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Tips & Tricks
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Place slip knot on needle held in right hand. *Pick up yarn with left hand and wrap counterclockwise completely around left thumb, from inside to outside of hand, then from inside to outside again to form a 360-degree loop. Hold yarn in place with left fingers. Insert tip of needle under yarn on thumb from left to right. Release thumb, allowing loop to transfer to needle, and tighten yarn. Repeat from * until number of stitches needed are on needle.
To create a knitted drawstring or other cord, cast on 4 stitches using double-pointed needles ("dpns"). *Without turning work, slide stitches to opposite end of dpn, then knit 4, pulling yarn firmly while working first stitch so that first and last stitches of row abut; repeat from * until cord is desired length. Cut yarn, leaving 4”/10cm tail. With tapestry needle, thread yarn tail through all 4 stitches, remove dpn and draw stitches closed. Weave ends into center of cord.
Used to graft two sets of live stitches together. Arrange two sets of stitches on separate needles, with right sides facing outwards and needles tips facing to the right. Thread a strand of yarn three times longer than the width of the fabric plus sufficient length to weave in the yarn tail onto a tapestry needle. Bind off in Kitchener stitch as follows:
1. Holding work with yarn tail to the right, draw tapestry needle through first stitch on back knitting needle as if to knit; do not discard stitch.
2. Draw tapestry needle through first stitch on front knitting needle as if to purl; do not discard stitch.
3. Draw tapestry needle through first stitch on back needle as if to purl; drop stitch from needle.
4. Draw tapestry needle through next stitch on back needle as if to knit; do not discard stitch.
5. Draw tapestry needle through first stitch on front needle as if to knit; drop stitch from needle.
6. Draw tapestry needle through next stitch on front needle as if to purl; do not discard stitch.
Repeat steps 3-6 until all stitches are bound off (in last section, for final stitch on each needle, at steps 4 and 6 draw needle through side of first bound-off stitch on the left, in direction indicated). Weave in yarn tail.
To work two-color stranded knitting, one strand is used to form the stitch while the other strand is carried loosely behind. It is not necessary to twist the strands around one another when changing colors. Rather, one color should consistently be carried below the other so that the yard strands (or “floats”) on the reverse side of the fabric are parallel and untwisted.
- For an even result, consistently hold the foreground color so that it strands below the background color on the reverse side of the fabric.
- To avoid tight floats, spread out the stitches on the right needle before switching colors.
- Secure any strand that passes behind more than an inch of fabric by draping the floating strand over the working strand on the reverse side of the fabric, working one stitch, then returning the floating strand to its original position. Stagger the securing points so that they do not form a vertical line.
Used to join two fabrics together. Arrange two fabrics on separate needles, with wrong sides facing outwards and needle tips facing to the right. Holding both needles parallel in left hand, use a double-pointed needle ("dpn") in right hand to work bind off as follows: Insert dpn into first stitch on front needle and first stitch on back needle simultaneously, then knit these two stitches together, creating one stitch on dpn. *Repeat, then pass first stitch on dpn over second stitch as for a standard bind off. Repeat from * until one stitch remains on dpn. Cut yarn and pass end through last stitch to secure.
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