sure to knit through the front of the loops (see technique #1). Tug slightly on the work once you have knitted the stitches to make the stitches fall into place.
End of row decrease: Leave 4 stitches at the end of the row. Use the first two stitches to work the decrease, then finish by knitting the last two stitches. k2tog stands, fairly obviously, for "knit 2 together". But there is a trick, almost never told. The 2 stitches must be knit together through the front of the loops. I find the neatest effect is obtained if one goes through the trouble of first slipping the two stitches to be knit together on the right needle, then slipping them back one by one reversing the order of the legs (make them look like stitches ready to be purled, with the front leg in front of the needle - see technique #1). Only then knit the stitches together. Tug lightly on the work to make the stitches fall into place.
If you must work a right leaning decrease like the one above on a wrong side row, simply purl the two stitches together.
Sometimes, however, it is desirable to stray from the suggested needle size. In lace knitting, one often goes way larger in needle size, to get bigger holes. In general, if you want a fabric that drapes, go larger in needle size. Be aware that the garment will lose structure. This is best used for scarves or skirts that are meant to move as you walk. For example, I used different needles sizes to achieve those different needs in my Macy's inspired sweater dress.
On the other hand, if structure is desired, try going smaller in needle size. The tighter knit will also be warmer. On the other hand, if you go too small, knitting will be hard (too tight) and the finished product stiff.
1. Purl stitch and knit stitch and twisted stitches
To knit a stitch, one inserts the needle from left to right. To purl, from right to left. Simple. But each stitch or loop has two legs. Which leg to pick?The answer is, unless you want to do something special (see below), always the "front" leg. "Front" is defined as the leg that is in front of the other when holding the work flat. It is not to be confused with which leg is in front of the needle and which is behind. Sometimes, the front leg is in the back of the needle. Confusing enough? Here is what I mean:
It is easiest to see with the first loop on the needle (rightmost, with the yarn attached). The part of the loop that passes behind the needle is on the right, while the part of the loop that passes in front of the needle is on the left. The part of the loop that passes behind the needle is therefore ahead of the part of the loop that passes behind the needle and you would knit into that leg (knitting reads like manga, from right to left).
You would do this to work the next knit row
As opposed to this. That would get you a twisted loop.
There are cases where you want twisted loops. These are sometimes used to create visual interest or to obtain a tighter weave (usually used in ribbing at the edge of a sock or hat). In the first picture in this post, if you look closely, I worked a row of twisted loops. Can you see it?
Here is an example of twisted ribbing used on the edge of a hat.
2. Making an edge for sewing or for picking up stitches
This more obscure technique makes it easier to finish projects neatly. Have one extra stitch on each side than the pattern calls for. On each row (right and wrong side) slip the first stitch. On the right side (knit rows), pick up the stitch as if to knit. On the wrong side (purl rows) pick up the stitch as if to purl. This creates a neat edge with about the right number of "loops" for picking up stitches when finishing vertical edges. Below is an example of the kind of finish one achieves when using this technique.
3. Picking up stitches cleanly
This brings us naturally to something else one often has to do in a knitted project: picking up stitches. I struggled for a long time with doing this neatly.If the stitches are to be picked up horizontally to the work, the best thing to do is to leave the stitches that need to be picked up at a later time on a stitch holder. Patterns rarely tell you to do that, but it is the best way.
Often, however, one has to pick up stitches along the vertical edge of the work, perpendicular to the rows. Then technique #2 above comes in handy. One has a series of well-defined loops on the edge of the work to work with. Furthermore, the number of loops is about right (one loop for 2 rows).
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| Some stitches picked up using the clean loops created by technique #2 |
4. Joining a new ball
There are two techniques that I use. One is when I knit with yarn and the other for when I knit with thread (lace knitting).Yarn is multi-ply, typically 4 or 3. This means that the thread is made up of 3 or 4 threads twisted together. When you get to the end of a ball of yarn, stop knitting when you have about 15 cm left. Of that 15 cm, separate about 5 cm into individual threads. If you are working with 4 ply, separate the yarn into two parts, 2 threads in each. If you are workign with 3 ply, do the seperation 1-2.
Take the end of your new ball and do the same to it (split the first 5 cm). If you are working with 4-ply yearn, grab one 2-thread end from the exhausted ball and one 2-thread end fromt he new ball. Twist them together. The other halfs are hanging. Carefully holding the joined parts together, resume knitting. Retwist as needed, when you get to using the 5 cm join to make stitches. You want to twist just right so that it mimics the original twist.
Watch that the unsused bits of strings end up on the back of your work. I like to tie them together so that they do not end up working their way to the front when I wear or wash the garments. Once they are tied, you can cut some of the extra length. Leave enough so that the joints will not come undone.
If you are working with 3-ply, you take the 2-ply end from one ball and the 1-ply end form the other ball so you end up with 3-ply yarn again.
This makes for a nearly invisible join. If you like, you can do all your joins near the edges (sacrificing some yarn) for even more invisible joins.
Lace knitting thread is also multi-ply, but much harder to separate and then you end up with spider web thread. Not so strong and not so easy to work with. Making invisible joins is not possible so it's better to have continuous thread, but in a bind, here is what works for me.
First, pick a part of the pattern that has a solid knitting bit (not too many holes) to do your join. Join the new thread by tying it to the other with a plain double knot. Tie the knot tight and join the ends with the thread, in the direction that they want to go.
Work a few stitches with the double thread, making sure the ends end up on the back side of the work. The result is not completely invisible, because a few stitches are "fat", having been worked with double instead of single thread.
5. Increases
Increases are challenging. The most invisible way to work increases is to use left leaning increases and right leaning increases (also called "raised increases"). Work a left leaning increase at the beginning of increase rows and a right leaning increase at the end. If increases leave holes in your knitting, knit through the backs of the loops (see technique #1). I find that for right leaning increase, I have to make a twisted loop otherwise I get a hole in my knitting. Left leaning increases are tighter and do not require knitting through the back of the loop. |
| Left leaning increases worked at the beginning of increase rows |
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| Right leaning increases worked at the end of increase rows |
A row of right leaning and left leaning increases worked in the same stitch produces eyelets.
6. decreases
My favorite method is to leave a 2 stitch edge, and then use the standard techniques of ssk and k2tog. It is worth using these techniques correctly. It makes a big difference in the finished product. ssk is used at the beginning of decrease rows, while k2tog is used at the end of decrease rows. If you can, decrease on right side rows (knit rows).Beginning of row decrease: Knit 2 stitches, slip one then another one, pick up the two stitches just slipped onto the right needle and knit them together, making sure to knit through the front of the loops (see technique #1). Tug slightly on the work once you have knitted the stitches to make the stitches fall into place.
If you must work a left leaning decrease such as the above on a wrong side row, work your way to just before the two stitches that have to be purled together. Pass each stitch to the right needle, then put them back one by one, twisting each stitch slightly. so that the front of each loop that was in front of the left needle is now in the back. The two stitches to be purled together should look like stitches do on a ride side row. Then purl the two stitches together, picking up the second stich first, through its front leg. That means you have to reach around through the back of the left needle.
If you must work a right leaning decrease like the one above on a wrong side row, simply purl the two stitches together.
7. Sewing seams neatly
Can you see the seam?
The two pieces joined were knitted using technique #2 for the edges. Then I lined up the loops and joined them with a thread. I used to use the yarn itself to join different parts of a knitted work, but that leads to seams that are often too bulky, due to the size of the thread. Instead, I use matching sewing thread (as in this case), or else, one or two plies of the knitting yarn (depending on the strength of the yarn).
On the back side, the above seam looks like this:
8. Playing with different needle size
Needle size is usually suggested on the label of a ball or skein of yarn. Often you will want to use a size different from that suggested. One reason to do so is to match the given gauge. In that case, you do not want to stray too far from the suggested size. Otherwise, your garment will look different and hang very differently from the model.Sometimes, however, it is desirable to stray from the suggested needle size. In lace knitting, one often goes way larger in needle size, to get bigger holes. In general, if you want a fabric that drapes, go larger in needle size. Be aware that the garment will lose structure. This is best used for scarves or skirts that are meant to move as you walk. For example, I used different needles sizes to achieve those different needs in my Macy's inspired sweater dress.
On the other hand, if structure is desired, try going smaller in needle size. The tighter knit will also be warmer. On the other hand, if you go too small, knitting will be hard (too tight) and the finished product stiff.
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