Monday, February 19, 2007

How to make an I-cord

includes a how to
We have Elizabeth Zimmerman to thank for popularizing this simple, knitted cord (as she did so many other wonderful knitting tricks). If the illustration isn't self-explanatory, here are some written directions:
click picturei cord
  1. Cast on 3 stitches on a double pointed needle (dpn). (For I-cord, I prefer the the "disappearing loop" method, but don't let this discourage you--ANY method of casting on 3 stitches will work very well.) Leave a tail dangling.
  2. Slide the stitches back along the dpn so that the ball yarn comes out of the left side of the 3 stitches, and the first stitch cast on lies on the right tip of the left needle.
  3. With a second dpn, pull the yarn around the back of the 3 stitches, and knit the first stitch on the right tip of the left needle from this position.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the I-cord is as long as you want.
  5. Cast off by threading a needle with the ball end of the yarn, run this yarn though all three stitches once or twice, drawing up tightly after each three stitches.
  6. Run the remaining tail through the middle of the cord, bring the needle out the side of the cord, snip the excess, and tug the I-cord to make the snipped tail slip back inside the I-cord forever. Repeat with the tail left over from casting on.
BTW: I-cord stands for "Idiot cord." Presumably the idea is that anyone could make one.
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--TK