BACK to the back join

The back join (subject of a previous post) is a method for working in the tails AS YOU GO in multi-color knitting. The back join is NOT confusing, but judging from the e-mails in the TECHknitting in-box, the first post about it WAS confusing. It would be a pity to obscure such a useful technique with badly-written instructions, so here's another run at it--with an additional illustration showing the back join as it is being knitted.

The back join (one more time)

The back join is usually used in circular knitting (around and around) because back-and forth knitters usually change at the fabric edge. Therefore, the illustrations below show the back join in circular knitting. You can, however, do the back join in flat (back and forth) knitting--see number (8), below.

So, suppose you are knitting around and around on circular needles in LAVENDER and you want to switch to PURPLE. One vital piece of information you'll need to figure out is EXACTLY where you want the color change to be. The first two steps in the illustrated instructions below are MEASURING steps. As you get better at the back-join, you can skip steps 1 and 2, but for the first few times, it probably makes sense to go through all the steps.1) (above) Begin the back join by knitting to the last LAVENDER stitch. Now you need to somehow locate and mark the spot on the tail, just PAST this last lavender stitch. This is the spot where you will interlock your lavender and purple yarns in step 3. You can mark this spot with a pin or a paperclip, or you can mark the spot by pinching it--the illustration shows the spot being marked with a pinch.

2) (above) Once you have this spot marked, UNRAVEL the last three stitches you have knit, and RETURN the unraveled stitches to the LEFT NEEDLE. If you are pinching the yarn to make the spot, you have to keep hold of the spot as you unravel. If you are marking the spot with a pin or clip, you do not have to keep hold of the spot as you unravel--the pin or the clip remains in the tail to mark the spot. The illustration above shows the three last stitches already unraveled, and returned to the left needle. The knitter in this illustration chose to mark with a pinch, and therefore is keeping hold of the spot to mark it.

3) (above) In step 3, you will INTERLOCK the old color (LAVENDER) with the new color (PURPLE) at the spot you have previously marked. You do this by folding the PURPLE yarn over the LAVENDER yarn at that spot. The LAVENDER yarn is now folded back on itself, creating a doubled strand--one strand is the yarn coming from the work, the other is the strand going to the ball. The PURPLE yarn is also folded back on itself, and again, a doubled strand is created, with one strand of yarn coming from the ball of purple yarn, and the other strand being the tail--which you should leave plenty long--several inches, at least.

4) (above) Anchoring the LAVENDER end of the interlocked strand up against the fabric with your right hand, and anchoring the PURPLE end of the interlocked strand over your tensioning finger, re-knit the next three stitches. Because the LAVENDER portion ends at the very spot you have marked, and because this spot is just past the last of the three re-knit lavender stitches, your color change should wind up exactly where it ought to be. (If the color change ISN'T where it ought to be, just unravel, and move the interlock.) The illustration above shows a continental-style knitter with the interlocked doubled strands of yarn wrapped over the left forefinger, but an English-style knitter would do everything the same, only just wrap the interlocked doubled strands of yarn over the right forefinger.

5) (above) After re-knitting the 3 LAVENDER stitches, the interlocked yarn automatically will be at the doubled PURPLE strand, and you will knit the next three stitches with both strands of the purple. After three stitches, drop the purple tail, and continue to knit normally with a single strand of purple yarn. When you get to a good stopping spot, separate the lavender yarn from your work by snipping it free, leaving an excess tail of a few inches on the back of the work. The illustration above shows the result after the six stitches of interlocked yarn have been knit, the tails themselves are worked in, and the excess of both tails have been left on the back of the fabric. Because the tails have been doubled BACK on themselves, this join is called the BACK JOIN.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you get to the color change spot on the next spot, do not be confused by all the doubled stitches--knit only 1 stitch into each doubled-strand stitch in the round below--you should get 6 stitches in this area, not 12. This is the same situation as when tails are anchored with an overlapping join in single color knitting. 

6) The more you use the back join, the better you'll get at it.Pretty soon you can skip steps because you'll have gained a pretty good idea of just where the interlock should occur: able to interlock in the correct spot without having to stop and measure first.

7) After you have made up and blocked the garment, you do not need to work the excess tails in any further--the actual tails are already worked into all those doubled stitches. Simply snip the excess of the tails about 1/4 or 1/2 inch from the back face of the fabric and leave them there. If the garment is woolen, then after another couple of washings, any excess tails which haven't matted themselves onto the back fabric face may be clipped off short. If the garment is made of cotton, acrylic or any other "slippery" yarn, you are probably better off just leaving a short length hang on the fabric back for all time--less chance of having the excess of a tail pop through to the fabric face as you move and stretch.

8) If you want to do the back-join in flat knitting (back and forth on two needles), or if you want get fancy and reduce the bulk of this join, or if you want to combine this with the "jogless join," that info is at the original back-join post.

Hopefully this version of the instructions will be easier to follow.

* * *
PS:  Here is a link to a post with 10 (!)  different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
* * *

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on "back to the back-join.")

Working in ends on multicolor knitting--part 2: the back join

The previous post showed the Russian join. That join is unquestionably an improvement over leaving the ends hanging, and ... (cue ominous organ music here) ... having ALL those ends waiting for you at the end of the project. However, the Russian join has several annoying tendencies:

• it's hard to get the join just where it ought to be
• ripping back (frogging) to correct an error is a royal pain--the bits of yarn are so precisely calibrated lengthwise that no slack remains for correcting a mistake.
• it's S*L*O*W
  

Here is a better join, an un-vention* I call a "back join." The back join gives you greater control over the exact place where the join will occur, you can easily pull it out and do it over if the join is not quite in the correct spot, and it allows you to leave extra yarn hanging on the back until the end of the project--so ripping to correct is easier. Further, unlike the Russian join, the back join can be modified to work in the tails over several rows--the extra bulk from the worked-in tails need not be confined in the several stitches on either side of the color change.

NOTE ADDED 7-1-2007:

DUE TO FEEDBACK INDICATING THIS POST WAS CONFUSING, A SIMPLIFIED VERSION WITH ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS WAS POSTED ON JULY 1, 2007 (CLICK HERE). THE INFORMATION IN THE BELOW POST REMAINS CORRECT, BUT IT MIGHT BE EASIER TO READ THE SIMPLIFIED VERSION FIRST.

Here's how to do the back-join in circular knitting:
Suppose you are knitting with lavender yarn, and you want to switch colors, and knit with purple. With the lavender yarn, knit to the exact spot you want to change colors from lavender to purple. Mark the standing yarn just past the end of the last lavender stitch. (standing yarn=yarn coming from the ball). A paperclip or a straight pin, or anything small and handy will easily mark the spot. For me--being an impatient person by nature--hunting out a pin or a clip would slow me down, and being a continental knitter by preference, my left hand is relatively free, so I choose to mark the spot by pinching it.After marking the spot, unravel the three stitches you most recently knit, returning the raveled-out stitches to the left needle. If you are pinching the yarn, keep hold of it.Take the purple yarn, and fold it over the lavender yarn at the exact spot you have marked or are pinching. In this way, you are interlocking the yarns in exactly the correct spot where the color change will not show on re-knitting. Leave a plenty gracious tail on the purple yarn--several inches, at least.Re-knit the next three stitches using the doubled lavender strand of folded-back yarn. Do you see what you've done? On the lavender yarn, you've magically transformed the standing yarn into the tail of the yarn, and worked this tail in backwards as you knit forwards! (Knitting the folded back doubled strand has always seemed to me like a tiny time machine--going backwards and forwards at the same time!)

When you've got these three lavender stitches knitted with the doubled strand, snip off the yarn going back to the ball. Again, leave a plenty gracious lavender tail hanging on the back of the fabric, just in case you'll need to rip out in the future.

The next step is to knit the next three stitches in purple yarn, again using a doubled strand of folded yarn--purple yarn this time. Again, the doubled strand of purple is composed of the tail yarn held alongside the standing yarn. The result: The lavender yarn and the purple yarn are interlocked on the back of the fabric, and the tails of both are worked in.If the color change of the join somehow hasn't come out in quite the right place, only six stitches stand in the way of correcting that--rip the six double stranded stitches back and start again. Also, if you find a future need to rip out more of your work, there is excess yarn hanging on the back of the fabric, just waiting for you to use it for correcting a mistake. When the project is finished, wash and block it, then gleefully snip off all the excess ends about 1/2 or 1/4 inch from the fabric back--they've already been worked in! In wool, after few more washings, any tails that haven't disappeared by being matted onto the fabric surface, can be clipped level with the face of the fabric. In slippery fibers--acrylic, cotton, linen, bamboo, and the like--you're probably better off leaving a short tail on the inside for all time.

Modifications:

1) REDUCED BULK BACK JOIN If you do not care for the bulk of six doubled stitches in a row (3 lavender, 3 purple) try this. Work the lavender stitches in as usual. However, instead of working the tail of the purple yarn into the first three purple stitches after the color change, leave the purple tail dangling on the back of the work and knit a whole round. When you have come to the joined color change-spot on the next round, the purple yarn will still be dangling back there. Now pick it up, hold it together with the standing yarn, and knit it into the first three purple stitches in this SECOND round. These three doubled purple stitches will be separated from the first three doubled lavender stitches by one row--making the lump in the fabric less concentrated. This reduced bulk join "jogs" where the color changes. In a circular knit garment where the "jog" would be a problem, you can make this reduced bulk join "jogless"

2) JOGLESS BACK JOIN. If you are making colored stripes in the round with only two colors, there is no need to work in the ends--normally, you would carry the yarn of the second color behind the stripe of the first color. However, if you're using many different colors, then carrying the yarn behind from stripe to stripe is not an option. You might like to combine the back join with the jogless stripe technique (jogless joins are described in the TECHknitting post of 1/27/07). Here's how:
(1) Knit the last three lavender stitches with a folded back doubled strand. Switch to purple, but knit ONLY with the standing yarn--leave the tail dangling on the back of the fabric.
(2) When you come back to the color-change spot on the second round, SLIP the first purple stitch which you knit in the round below.
(3) knit the following three purple stitches with the doubled stand (that is: knit the second, third and fourth purple stitch of the second round with the tail yarn--which you will find dangling where you left it on the round below--held together with the standing yarn, to make a double strand).

Here is an photo of both fabric faces of a jogless back join, "in the wool."
To make a back join on back and forth (flat) knitting, locate and pinch a spot just past the last lavender stitch in the last lavender row. Unravel the last three lavender stitches you knit, interlock the lavender and purple yarns, re-knit the last three lavender stitches with the lavender standing yarn PLUS folded-back standing yarn. Snip the lavender yarn, leaving several inches of tail. On the next row, knit (or purl) the first three purple stitches with a double strand made of the purple tail yarn held alongside the purple standing yarn. If you don't want two rows of double yarn, one above another, you can modify the join to reduce bulk: leave the tail hanging on the first purple row, then wait until the second pass-through in purple to knit in the purple tail.

Last note: After you have located, marked (or pinched), raveled out and re-knit several sets of three stitches, you will know instinctively where to locate the interlock color change point WITHOUT having to knit, mark and ravel out--you'll be able to interlock, fold back and knit without any break in your rhythm. At this point, I believe you will find the back join far faster (and more satisfactory) than the Russian join.

*An "unvention," is a knitting trick which doubtlessly has been invented before, but which is revealing itself to the unventor anew.

--TECHknitter

PS:  Here is a link to a post with 10 (!)  different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the back join.)

Working in ends as you go along: same color or changing color

In this post are links to ten different methods (all illustrated) for working in ends, eight of which are as-you-go.

1. The Russian Join--this join is well-known as a simple method of joining two colors, but works just as well for same-color joins. An example of where you might want to work in two different colored ends is with stripes or with fair-isle methods. An example of same-color joining is where you run out of yarn and need to switch in a new ball of the same color. This join, like most the others on this page, not only secures the transition stitches, but also works the ends in as-you-go.

2. The back join is an improved Russian join--with the back join, it is possible to exactly choose the spot where the yarns will change--not the case with the Russian join. Another improvement is that the back join is WAY faster than the Russian join--no need to dig out a sewing needle! Like the Russian join, the back join is usually touted for changing smoothly from one color to another, but is also a nifty trick for same-color joins. Also like the Russian join, if you use the back join, there will be no ends to work in at the end--all you have to do is snip off the excess after blocking and you are done!

3. For same-color joins, there is also the overlap method. (scroll at link) This method is probably the very fastest of all. The overlap method will not work (or at least, will not work very well) for changing color, but for same-color joins, there is nothing simpler. With this method, and depending on the yarn used, it may be necessary to leave little tags (tails) on the inside where the yarn changed, but because the stitches are overlapped, these tags will never work free--the transition stitches will remain tight and good looking for the life of the garment. This method can be adapted for lace, also, without the tags.

4. Not to be confused with the overLAP method (above) we also have the overCAST method. For delicate work, or for thin yarn, this trick lets you work in the ends with no added bulk on the face of the fabric. Therefore, this method is to be preferred to the Russian- or the back-join when bulk is an issue: both of Russian- and the back-join add a bit of bulk to the fabric surface, which this overcast method does not. Like the Russian- and the back-join, with the overcast method, the ends are worked in as-you-go. You need only trim off the excess after blocking, and your fabric-finishing is complete.

5. Another great (if slightly icky) method for dealing with ends is the spit-splice, also called "felting ends" (scroll at link). This works best for same-color joins--for different color joins, you would have a length of yarn which had both colors at the same time. Felting ends is not so much a method for working-in ends--instead, felting actually eliminates the ends!

6. We also have two methods of working in ends using a sewing needle--an after-the-fact fix for loose ends. The first of these is the art of weaving in ends. With weaving, the end is worked into the fabric face along the same path as the underlying stitches--it is a species of duplicate stitch. A sub-set of weaving is how to weave ends in ribbing. Weaving is quite, quite secure, but it can add a little bulk on the fabric face, so if this is a concern, consider using the method below, instead.

7. The second method of working in ends with a sewing needle is the skimming-in method. This method is not quite as secure as the weaving-in method, but it avoids bulk on the fabric face, and so is better than the weaving-in method for thin yarns or delicate work. Both the weaving-in and the skimming-in method work with different color yarns OR same color.

8. A sub-set of the skimming-in method occurs when you are facing a very short tail--so short that you can't really thread the needle. For this problem, we knitters can adapt a classic dressmaker's tip for working in the too-short ends.

9. Another place where ends might be an issue is at the beginning of a circular knit. That tail hanging where the join occurs can work itself loose and get ugly. A trick for preventing this AND working the tail in at the join is the three-in-one TECHjoin. Further, the three-in-one TECHjoin also prevents the nasty "jog" where the first round meets the cast on.

10. We end with a quite-specialized trick for working in your ends on textured stripes. This trick shows how to make jogless stripes in textured fabric AND work in your ends-as-you-go. It's a nice time-saver for those who like to make stripy ribbed hats.


Good knitting! --TK

Part 4--overview and summary of "working your tails in as you go" in multi-color knitting

Over the last several posts, this blog has laid before you three methods, each of which joins two colors of yarn AND works in the tails "as you go"

• the Russian join,
• the back join and
• the overcast method

Which to use? As is usual in knitting (or life, for that matter) there are advantages and disadvantages--and you must make up your own mind. The Russian join is probably the least favorable--it's hard to make the join come out just where it should, ripping back to add stitches is very difficult, and this join is S*L*O*W.

The back join is more flexible than the Russian join, is faster, and accomplishes the same result. The back join can be modified so it is not quite as bulky as the Russian join.

The overcast method is not bulky, and it is fast, but because the tails aren't folded into the fabric itself with the overcast method, there is less "friction" holding in the tails. The overcast method is not only more delicate-looking, it is actually more delicate--more likely to pull loose than the Russian join or the back join.

It will have occured to you that it is possible to combine methods. A good thing to do in cotton, linen, acrylic or another slippery yarn is to start 8 or 10 stitches away from the join-point, overcast the old yarn to within 3 stitches of the join point, do 3 stitches of back join in the old color, 3 stitches of the back join in the new color, and then 6 or so stitches of overcast in the new color to finish up. (This one WILL hold!)

I like the overcast method in a hairy, thin yarn, like a Shetland wool, (thanks, Ysolda for the link). In this sort of super-holding yarn, tails can be expected to get all the traction required to pin them down from the surrounding stitches, without having to be actually knitted onto the fabric face. And, for thin stripes in thin fabric, like socks, the advantage of not having doubled stitches on the fabric face outweighs the downside of the join being more delicate, at least to my mind.

As the old folks used to say: "you pays your money, and you takes your choice" (but, a swatch will reveal much).

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the overcast method for joining yarns in multi-color knitting.)

Jogless ribbing STRIPES with a trick to work your ends in as-you-go (also part 3 of "pocket hats")

Among the several methods to work your ends in as you go, this blog has previously introduced the "back join." Among the methods to avoid a "jog" when striping in the round, this blog has previously introduced "jogless stripes, a new method."

The top part of today's post shows a variation on these two tricks--a JOGLESS BACK JOIN as adapted for 2x2 ribbing. In other words, today's post shows a new 2-in-1 adaptation, so that in ribbing you can:

• work your ends in as you go AND
• create jogless stripes
  

Also, today's post can be read as part 3 of a little knit along (KAL) we have going here, for easy-to-make ribbed stripy "pocket hats." The bottom part of this post puts the jogless back join straight to work with further directions for this KAL.

* * *

ADDENDUM, 2011:  The KAL laid out below stretches out over 5 posts, of which this is the third, and is free.  However, some folks have written to say they find it hard to follow the pattern over so many posts. So...if you like, you can buy the pattern in an easy-to-print, all-in-one place pdf.

* * *

Part 1: The JOGLESS BACK JOIN for 2x2 RIBBING
a TUTORIAL in DIAGRAMS

1. (below) The jogless back join is done on seven stitches.

• the tail of the old color is worked into stitches 1(K), 2 and 3 (both purls)
• the actual join occurs in stitches 4 and 5 (both knits) and the
• tail of the new color is worked into stitches 5 (knit) 6 and 7 (purls)

As you can see, the stitches in columns 4 and 5, which will be the "ground zero" of this join, together make up a k2 rib.
2. (below) Step 2 is a MEASURING step. Starting with the leftmost stitch of the last k2 rib in the color change round -- the stitch in column 1 on the diagrams -- work three additional stitches. Mark the spot where the running stitch emerges from the third stitch. In the diagram, that spot has been drawn with a blue dot, but in real life, you could mark the spot with a pin, or by pinching it and not letting to, or with a small dot of tailor's chalk. The point is to measure off the amount of yarn it will take to work 3 stitches, and mark that length.
3. (below) Having marked the correct spot, you will now unravel those three stitches you worked (stitches 1, 2 and 3) and replace them on the left needle. As you can see, stitches should be replaced RIGHT arm forward. At the spot you've marked, interlock the old yarn and the new yarn.

Three little things to note about this step:

• As shown in step 3, interlocking the yarns means that each yarn--the old yellow yarn and the new orange yarn--are now doubled back on themselves. That's why this kind of join is called a "back join."
• As you get better and better at the back join, you may find that you are able to skip step 2 (the measuring step) because you are able to accurately estimate where the interlock should be.
• The diagram below employs artistic license. In real life, the yarn resulting from unraveling the 3 stitches will be much longer, proportionately.

4. (below) Using the doubled-over yellow yarn, you will now re-do stitches 1, 2 and 3, working in pattern. "Working in pattern" means that you should knit st 1, and purl sts 2 and 3, which is the same pattern as the underlying stitches. Because you measured the yellow yarn before you interlocked it and doubled it back, the three re-worked stitches should exactly use up the yellow yarn, and the yellow stitches should end at the interlock. If for some reason the interlock is not where it ought to be, no big deal--just unravel and re-knit these three stitches once again, adjusting the interlock location until it comes out just behind stitch 3, as shown.
5. (below) You are now going to SLIP STITCH 4. As shown in the illustration, when you grab this stitch and slip it up to your right needle, you are going to slip it RIGHT arm forward (untwisted). After slipping stitch 4, you will then knit the first 3 stitches in the new (orange) color. As with the yellow yarn, you will work these stitches with the doubled over yarn (2 strands of yarn) which result from the interlock. By knitting stitches 5, 6 and 7, you are working in the orange tail. One more important thing to note about this step: at this point you are NOT working in pattern. In fact, you will now knit the rest of this first round of the new color (no purling), and this is to avoid "icky dots" in ribbing, as explained in the immediately previous post.
6. (below) After knitting in orange all the way around the round (no purling) you will now knit stitch 4--that being the stitch you slipped in the previous step. After knitting stitch 4, you are going to slip its partner--stitch 5. Be careful here and remember that this stitch you are about to slip--stitch 5--is actually a stitch knit from doubled-back yarn. Therefore, when you come to slip, be careful to grab BOTH loops of this stitch. As you can see, when you grab this doubled stitch and slip it to your right needle, you should slip it RIGHT arm forward, so it lays untwisted.

This is also the time to snip loose the yellow yarn--as the diagram shows, the yellow yarn is no longer attached to the ball, but is now a disconnected tail.

After slipping stitch 5, you return to pattern. In other words, after this step, have completed round 1 of the new color (orange) and you would purl 2, then knit 2, and so on, matching the pattern of the underlying ribbing. If you have been using a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round, you would now place it just to the left of slipped stitch 5. From here on out, you will work the new color normally, which means that when you come all the way around, you will simply knit off the slipped stitch at the end of the round as if it were any other knit stitch.
7a. (below) This is the finished fabric. Stitches 1, 2 and 3 have the last tail of the yellow worked into them. The next two stitches--4 and 5-- have each been slipped once. The tails of the new (orange) yarn have been worked into stitches 5, 6 and 7. If you look carefully at the diagram, you'll see that the stitches look crooked and uneven, but...
7b. (below) ... diagrams are limited. The join "in the wool" as shown below, shows no jog. As you can also see, the extra loop of stitch 5 does not show. If you find in your own work, that the double loop at stitch 5 does show a little bit, dig around on the back of the fabric with a small knitting needle, and once you locate the "back" of the two loops, tug on it to make it disappear.

8. (below) If you think about what you have done, you've slipped stitches 4 and 5 to be sort of "mezzanine" (halfway) stitches. Because they were slipped, they got pulled down to a sort of halfway position between the end of one round and the beginning of the next, and this is what eliminates the "jog" at the end of the round. However, in eliminating the jog by slipping, we've also eliminated 1 stitch from each of column 4 and 5. We're going to make up those missing stitches (one from each column) by adding them at the top of the column. In other words, each successive color change will travel one k2 rib to the left, and in this way, each column of k2 stitches in each color will have the same number of stitches. Another way of saying this same thing is that stitch 5 of the old color change will be stitch 1 of the new color change. If this remains confusing to you, you might like to review "traveling" jogless joins in stockinette, which are explained here -- the principle is the same whether the stitches travel in stockinette or in ribbing.

Part 2: DIRECTIONS for POCKET HATS

So far, the directions in previous posts (click here) have taken the hat to the top of the first color stripe. You will now change colors as shown in this post, and again knit the number of rounds for the hat you are making (somewhere between 13 rounds for the shortest style--the watch cap, and 16 rounds for the longest style--the rasta hat). Continue using this same color change technique to striping your way up the hat to the top (5th) stripe. When you get there (just past the color change for last color) wait for me--the next post will incorporate 3 more tricks to make a truly flat hat top.

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: Jogless stripes in ribbing with no ends to weave in)

Smoothed circles: a jogless join for single rounds in different colors

See for yourself--no jogs
(and yes, you are looking at some
round-ends!)

Here's a way to completely avoid the jog when knitting single rounds in different colors. Not only do you avoid the jog, but your ends are worked in at the same time.  Introducing "smoothed circles."

TECHknitting blog has tackled the subject of jogless stripes several times.  If you want to know how smoothed circles fit in with the other kinds of jogless stripes, read on.  If you're impatient, you can skip right down to the trick (and by the way?  There's a separate bonus trick at the end of this post, also...)

BACKGROUND (or: 'for heaven's sake, WHY do we need yet another kind of jogless jog?')

When you knit circular (i.e.: knit a tube on dpn's or on circular needles) you are actually knitting a spiral.  Because of this, the beginning of a round is actually one row below the end of the round.  In one-color knitting, this is not noticeable, but the failure to match up definitely shows when you go to work stripes-especially narrow stripes.  When knit, every color change shows as a "jog."

There are ways to avoid the jog but none of them work very well on the kind of single-row stripes of different colors where smoothed circles shine. Specifically--

The HELIX (barber-pole) technique does create jogless stripes of single-round color, yes, and in that regard, they are the most like smoothed circles of any jogless join.  However, they have several downsides.

• At the start of the work where the color stripes begin, there unavoidably appear several one-color starter-stripes--one starter-stripe for each color.  This same thing happens at the end of the work.  On this linked illustration, note the bottom one-color starter-stripes of red, blue and white at the bottom of each needle-section, for further views, have a look at Grumperina's famous spiral socks. 
• Barber-pole stripes slant, and the more colors you use, the more pronounced the slant.
• The biggest drawback: barber-pole stripes are really only meant for two- three- or possibly (if you're a masochist) four colors, and those colors **can't change** over the entire length of the work or you will certainly get a jog. By contrast, with smoothed circles, each round can be a completely different color, yet no jog will appear, regardless. 

CLASSIC JOGLESS JOINS are easy to work and are visually attractive, but ...

• they cannot be used on stripes any narrower than 3 rounds high, and certainly cannot be used for the one-round high stripes where smoothed circles work best

PICTURE FRAMING works best for stripes which contain patterns within the stripe, such as fair-isle knitting--this trick works by interrupting the jog at the same place on each round with a visually distinctive column, one, two or three stitches wide.  For single row color stripes, picture framing does not work very well because...

• all the ends wind up where the column is.
• when the colors change with every single round, that's a LOT of ends to work into a very narrow space, with fabric-distortion as the usual result.

By contrast, smoothed circles start and stop at random places on the fabric-back, resulting in far less distortion.

STEEKING eliminates the jog by lining up all the jogs in one place, and then using a scissors to cut the circular fabric into a flat piece right up the line of the jog. The cut-ends are stabilized, then buried in the button-bands or hidden on the reverse of the fabric. Steeking is a wonderful solution for sweater-fronts, armholes and even sweater-necks, and it works just fine on single-row-high rounds of different colors but it too has a downside...

• steeking is not suited to tubular items knit in the rounds, such as hats, mittens, socks, sleeves.

Bottom line: Smoothed circles work where other jogless techniques do not, to avoid a jog when knitting SINGLE ROUNDS of DIFFERENT COLORS. 

SMOOTHED CIRCLES 

The idea

In smoothed circles, each round is actually a perfect circle, with an overlapping beginning and end--this is the "smoothing" referred to by the name.  The fabric is created from stacks of these perfect circles, each starting and ending in a different place so as to avoid fabric-distortion.  Crocheters will recognize this as similar to how rounds are worked in some kinds of crocheting--the end of one round is fastened to its own beginning and each different color begins in a different place. This is a common technique in granny-square construction, for example.

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The concise how-to

At round-end, each round is fastened to its own beginning by re-knitting the first three stitches, one at a time into the stitch UNDER the original stitch.  This re-knitting creates a 3-stitch wide "afterthought overlap join." This not only closes the gap between round-end and beginning, but also secures the tails without need for further finishing.  When, in the next round, you come to knit over the join, you treat each set of 2 stitches as a single stitch, knitting each set of 2 together. Each round is started in a different random spot, as far from other joins as possible--you get to the starting place by simply slipping stitches. After adjusting the final tail-tension, the tag-ends are clipped short to hang forever inside the garment, with no further ado.  To see these steps in greater detail, with lots of pictures, read on.

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The illustrated how-to

Suppose you're making a hat and wish to insert several single rounds of color as decoration.  Here are the steps you would take

STEP 1: Each smoothed circle begins/ends at different place on the fabric back, as far as possible from previous joins.  In the samples pictured below, the green round being worked is atop rounds of purple, dark green, orange and so on, so it should start as far away as possible from where the purple, dark green, orange, etc. rounds started.

To get to the starting place, peek over the needles to the fabric back, figure out where you want to start, then slip the stitches from the L needle to the R needle until you get to that your target spot. When slipping, keep the stitches "open." In other words, the stitches are transferred from needle to needle with no change in orientation and no twisting.

STEP 2: in the illustrated sample, the round we're knitting is green, so once you're at your starting place, take some green yarn into your hand, leave about a two-inch tail and simply set off knitting--for this tutorial, I'm assuming you're using stockinette stitch. When you get to the end of the round, your last stitch will be on your right needle, the first stitch will be on your left needle, the work should look like the photo below.

Step 2

If we simply ended this round here, the gap between the first and last stitch would show as a hole in the fabric.  In the next several steps, we're going to fasten this gap shut using a trick called the "afterthought overlap join."

(BTW: If you'd like to brush up on the regular overlap join before reading further, here is the link -- scroll to the second trick called "overlapping.")

STEP 3: Pull the first stitch onto the right needle.  This will put it next to the last stitch, as shown below.

Step 3

Note the purple stitch under the first stitch--it is labeled "under-stitch" and picked out for you with a red arrow. This under-stitch is going to be important in the very next step.

STEP 4: Pull the under-stitch onto the left needle tip, as shown below.

Step 4

STEP 5: In steps 5 and 6, you are going to work an ordinary stockinette stitch into the under-stitch. You begin by inserting the right needle tip into the under-stitch as if to knit, then you catch the running yarn around the needle, as shown in the photo below.*(Running yarn=the yarn you knit with.)

Step 5--the right needle tip is inserted
through the under-stitch

STEP 6: The knit stitch is completed by drawing the running yarn through the under-stitch.**  The result is two green stitches drawn through the same under-stitch: the first green stitch being the first stitch of the round, and the second one being the new end-of-round stitch you just knit.  You can see both stitches on the photo below.

Step 6--the running yarn has been
drawn through the under-stitch, there
are now two green stitches
overlapped on the R needle tip

You might find that when you try to draw a second stitch through an under-stitch, the first stitch wants to slip and slide off the needle.  If so, use a spare a finger to pin that slippery little thing to the knitting needle as you pull the second stitch through.

End this step by dropping the purple under-stitch off the left needle, you do not need it any more.

For each of the next two stitches, you repeat steps 3 through 6. In other words, the second and third stitches of the row-beginning will be overlapped by two more round-ending stitches. The net result will be three sets of overlapping stitches.  After you have knit all three stitches with the running yarn, you can cut the running yarn loose.  A two-inch tail would be appropriate at this time.

The below pictures show the front and back of a completed afterthought overlap join.

Afterthought overlap join as seen
from the fabric front

The overlap as seen from the fabric-back

As you see, each under-stitch now sports two loops.  When you come to knit over the afterthought overlap join (just as when you knit over ANY overlap join) you knit each set of two stitches as if it were one single stitch.

The afterthought overlap join yields three wonderful results.

• As mentioned, each round begins and ends on the same level, eliminating the jog
• The gap between the first and last stitch of each row is sealed by the overlap
• Best of all, finishing is a breeze because there are no ends to work in.  Here are the steps to finishing...
• Tug the hanging tag-ends somewhat firmly, then stretch the fabric out again.  Repeat.  This begins the process of settling the ends within the fabric and helps determine the final length of the tag-ends.
• Block the fabric (try steam-blocking for a quick result)
• After blocking, re-adjust the tension for each join
• Snip off the ends without further working-in: three-quarters of an inch is a good length for non-superwash wool, an inch-and-a-quarter or even an inch-and-a-half is good for slippery yarns such as synthetics, silk, bamboo or cotton. 

It is true that there are two tag-ends for every round. However, after the garment has been washed several times and is properly broken in, the ends will have settled into their final length.  At that time, they can be re-trimmed shorter. Not working the ends in also means each join has the minimum of bulk.  Leaving short ends dangling also greatly reduces fabric-distortion.  If you are concerned about the join pulling out, it would be better to work four or even more overlapping stitches, than to try to work in all those hanging tag-ends.

The below photo shows how the round beginning/ends are widely distributed on the fabric back, and also shows a good length for the final trim of the tag ends in wool.

the fabric-back showing 1) length of
clipped tag-ends in wool and
2) distribution of joins

This last photo is a reposting of the opening photo, showing the fabric from the front, and yes! there are several joins in the picture.

Fabric front--can you spot the joins?

More notes:

•  Remember! when you come to work over the afterthought join, each set of two stitches is worked together as one stitch.  In other words, the six loops (3 sets of two) in the afterthought overlap join are worked as three stitches, not six.
• If you want to know where the beginning of the round is for shaping purposes, place a marker in the fabric and work the shaping as directed, but do not use the maker for indicating color changes. The more widely distributed the joins are on the fabric-back, the better the overall look of your fabric.
• Scrappers rejoice!  The above sample has at least three different weights of yarn: an odd Italian-made 8-ply semi bulky (the green yarn between the two oranges) a doubled baby yarn (the yellow) and several colors of worsted-weight (although the worsted is from several different manufacturers and is quite variable in itself). Because each color is only one round high, you can get away with more weight-changing than you otherwise could. Using a single weight of yarn (the lavender worsted) to make a broad stripes between the colored stripes helps unify the color-scheme and also stabilizes the overall gauge. I'll end this post with a little bonus trick which relates to broad stripes...

BONUS SUPER-GEEK trick for starting and ending wide single-color stripes (Introducing the Ha-YES trick)

Smoothed circles via "afterthought overlap joins" --the subject of the above post-- work really well for single-row different colored stripes.  But here at the end of the post, I'm going to go off on a little tangent and show you a different **bonus trick** for smoothing out the tops of wider single-color stripes, a trick called "Ha-YES."

So why have I included this bonus trick at the end of a post about smoothed circles?  Because smoothed circles are often worked on a foundation of wider single-color stripes.  As stated above, adding wider stripes has the advantage of tying together the color scheme, as well as smoothing out the gauge.  This bonus trick shows how to set up these wider single-color stripes so they provide a nice flat ring for your smoothed circles to lay upon.

When you knit a wider stripe as the base foundation for a smoothed circle, such as the lavender stripe in the sample above, you could just drop the lavender yarn, leave it hanging with a four-inch tail, slip the work a few stitches over, then start off knitting the first smoothed circle with your first color.  When you got to where you dropped the lavender, you would simply knit over that stitch. At the end of the project, you'd pull the tail of that last lavender stitch rather tight to decrease away the height difference at the round-end, then work the lavender tail in as part of the finished process, via skimming (with a sewing needle or with a knitpicker) or via weaving.  You see, as wide as the lavender stripe is, there is plenty of lavender fabric to soak up a worked-in tail without fabric-distortion.  

However, here is a little bonus trick you might like to try instead, a trick I am calling Ha-YES (stands for "Half-back-join-ish Yarn Ender & Starter"). Not only does Ha-YES work smooths the top of the main color round, eliminating the jog and setting up a foundation for a stack of smoothed circles to follow, but it also works in the tail, making finishing much easier.

• Ha-YES is a hybrid between a short row technique (scroll to variation 3) and a sort of half-back-join--You could also think of it as a sort of variation on classic jogless jogs, in the sense that it creates a mezzanine stitch, smoothing the height difference between rounds. (Also like classic jogless jogs, Ha-YES **only works where there are at least 3 rounds of the main color** as there are in the lavender stripe.)
• OK, ready?  What you do is, at the end of the wider lavender stripe, take the lavender yarn and double it back on itself, just like in the real back join.  Knit TWO stitches with the doubled yarn, also like in the real back join.  At the end of this, you should have a single loop of lavender yarn sitting on your R needle--a loop just about the size of a stitch. If your loop is too big or to small, rip back the two stitches just knit and adjust the amount of yarn doubled back.  After a few times of doing this, you'll "just know" how much yarn to fold back before knitting the two stitches. 
• That single leftover loop? Leave it on your R needle, then slip the next stitch parked on your L needle onto the right needle, then snip the lavender yarn leaving a 2-inch tail.  The join is finished and you must now slip several stitches (at least) past the Ha-YES round-ending to start your first smoothed circle,  same as you slip to a new position to start any new color round. 
• On the next round, when you come to knit over the top of the Ha-YES round-end, you essentially have 3 sets of 2 stitches, same as you would have with your afterthought overlap join.  Knit each set of 2 sts as a single stitch, turning 6 loops into 3 stitches, same as with any other overlap join.
• However...note that the third set of 2 stitches (the last set, which is composed of the leftover loop+the stitch alongside) are worked as a k2tog, which brings the fabric-stitch stitch to the fore and hides the leftover loop on the fabric-back. If this looks familiar, it's because this is how you tie the end of a short-row into the fabric while also smoothing away the short-row's height difference--have a look at this illustration.)
• It will have occurred to you that you can use Ha-YES to (rather undetectably) end/start ANY yarn where there are at least 3 rounds already knit/anticipated to be knit in the same color.  In other words, not only does Ha-YES provide a great foundation for smoothed circles, but you can also use Ha-YES to start or stop the yarn on any wide stripe (ha ha-yesssss!)

Til next time--

--TK

* In the illustration for step 5, the running yarn trails off to the left, as it would for continental knitting.  If knitting English-style, the yarn would trail off to the right.  However, the wrap over the needle would be identical. 

**Does the step 5 and 6 maneuver seem vaguely familiar?  Knitting into the under-stitch is very similar to a trick called "knitting into the stitch below."  The important difference between them is, when knitting into the under-stitch, you wind up with two loops on your needle, whereas with knitting into the stitch below, you do not. 

Knitting into the under-stitch is also first cousin to a different trick called "nearly invisible increase."  However, knitting into the under-stitch is worked somewhat differently, and most importantly, does not increase your stitch count, whereas nearly invisible increase is...well...an increase. As stated in the text, when you come to each set of two overlapped stitches arising out of the same under-stitch, you knit them together as one, instead of treating each loop as a separate stitch.  In this way, your stitch count remains the same.

A final thought about steps 4, 5 and 6: pretty quick, you'll discover a shortcut--after you place the original beginning stitch onto the R needle, you can knit directly into the under-stitch without first propping that onto the L needle tip.  This collapses steps 4, 5 and 6 into one quick jab-grab-drag. In fact, once up the learning curve, overlapping each round-end and slipping your way to where the next round starts will go PDQ (as long as you can remember where you put the scissors down at the end of the previous round!)

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You have been reading: TECHknitting on one row high stripes (1 row color stripes)

The overcast method--part 3 of tails and joining in multi-color knitting

Now we come to a third method for joining yarns and working in tails AS YOU GO in multi-color knitting, a delicate and very useful method which I call the "overcast method." (This is another "unvention," so if someone knows the real name, sing out in the comments, OK?)

Why a third method? Well, the first two "as you go" methods for color knitting--the Russian join and the back join--are both bulky, featuring doubled stitches on the face of the fabric. But the overcast method features no doubled stitches at all--the tails are worked in "as you go" ONLY on the fabric back. (Ok, I'm lying, a tiny bit of the tail appears on the front, but you ABSOLUTELY cannot see it.) Because a lot less tail yarn is incorporated into your fabric, the result is a more delicate join, suitable for fancy work and narrow stripes.This technique is called the overcast method because the tail is held in by fabric stitches "cast" over the tail yarn, the same way an embroidered overcast stitch holds in the floss laid under it. Specifically, the standing yarn is knitted by reaching first "over" then "under" the tail yarn. The illustration above combines the overcast method with the jogless stripe method--the (many, many) tails of these socks were worked in as the socks were knit. The only finishing involved clipping the tails flush with the fabric back after the socks were washed once. (Another view of these socks is here.)

The tension for the overcast method is adjusted afterwards, so the only real error you can make is if you accidentally knit a stitch using the tail yarn, instead of the standing yarn. If you DO knit a stitch using the tail yarn, you will NOT be able to pull on the tail yarn to adjust the tension, because the tail yarn will have been fastened down onto the fabric face--you'll have to rip back and do it over.

The overcast method is usually used in circular knitting--round and round. This is because back-and-forth knitters will usually change color at the fabric edge. Therefore, the illustrations in this post all show the overcast method in circular knitting. (It IS, however, possible to adapt the overcast method to back-and-forth knitting, and instructions for doing that are towards the end of this post.)

The overcast method involves three steps.

• BACKWARD overcast (work in old tail)
  
• INTERMISSION: switch to the new color, and work one round of plain knitting,
• FORWARD overcast (work in new tail)

Its complicated, but worth it--see for yourself (illustration below)--the yellow tails belong to the orange yarn, the light blue tails belong to the blue yarn.
So, fasten your seatbelts, and here we go with the...

BACKWARD OVERCAST

Suppose you are knitting in orange yarn (old color), and you want to switch to blue (new color), the first step is to finish up in orange, and work in the orange tail. Here's how to do both those things at once, using the backward overcast:

1. Knit the orange yarn to within some even number of the change point--to within perhaps 8 or 10 stitches in thin yarn, or perhaps within 6 or 8 stitches in heavy yarn. Loop the standing yarn over your tension finger so that the yarn coming from the work (the "working yarn") is in coming FROM BEHIND over your tensioning finger, and the yarn coming from the ball of yarn (the "tail yarn") is in front. For clarity, the tail in the illustration is yellow, although, of course, in the real world the tail would be the same color as the working yarn (orange). It will be much easier to do the overcasting if you can figure out how to hold the tail firmly against the back face of the fabric with a stray finger or two--this will put tension on the loop of yarn and make all the following maneuvers easier.

2. (Below) Create the first part of the backward overcast, the "over stitch," as follows: with your right needle, reach OVER the tail yarn, then hook the working yarn in the usual manner, and make a stitch. As the illustration below shows, the working yarn is wrapped over the tensioning finger from behind--the OPPOSITE from the way the yarn usually lies. As the illustration below also shows, the idea of reaching "over" the tail is pretty much the same idea as reaching "in front of" the tail.

3. (Below) Create the second part of the backward overcast, the "under stitch," as follows: with your right needle reach UNDER the tail yarn (yellow), then hook the working yarn (orange) in the usual manner, and make another stitch. As the illustration below shows, the idea of reaching "under" the tail is pretty much the same idea as reaching "behind."
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3. As you run out of yarn in the loop over your tensioning finger, pull more yarn into the loop from the tail; again, the tail is not fastened down to the fabric face but only has stitches cast over it on the back. As shown in the illustration between steps 5 and 6, the tail yarn runs along the back of the fabric, free to slide back and forth--it doesn't slide easily, but it does slide.

5. When you get to the color-change point, you should have ended with an "under stitch." The remainder of the yarn you had over your finger will lay as a loop on the fabric back, as shown in the illustration below.
6. Interlock the new yarn (blue) with the old yarn (orange) by threading the blue yarn through the last loop of the old yarn. Pull out a nice long tail of the blue (several inches, at least) and leave it hanging on the back of the fabric. Again, for clarity, the blue yarn has been given a light blue tail, although, of course, in the real world both portions of the new yarn would be the same color, and the worked-in tails would be invisible (as they are in the opening photo illustration of this post).

7. Pull the tail of the old yarn carefully to tighten, until the last orange loop over the right needle has the same tension as the rest of the orange stitches and the blue is snug against the back. This completes the backward overcast sequence. As shown in the illustration between steps 5 and 6, the tail of the old yarn (yellow) is now held down on the fabric back by the over-and-under action you did as you knit the last several stitches of the orange yarn.

The INTERMISSION

The next phase of the work is to work one round plain in blue. Therefore, leaving the light blue tail dangling on the back of the work, work one round in blue.

The FORWARD OVERCAST

1. (Optional) if you want your color change to be jogless, slip the first blue stitch you made right after the color change point. (The opening photo illustration of this post features jogless stripes made by this option.)

2. (below) You will now create the first stitch of the forward overcast sequence on the next stitch presenting on the left needle. (If you did select the jogless option this would be the SECOND blue stitch. If you did not select the jogless option, this would be the FIRST blue stitch. For comparison, the illustration below is NOT jogless, the second illustration of this post--above--IS jogless.) Take the tail of the blue yarn into your yarn-feeding hand, and, using a spare finger or two, anchor the tail so it is in front of the standing yarn (standing yarn-yarn coming from ball). Again, for clarity, the tail is illustrated in light blue, although in the real world, the tail and the standing yarn of the ball you are adding would be the same color. Now, just as with the backward overcast, use your right needle to reach OVER the tail yarn (light blue) then hook the working yarn (blue) in the usual manner, and make a stitch.3. (below) Create the second stitch of the forward overcast sequence as follows: with your right needle reach UNDER the tail yarn, then hook the working yarn in the usual manner, and make another stitch.4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you've overcast the tail by about the same number of stitches as you overcast the tail in the backward sequence. In other words, if you worked 8 stitches over-and-under the tail with the backward sequence, work 7 or 8 stitches over-and-under the tail with the forward sequence. After these stitches are worked, drop the tail and continue knitting onwards with the standing yarn.

At a good stopping spot, re-adjust the tail tension. The forward overcast usually needs less adjustment than the backward part of the overcast. In the forward overcast, the tail is not part of the same loop as the working yarn, so you will not have had any problem running out of yarn--there will have been no need to slide tail yarn into the loop around your finger. The backward overcast will need more attention, because you will have scrunched up the fabric somewhat by sliding the tail yarn under the overcast stitches to deliver more yarn to the loop over your finger, and then scrunched it back the other way when snugging up the interlock. Therefore, be sure to stretch the fabric back and forth over a fingernail to smooth out the fabric and evenly distribute the tail, especially on the backward overcast portion. Snip the excess of the tails off, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch hanging. Make up the garment and block it, re-adjust the tension of any loose join one more time, then clip the excess of the tail even with the back of the fabric.

MODIFICATIONS

As is evident, the thinnest stripe you can make this this method is 3 rounds high--any narrower and the backwards overcast of the old color would run right into the forwards overcast of the new color. If you MUST have 2 round high stripes, skip the intermission step, and simply work the forward overcast on the same round as the backward overcast. Also: if you choose the jogless option as it is written here, you will create "traveling" jogless stripes. For more information, or to modify the work to "stationary" jogless stripes, click here.

TRUE CONFESSIONS

1. If you mistakenly do an "over" where you should have done an "under," or an "under" where you should have done an "over," it really does not matter. You can even end on an "over" instead of an "under," like you're supposed to, and that doesn't really make a lot of difference, either--your loop will lay a little crooked, that's all. In fact, the only REAL error is to mistakenly knit with the tail yarn, instead of casting over it. You can test for that error by giving your tail yarn a little tug after each over or under stitch. If the tail moves, you're still on the right track. If it doesn't, tink back to where you mistakenly knitted the tail onto the fabric surface and do it again.

2. The fact is, that even though the instructions say to do it, and even though that's the way it is illustrated, I personally do NOT wrap the yarn over my tensioning finger "backwards" (tail in front) when I do the overcast. I leave it looped on the regular way (tail in back). I show it different than I do it because experience dictates that its easier to LEARN (and illustrate!) the overcast with the tail yarn held in front. Once you get the hang of the overs and unders, you'll have no trouble adapting to do the overcast method with the yarn wrapped the regular way over your tensioning finger. And of course, once you gain the experience to overcast from a regular wrap position, you can do the overcast method at pretty much the same speed as you knit--it might take a bit to get that fast, so hang in there.

The OVERCAST method in BACK and FORTH knitting

To work the overcast method in back-and-forth knitting, you work the backward overcast on the last row of the old color, as you get within 6 or 8 stitches of the end of the row. You switch yarns at the edge by looping the old yarn through the new yarn, as illustrated above, and then you work the tail of the new yarn into the next row by the forward overcast. If you like, you can reduce bulk by separating the two overcast rows--work the first row of the new color plain, and work another backward overcast to work in the tail of the new color as you come within 6 or 8 stitches the color change spot on the second row of the new color.

MORE HELP

If you find you are having trouble with the concept here, you may want to practice your "overs and unders" with a very similar sort of work--called the disappearing loop method for casting on. Rather than messing with your knitted fabric, practising the disappearing loop only requires a few inches of yarn. While the action is not exactly the same, if you master the overs and unders of the disappearing loop, you'll be miles ahead on the overcast method.

A FINAL PEP TALK
in the form of a movie script, accompanied by an imaginary soundtrack

(The scene: The camera focuses on a hand, scratching a head in puzzlement. The focus pulls back to wide angle, to reveal that the scratcher is a preoccupied blog reader, sitting before a computer, reading intently. The focus now pans in, again, slowly. The reader gradually becomes aware that violin music is starting softly in the background. Startled, the reader looks around, then turns back to the computer. The camera keeps panning until it is focused tight on the computer screen. The following words appear.)
"Overs and unders" can be confusing, especially if you have to teach them to yourself while sitting in front of your computer. However, it really will be worth your time to master this maneuver. Once you do, you can kiss your sharp needles GOODBYE! (The background music swells, its tempo increases.) All you'll need for working in ends will be your knitting needles, and a pair of scissors to trim the excess. The hour or two you put into practising the overcast method will repay you many times in the future. Think how you'll be able to add lots of color to any knitting, knowing you are...yes... free from the nasty, nasty job of working in all those ends! (Music reaches triumphant conclusion, reader nods to self and says "I can do that!" The camera pulls back to a final wide angle shot, and the reader is seen rushing from the room to fetch yarn, knitting needles and scissors.)

--TECHknitter

PS:  Here is a link to a post with 10 (!)  different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the overcast method for joining yarns in multi-color knitting.)