Say hello to the McKinley Kep!
Tips & Tricks
Check back often for new knitting tips
1. Form slip knot and place on needle held in right hand, leaving a long tail.*
2. Holding needle in right hand, grasp both strands of yarn in palm of left hand. Insert left forefinger and thumb between strands and spread them apart. One strand will pass from the left palm around the outside of the thumb to the needle, while the other strand will pass from the left palm around the outside of the forefinger to the needle.
3. Pass needle tip under both strands from farside to nearside. Lift tip to catch strand coming from thumb on needle, then draw resulting loop under strand coming from forefinger. The result is a purl st. It may help to hold slip knot in place with tip of right forefinger to prevent it from twisting around the needle and unraveling the purl st.
4. Pass needle tip up and over both strands from farside to nearside, then draw a W with needle tip as follows: down on nearside of strand coming from thumb; up between two strands; down on farside of strand coming from forefinger; then (with a bit of a scooping motion) up on nearside of strand coming from thumb. The result is a knit st.
5. Counting the slip knot as a st, repeat steps 3 and 4 until number of cast on sts needed minus 1 are on needle.
6. For last cast-on st, form a half-hitch as follows: slide needle tip under strand leading from palm over outside of thumb and pull loop over both strands leading to needle; passing needle tip down farside of strand coming from forefinger, use tip to pull strand from forefinger through loop of yarn wrapped around thumb; bend thumb to allow loop to slide off thumb; tug on both strands to tighten half-hitch st on needle.
Setup row (may be either RS or WS row). For flat knitting, turn work, moving needle to left hand. The first st (the half-hitch) is a knit st. The next st will be a purl st if the last st cast on before the half-hitch was a Step 4 knit st. (This will be true if casting on an even number of sts.) Work in k1, p1 ribbing to end of row. For knitting in the round, join after the half-hitch st by knitting slip knot, purling next st, then continuing in k1, p1 ribbing to end of round. In this case, the last (half-hitch) st in round will be purled.
Note: Some knitters omit the slip knot and half-hitch st for this cast-on, draping the yarn over the needle to begin and holding the yarn strands in place with their fingers after casting on the last st until they have begun knitting the first row or round. While the result is a bit more seamless, I find it impossibly awkward to perform, and I find that my tension is more even if I anchor the cast on with the half-hitch st.
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.
Work first st in patt, then follow steps below until last st has been worked:
1. To bind off a purl st:
Yo, p1, wyib pass second and third sts on RN over first st.
2. To bind off a knit st:
Yo backwards (bring yarn over RN from farside to nearside, then under RN to farside), k1b,
wyib pass second and third sts on RN over first st.
When 1 st remains, break yarn and pass tail through last st, then pull to tighten last loop.
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 calculate how long a yarn tail needs to be, cast on 10 sts, beginning with a slip knot and ending with a half-hitch. Slide these sts off needle, grasping one yarn end in each hand at the half-hitch. Pull two ends apart to unravel sts, including slip knot. Length of yarn between your two hands is the length of the yarn tail needed to cast on 20 sts. Measure out multiples of this length needed to match number of sts to cast on. (For example, double the length to cast on 40 sts, triple it to cast on 60 sts, etc.) Add a bit of extra length to provide for a yarn tail to weave in later, then make a slip knot. Place slip knot on needle and cast on.
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.
Break yarn, leaving tail four times longer than edge to be bound off. Thread tail onto tapestry needle. Insert tapestry needle into first (knit) st on LN as if to purl and pull yarn through. Bring tapestry needle below LN to back of work, insert needle between next two sts on LN from back to front and pull yarn through, then insert needle into second (purl) st on LN as if to knit and pull yarn through.
Rep the four steps below until all sts are bound off:
- A. Insert tapestry needle into first (knit) st on LN as if to knit and pull yarn through, then slip st off LN.
- B. Keeping tapestry needle in front of work, insert needle into second (knit) st on LN as if to purl, keeping tapestry needle above working yarn, and pull yarn through.
- C. Keeping tapestry needle in front of work, insert needle into first (purl) st on LN as if to purl and pull yarn through, then slip st off LN.
- D. Bring tapestry needle below LN to back of work, insert needle between next two sts on LN from back to front and pull yarn through, then insert needle into second (purl) st on LN as if to knit and pull yarn through.
End by repeating step A in last knit st, then inserting needle into last (purl) st as if to purl and slipping st off LN. Break yarn and pull to tighten.
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.
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.