The crochet hook method of left-leaning decreases--part 4 of right and left decreases

includes 6 illustrations
A long time ago TECHknitting promised you TWO new ways of making left-leaning decreases. In September 28th's post, the first part of the promise was kept with a little number called SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit). (BTW: The last 3 drawings in that post were corrected on 10-2.)

Today's post fulfills the other half of the promise by presenting the second method--the CROCHET HOOK METHOD (CHM).

To be honest, of the two, the SYTK is the more versatile. SYTK can be used anywhere a left-leaning decrease is wanted--in a paired decrease situation, or for spiraling decrease. By contrast, the CHM is more limited--it works best on a spiraling garment where there are ONLY left leaning decreases, such as hats, or spiral-knit socks or mittens. This is because, while the CHM makes an insanely beautiful left-leaning decrease, it creates tension issues if you try to pair it with a right leaning decrease. Specifically, the CHM "overtightens" the fabric, creating a distinctive (and very beautiful) "welt." As beautiful as this welt is (see photo below) it is difficult (although not impossible--see the small print at the end of this post) to pair with a right leaning decrease such as k2tog.

One more thing before we start: this method evolved during my search for methods to tighten up ssk. It still serves the function of improving ssk, but I've added a couple of additional wrinkles. An argument could be made that the CHM is merely a method of improvement for ssk, or an argument could be made that this is a whole new method. However, regardless of whichever it is, here's how to do it:

CROCHET HOOK METHOD for making (improving?)
LEFT LEANING DECREASES.

Step 1 (below). To begin the crochet hook method (abbreviated CHM) you place onto a holder, the stitch to the RIGHT of the FIRST left leaning decrease--the purple stitch. In the illustration below, a safety pin is used as a stitch holder. Next, make the left leaning decrease as a slip, slip, knit (the ssk is shown as the red, green and blue stitches). (Click HERE for complete directions for ssk.) Contrary to the usual instructions for good-looking decreases, with the CHM, you are supposed to make the ssk as LOOSE and SLOPPY as you POSSIBLY CAN (really!)

Continue as directed by the pattern, making ssk's where they ought to be, but remembering that, when you count your stitches, there will be ONE LESS STITCH than there ought to be, so do. not. panic. when counting!

* * *

Step 2 (below) When all the decreases are done, you perform the next step. Begin by knitting around to the ladder above the stitch put on the holder. Take that first stitch off the holder. Next, thread a crochet hook through the front of the stitch, as shown. Then, hook up the first rung of the ladder to create a stitch. (This "hooking up" maneuver is the same move as if you had dropped a stitch, and were correcting with a crochet hook.) Continue hooking up the ladder rungs until you've gotten to the top of the decrease line. Pull the working yarn through at the top, place the newly created stitch on your right needle, and you will see that you again have the correct number of stitches which your pattern calls for.
Two more things:

• the decreases in the illustration are done every other row, but this method works regardless of how many "plain rows" lie between the decrease rows.
• although the temptation is nearly overwhelming to try the hooking step after only a couple of decreases, it'll look better if you save the hooking until the end. Hooking up all the ladder rungs at once gives a more even tension. If curiosity is killing you, go ahead and try it, but don't say I didn't warn you!

* * *

Step 3 (below) The finished CHM fabric.

* * *

Of course, the three drawn illustrations above make it all look clear and easy. But, when you come to do this trick, the ladder rungs won't be showing as they do in the illustration--they will be hidden next to the decrease. Also unlike the illustration, the small purple ladder rungs don't turn into regular sized stitches. The process of turning ladder rungs into stitches overtightens the neighboring stitches so much that the effect reaches well beyond the ladder, and that's how the "welt" illustrated in the opening photo was formed. In other words, hooking up the little ladder rungs means that the new stitches formed from them are cramped and tight, the ssk's next door are yanked up tight, and so are the stitches two and even three columns in--it is this ridge of overtightened stitches which creates the welt.

The drawn illustrations above also doesn't show how very loose the ssk's really are before they're tightened, so I've added a photo illustration below which does. These photos show a "before" and "after" shot of a hat knit purposely knit with very loose ssk's, which were then tightened by the CHM. As you can see, those are VERY loose ssk's, indeed.
A note about fabrics: The gray fabric in the above illustration was knit loosely with a thickish yarn on large needles, (Plymouth Encore on size 5 needles). (Ok, yes, for me size 5's are large, because I knit loosely--3 sizes less than what standard pattern instructions call for.) The purple hat in the first photo illustration was knit tightly with thin yarn on small needles (Dale of Norway Baby Ull on size 0 needles). The CHM works for both kinds of knitting, although I will share with you that it was considerably easier to work the crochet hook through the the thicker, looser fabric of the second (gray) hat.

I'll close this post with an analysis of using the crochet hook method in a paired decrease situation with right leaning decreases, for a raglan decrease, say, or a V-neck knit from the bottom up.

The advantage of the CHM is that it makes a really, really lovely decrease, as nice as (or even nicer than) the SYTK. It is hard to overstate how lovely the welts look in person. But those lovely welts make it hard to match the CHM left leaning decreases with k2tog right leaning decreases. And, those welts in the CHM are nearly unavoidable: even when you think you are knitting your ssk's so loose that no welts will form, the CHM tightens the left leaning decreases beyond the tightest you could possibly knit the right leaning decreases, and there are those welts again!

In other words, the welts are the beautiful side effect of cramming in a whole extra stitch row, but the welts also have the disadvantage of making it hard to match these left-leaning decreases with right leaning non-welt decreases.
See for yourself: Both parts of the photo above were knit at the same gauge, on the same needles, of the same yarn (Brown Sheep Bulky). The line of decrease of CHM (green) is much tighter and smaller, and the stitches are much smaller than the k2tog line of decreases (blue) despite the fact that the ssk's in the CHM method were knit VERY loosely.

HOWEVER ... however. If you are still determined to use CHM in a paired decrease situation, it IS theoretically possible to also tighten up k2tog by the CHM. In other words, if you really want to use the CHM to make those distinctive welts in a paired decrease situation, you can knit the k2tog's AND the ssk's LOOSELY, then tighten up both the k2tog's AND the ssk's with the crochet hook method. This would create welts along BOTH lines of decrease, and would look very well on a garment in plain stockinette. If you tightened up both lines of decrease with the CHM, the lovely welts created would serve to reinforce the design element laid down by the garment decreases, both left leaning AND right leaning.

Bottom line: the crochet hook method makes lovely left-leaning decreases along the edge of welt. It is best reserved for spiraling garments--those featuring only left leaning decreases without any corresponding right leaning increases, such as hats. However, (see the fine print above) you CAN use the CHM in a paired decrease situation if you're willing to mess around.

Have fun with this! --TECHknitter.
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the crochet hook method for left-leaning decreases.)

A new method for left-leaning decreases: SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit) part 3 of the series "right and left decreases"

Here's a new method for left-leaning decreases called SYTK. SYTK stands for "slip, yank, twist, knit." Of all the variations on left-leaning decreases I've experimented with over the years, SYTK is closest to the intersection of good looks and ease of creation. Advantages:

• worked from the front (a major advantage, to me, at any rate)
• requires no re-ordering of stitches (the stitches are never taken off the needles and reversed in position--a procedure which, although it leads to good results, I find annoying and time consuming).
• gives a nearly perfect match for k2tog
  

Below are how-to illustrations. Don't let seeming complexity discourage you--the whole business takes only a few seconds. The many illustrations are there to leave no doubt about the how-to. 

SYTK, illustrated

Step 1 (below) Slip the first (red) stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Slip the stitch KNITWISE (left arm forward) as shown. This is the SLIP part of the SYTK maneuver--the part represented by the first letter "S."
Step 2 (below) Leaving the red stitch on the right needle, insert the tip of the right needle into the next stitch (green) on the left needle. Be sure the tip of the right needle is inserted under the right arm of the green stitch, as shown. Now comes the fun part: making sure that you have enough of each needle inserted to anchor the stitch completely, perform the "Y" part of the SYTK--the YANK! Pull the right arm of the green stitch towards you with the right needle at the same time as you pull the left arm of the green stitch away from you with the left needle, thus opening up the stitch as much as possible. You don't want to bend your needle or stretch the actual fibers of the stitch, but you certainly want to YANK enough to pull all the slack yarn from both surrounding stitches into the green stitch.
Step 3a (below) Begin the TWIST ("T") part of the SYTK decrease by removing the right needle tip, thus returning the now-enlarged green stitch to the tip of the left needle.
Step 3b (below) Using the tip of the right needle, TWIST the green stitch, and return it to the tip of the left needle, as shown. Check to be sure that the formerly right arm lies ON TOP, as illustrated by the little PURPLE ARROW. If the stitch is twisted the wrong way, take it off and re-twist it so that it lays as shown--this is fairly important to the final appearance.
Step 3c (below) Return the much-enlarged, now-twisted green stitch to the tip of the left needle.
Step 3d (below) Slip the red stitch onto the tip of the left needle, taking care that it remains LEFT ARM FORWARD. This ends the "Twist" portion of SYTK, the "T."
Step 4 (below) Insert the right needle into the BACK ARMS of the red and green stitches, as shown, and twitch the standing yarn over the right needle, in position to knit a stitch.
FINISHED SYTK (below) Draw the standing yarn through the red and the green stitches to make a new stitch (blue). This is the final, the KNIT step of SYTK--the "K."
Now on the right needle is a rather nice left-leaning decrease. The reason this works is because it mimics the situation you get with a k2tog. Recall from the first post of this series that a k2tog is performed in such a manner as to squeeze the hidden second stitch AND ALL ITS EXCESS YARN behind the first stitch. Recall from the second post of this series that both ssk and psso leave the first stitch on the surface of the fabric, together with all the excess yarn it has accumulated from being manipulated. By adding a YANK step to SYTK, the excess yarn from the surface stitch is all transferred to the hidden second stitch, and by adding a TWIST step, that excess yarn is prevented from slipping out again. Further, the twist step aligns the only visible part of the second stitch (the arm which started off as the right arm, but was twisted forward to become the left arm) to lie in the same direction as the top stitch. In other words, the TWIST step makes the only visible portion of the second (green) stitch follow the left-leaning orientation of the top (red) stitch. Here is the photographic evidence:

A final note: In grabby yarn, the top (red) stitch may not be completely re-oriented by the slip maneuvers you have performed on it in steps 1 and 3d. This lack of orientation reveals itself in a proportionately shorter right arm, and a proportionately longer left arm, and disturbs the appearance of the left decrease column. Therefore, in a grabby yarn you may wish to add one further step.

Per the illustration below, after the decrease has been finished, insert the tip of the left needle under the right arm of the already-knitted top (red) stitch. GENTLY adjust the red stitch to lengthen the right arm while simultaneously shortening the left arm, and you will see that the stitch orientation improves. Be MILD in your adjustment--you only want to redistribute yarn in from the left arm of the top stitch to the right arm of the same stitch. You don't want to tug so hard that you undo all your previous effort--you don't want to drag slack back from the second (green) stitch and dump it back into the top (red) stitch.
Have fun with this. I hope you like it as well as I do!

--TECHknitter

This is the third of four posts. The others are

--Right decreases, the good twin--part 1
--Left decreases, the evil twin--part 2

--The crochet hook method of left leaning decreases--part 4 

(You have been reading TECHknitting on "SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit), a new method for left-leaning decreases.")

Left decreases, the evil twinpart 2 of right and left leaning decreases

includes 8 illustrations
In this second of a four parts, we look at right and left leaning decreases. K2tog, the most common RIGHT LEANING DECREASE was the first post. Today, the two most common LEFT LEANING DECREASES: slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over (psso) and slip, slip, knit (ssk).

This post has two parts.

• How-to for  psso and ssk
  
• Just WHY psso and ssk are sloppy and different-looking from k2tog.
  

After today's post, the background stuff is all out of the way, and TECHknitting turns to SYTK and CHM, two new methods for left leaning decreases.

PART 1--TUTORIAL on PSSO and SSK

To make PSSO, there are three steps:

1. (below). Slip the first stitch (red) at the tip of left needle onto right needle KNITWISE (left arm forward)

2. (below) Knit the next stitch (green). The result is two stitches on right needle--the one slipped (red) and the one just knit (blue). Insert the tip of LEFT needle under the left arm of the red stitch (in other words, so the stitch is not twisted) and lift the red stitch over the blue stitch and drop the red stitch from your needle. (The blue stitch stays on your right needle)

3. (below) This is the final result, after the red stitch has been lifted over the blue stitch: only the blue stitch remains on the needle--one stitch where there were two before. The red stitch has been pulled to lie on top of the green stitch, and the slant of the red stitch (leftwards) dominates the decrease.

To make SSK, there are three steps:

1. (below) Ssk starts the same way as psso: you slip the first stitch (red) at the tip of your left needle onto your right needle KNITWISE (left arm forward)

2. (below). For the second step of ssk, you slip the next stitch (green) from left to right needle the same way--KNITWISE, left arm forward. Then, you flick the standing yarn over your right needle, and knit the two stitches together from this position.

3. (below) Here is the final result: The blue stitch is pulled (knitted) through the red and green stitches. Just like psso, only the blue stitch remains on the needle, leaving one stitch where there were two before. The red stitch has been pulled to lie on top of the green stitch, and the slant of the red stitch (leftwards) dominates the decrease.

PART 2--WHY LEFT LEANING DECREASES LOOK SO FUNNY
(COMPARING LEFT AND RIGHT LEANING DECREASES)

OK, so now we're ready to talk about the two main reasons why left leaning decreases are all bumpy and slouchy. First, If you look at the diagrams for both psso AND ssk, you'll see that you are manipulating the FIRST STITCH on the needle--the red one. You're manhandling it pretty severely, actually. In both psso and ssk, you grab that red stitch and stretch it out as you slip it from left needle to right needle. This draws extra yarn into that first stitch as the surrounding stitches play "pass-along." In other words, by sliding the first stitch from one needle to another, yarn that would ordinarily lie in surrounding stitches gets pulled up into the loop of the red stitch.

Second, you're changing the orientation of the red stitch--when it was first knitted (assuming you're not a combination knitter) it lay RIGHT arm forward. Slipping that first red stitch KNITWISE makes it lay LEFT arm forward. At the point where the orientation changes from right-arm-forward stitches to left-arm-forward stitches, slack develops in the yarn. This is because the change in orientation makes the path of the tail yarn is shorter between the red stitch and green, drawing even more yarn into the first (red) stitch, and this is true in both psso and ssk.

Compare this sequence with k2tog. In k2tog, the top stitch is the SECOND stitch (green stitch), and it is never manhandled at all--it is never pulled up loose, never passed from needle to needle, and its orientation is never changed. (Click here for diagram, click here from more info on k2tog.) The stitch behind the top stitch (the red stitch in the k2tog diagram) never has a chance to pass any slack yarn along to the green stitch--that red stitch is nailed down behind the green stitch in a 1 step motion--it (and all its excess yarn) gets squeezed behind the green stitch before it ever gets a chance to play pass-along with the green stitch, and the one-step motion of k2tog reduces the opportunity for other stitches to pass along too much yarn, either.

The upshot is that, in left leaning decreases, the multi-step procedure means that the first (red) stitch is drawn up all big and sloppy. Then, even more yarn is delivered to the red stitch by the change in orientation. As you can see from the diagrams, psso is the worse offender--you manhandle that red stitch not just once (passing it from left needle to right) but twice (as you grab it and draw it up big in passing it over the blue stitch).

In both psso and ssk, this bumpy, loose, sloppy red stitch is then left to languish on the surface of the fabric. As the photos below demonstrate, left leaning decreases really are the "evil twin," in looks, at least, when compared to right leaning decreases. As you would expect, the extra manhandling of the top stitch means that psso ends up somewhat looser and sloppier than ssk. Yet, although ssk is somewhat better, it also does not approaches k2tog for tidiness. Here is the photographic evidence:


The upper part of each photo is the right leaning decrease--knit two together (k2tog)--which is included for comparison purposes--nice and even, aren't they? The lower part of the first photo (above) is slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over (psso), the lower part of the second picture (below) is slip, slip, knit (ssk). Nice and sloppy, huh?
(Don't be confused that these samples are laid on their sides, that's just for illustration. Each swatch was knit so the cast-on edge is to the right, the cast off edge to the left.)

In sum, the stitches in the left-leaning columns are uneven from row to row, especially compared to the more even stitches of the right leaning columns. SSK (bottom of second photo) looks somewhat better than psso (bottom of first photo), but neither looks terrific.

(ALTHOUGH, as I said at the beginning of this series, the loose sloppy top stitch in ssk or psso has a tendency to tighten up as the garment is worn and washed. And, as ssk or psso is tightening up in this way, k2tog is loosening up. With wear and blocking, the second stitch that got squeezed behind the first stitch in k2tog eventually manages to give up some of its slack, and the rightward leaning top stitch of k2tog gets a bit sloppier. It's true that ssk an k2tog never look exactly the same, but they look a whole lot more like twins after wearing and a couple of washings than they do when you are first creating them. So, once again, all this stuff about improving your left-leaning decreases is, in some measure, a marker of wanting everything to be perfect RIGHT AWAY and RIGHT NOW.)

Ahem! Well, if my little green screed about right-now-ism hasn't deterred you, if you're a perfectionist, or if you just like to fool with stuff, the next post shows SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit), an improved left-leaning decrease. 

--TECHknitter

This is the second of four posts. The other posts are

--Right decreases, the good twin--part 1 

--A new method for left-leaning decreases: SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit)--part 3 

--The crochet hook method of left leaning decreases--part 4 

(You have been reading TECHknitting on "left leaning decreases")

Right decreases, the good twinpart 1 of right and left leaning decreases

Includes 4 illustrations

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Right leaning decreases--knit 2 together (k2tog)--are neat and tidy. But on line, I read complaints that left leaning decreases are not. The main left leaning decrease is slip slip, knit (ssk) and the main complaint is ssk is sloppy, not a good match for k2tog. (Click HERE for sketch illustrations of both.) So, today starts a series on right and left leaning decreases, with a focus on improving the left leaning ones.

Today's post is the first of four. It provides background material about k2tog, showing what, exactly, about this right leaning decrease does make it so neat and tidy. The second in the series examines two left leaning decreases: ssk and an older left leaning decrease called "slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over" (psso). It shows what it is about these left-leaners that makes then not so neat and tidy. Third in this series, a new trick for a left-leaning decrease called SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit) which is a better match for k2tog. Fourth, another improved left-leaner called the crochet-hook method.

CAVEAT

That loose ssk (or psso) might not be as bad as you think. Knitting while you're creating it doesn't always look like knitting once you're wearing it. Loose, bumpy left decreases on the needles eventually even out to look more like tight, tidy right leaners, while right leaning decreases relax to bring appearances even closer. They'll never be identical, but will be closer than they look at the moment of creation. As the Elizabeth Zimmerman noted in the opening pages of her book Knitting without Tears:

"I used to think that people in the Olden Days were marvelously even knitters, because all really ancient sweaters are so smooth and regular. Now I realize that they probably knitted just as I do, rather erratically, and that it is Time, the Great Leveler, which has wrought the change--Time and many washings."

So, if not inclined to seek out better left leaning decreases, you'll find that ssk (or psso, or any other method of left-leaning decrease) do improve with age. 

IF, HOWEVER, ignoring lumpy bumps isn't for you, or if you like to fool around with stitches, here we go...

WHY DECREASES "LEAN"

Knitting, as you know, is connected in the rows AND in the columns. You can rip it out row-wise, or you can create runs by ripping it out column-wise. This means that anything you do to any knitted stitch in any given row not only has the potential to affect the stitches on either side of it in that row, but also has the potential to affect the column in which that stitch lies. In fact, it is the column effect of stacked decreases which is the most eye-catching --isolated single decreases can be done any old way, really, without making much of a difference to the finished fabric.

Used in pairs, or in matching columns, right leaning decreases and left leaning decreases are meant to be twins. And, in a purely mechanical sense, they are. Each performs the same function in mirror image. Either type of decrease removes one stitch from the knitted fabric, eliminating one column of stitches so there is now one column of stitches where two columns were before. In the illustration below, a right leaning decrease causes two bright green columns to become one dark green column, while a left leaning decrease causes two bright blue columns become one dark blue column.

Just at the spot where the two columns are bridged to become one, the little scar of the actual decrease appears (stitches outlined in red). This scar marks the two stitches bridging over the two old columns. The topmost red-outlined stitch must slant either right (green) or left (blue) causing the resulting fabric to look as if the left column leaned over and ate the right column or vice versa.
When these little decrease scars are stacked atop one another, a pattern appears: the column in which the decrease consistently lies appears to be eating all the columns slanting away below it. This is the familiar line of decreases which provides the spiral shaping to bottom-up hat crowns, the lines of decrease on either side of a bottom-up raglan shouldered sweater, or v-neck or the decreases of a top-down sleeve, knit down towards the cuff.

Sharp-eyed geeks who think the sweater must be a hybrid are correct. Ordinarily, sweaters don't combine bottom-up decreased raglan shoulders and v-neck with top-down decreased sleeves, but you get the idea...

A continuous line of right leaning decreases are easy to make, and look lovely and tidy as they slant off rightwards with no sloppy malformed stitches. Right leaning decreases are the good twin--the column of the decrease features regular, even stitches. The only difference between the right-leaning decrease column and the surrounding columns is its slant--the actual stitches of the decrease column and the surrounding fabric look the same. In fact, in a right leaning decrease column, the stitches are generally so even that is difficult to tell which of the stitches is in the actual decrease row, and which in the "plain" spacer row(s) between.

By contrast, the stitches in a column of left-leaning decreases look different than the surrounding stitches, and not just because of the slant. These stitches are looser and sloppier--its easy to tell which is the decrease row and which the plain row(s) between--the decrease row sports eye-catching loose loops of yarn. In comparison to right leaning decreases, left leaning decreases are the evil twin.

Per above, the situation is actually worst just at the moment of creation. It isn't actually all that bad once the garment's been worn and washed a few times. Yet, there's still plenty of room for improvement, so let's start by looking at the just what it is about the good twin which does make it neat and tidy.

THE MECHANICS OF A RIGHT-LEANING DECREASE

To make the right leaning decrease called knit 2 together (k2tog) the right needle inserts "knitwise" (from left to right) into the second stitch (green) on the left needle, and then threads through the first stitch (red) on the left needle, also knitwise, as shown below. This leaves the two stitches on the tip of the left needle impaled knitwise on the right needle, as shown below.
The running yarn is brought into position to create the next stitch and the red and green stitch are knit together from this position, with the green stitch which caps the leftmost column on top. The green and red stitches are knitted together with the new stitch (blue). Because the green stitch from the left column is on top, it appears that the left column leaned over to the right and ate up the rightmost column, shown below.
Let's think about that sequence again. To make a right leaning decrease, the stitch (red) which lay on the very tip of the left needle was squeezed to the back of the fabric as the second stitch (green) overlaid it. In other words, when the two stitches were knitted together, that first red stitch was forced to the back for all time, as the second, dominant green stitch came to the front of the fabric. If you take the time to knit a quick k2tog right now, turn it to look at the back (reverse stockinette side) of the fabric. There's a surprisingly large lump where the excess yarn from the first stitch (red) now lays on the back of the fabric. Closer examination shows the bulk of this second stitch has been squeezed to the back of the fabric. Turn your k2tog over again, and there on the front fabric face, the right arm of the second stitch stitch (green) lays very near to the surface of the knitted fabric. The first red stitch has been so thoroughly squeezed backwards that very little of it comes between the right arm of the second (green) stitch and the fabric surface. 

In sum, what makes a k2tog tidy is that the back red stitch has been  efficiently "disappeared," with the bulk from its disappearance thoroughly squeezed to the back fabric face. This leaves very little evidence of a transition between the surrounding fabric and the green stitch, which now lays smooth and slanted on the front fabric face. 

Nothing in this post changes anything about the way to knit 2 together. Rather, it highlights which features of a k2tog do need to be matched, in order to make a left leaning decrease its true twin. We'll start next time with just what doesn't match in the left-leaning ssk and psso. 

--TK

The other posts in this series are

--Left decreases, the evil twin 
--A new method for left-leaning decreases: SYTK (slip, yank, twist, knit) 

--The crochet hook method of left leaning decreases 

You have been reading TECHknitting on "right leaning decreases (k2tog)."

Gauge, again--a cautionary tale

Dear readers: here is a little summer interlude in the nature of a cautionary tale. TECH- knitting's summer break has allowed time to knit on a big project--a sweater. The body is made with a circular needle, but the arms with dpn's. I forgot, but now remember (the hard way!!) that gauge can change EVEN when you use the same size needles. Knitting with dpn's requires the gauge to be tight enough to prevent the needles falling out of the work, while knitting around with circulars does not present the same issue--you can knit a lot looser because the circular needles aren't going anywhere. Moral of the story: Check your gauge when you switch from one kind of needle to another, regardless of whether the two needles are the same size. That way, you can avoid being an idiot like me--who had to knit a three-armed sweater.

--TECHknitter

Closed for the season

Sometimes, life gets in the way of knitting. Thankfully, all is well at chez TECH, but I need to now turn away for 6 weeks or so, and devote some significant time taking care of the non-bloggy parts of life. Despite my intentions, I may not be able to stay away from the blogosphere--you all are rather addictive! So, there may be a stray post or two between now and the beginning of September. Mostly, though, TECHknitting will resume right after Labor Day with new tricks and tips--including TWO NEW WAYS to do beautiful left-leaning decreases.

See you all again in September. Until then, have a great summer, and knit on.

--TECHknitter

Part 3 of working ends in with a sewing needle: weaving ribbing

I thought I was done with ends forever, but evidently not quite yet. By e-mail and comment, there have been several requests for a diagram of weaving-in ends along a column in ribbing. Without further ado, here it is:--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: "weaving in ends in ribbing")

Part 2 of working in ends with a sewing needle: weaving

This post lays out the very last method in the recent series about working in your ends, a method called "weaving in." Weaving in ends has to be one of the only finishing techniques better done from the front of the work than from the back. The reason? If you work from the front, you can be sure that your tail is well and truly hidden. If you work from the back, you can be sure you're making a lovely back, but you can't be sure you're making a lovely front.

Addendum 2024: there has been some recent confusion about this method. The idea of weaving in from the front applies ONLY to this particular method--this particular trick of getting rid of an end by duplicate stitching it away. All other forms of working in ends are, indeed, done from the back. 

Weaving is a form of duplicate stitch--the threaded needle follows the path of the underlaying yarn, as shown in the two illustrations below. Because you want to follow the path of the yarn, not split the yarn, you want to use a DULL needle, not a sharp one. (Click here for further information on the two types of sewing needles.) The technique is shown is stockinette, but the theory is the same regardless of the fabric -- use a dull sewing needle to draw the tail yarn along the same path as that taken by the yarn in an underlying row or, in the case of ribbing, an underlying column.

After you've worked the tail in over about 3 or 4 stitches, draw the tail to the back of the fabric, and pull out the needle. Trim the end to a length of couple of inches or so, and leave it hang until you've made up the garment and blocked it. At that point, you can trim the tail to a length of perhaps 1/2 to 1/4 inch, leaving a little "tag" to felt onto the back face of the fabric. After a few futher washings, if the project is woolen, you can clip the tag off.

If the project was knit in a slippery yarn (cotton, linen, acrylic, etc.) then you're best off to leave the little tag-end hanging. If you don't like the look of hanging tag-ends, then another trick for "slippery" yarns is to combine weaving with the other needle-worked method, skimming. In other words, weave the tail for several stitches, then skim it in for a further few stitches. This isn't ideal because you have to use a dull needle for the weaving, and a sharp needle for the skimming, leading to either lots of needle-threading, or lots of cheating, but however you manage it, weaving+skimming really OUGHT to hold.

Desperation move: If weaving+skimming doesn't hold, take out a sewing needle, thread it with a single sewing thread or a single strand of matching embroidery floss, and sew the ends of the darn slippery stuff together--believe it or not, this is the *real* way to secure the ends in ribbon knitting, and the *only* way to secure the ends if you ever knit with a ribbon-covered cord.

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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."
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--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on weaving in ends)

Part 1 of working in ends with a sewing needle: the skimming-in method

This whole series of posts started off when various readers wrote to ask about working in ends. As I wrote then, IMHO, the best way to deal with end is not to have any. So far, this blog has shown five different ways to work in ends "as you go:" felting ends, overlap join, Russian join, back join and overcast method. A sixth method, added by Noricum (a reader) is to use the tails for seaming, which also eliminates the need to work in the tail.

And yet, foresight will take you just so far. Sometimes, despite all your ingenuity and tricks, you're going to wind up with an old-fashioned hanging tail that needs to be worked in with a sewing needle.

In May, this blog told you there are two different kinds of sewing needles, sharp and dull. It is possible to work in ends using either kind of needle: a sharp needle (called a "crewel," or "embroidery" needle) is used for SKIMMING, a dull needle (called a "tapestry" or "darner") for WEAVING. The next post will cover weaving, today we'll do skimming.

SKIMMING

(Below) Skimming-in ends is done with a sharp needle. The tail is fastened down as it follows the needle, the needle "skims" though the tops of the purl heads along the fabric back. This really is a case of a picture being worth a thousand (or at least a couple of dozen) words so here it is, illustrated. An aside: after drawing this, I realized that I always work the tail into the row in stockinette, but I'm not really sure why--On further consideration, there's no real reason not to work the tail into the column, just like for ribbing, so if you're inclined, then do it that way.


(Below) For skimming-in ends through ribbing, turn the work inside out, and skim the end up one column of purl stitches, and down another. Because the purl stitches draw further into a ribbed fabric than do the knit stitches, skimming into the purls helps keep your tails invisible from both inside and outside of the fabric--handy when you want to fold your back your cuffs or hat brim. Be sure to work the needle through the very head of the purl stitch, which helps keep the skimming invisible from the front of the ribbing.In both of the above illustrations, the worked-in end takes a u-turn. This is very advisable in a slippery yarn, such as cotton, but could be skipped in wool. Also, these illustrations show the ends worked in, but before they have been adjusted--they are still stretched straight, under the tension imparted by the sewing needle. In real life, you'd stretch this area several times to adjust the tension, and you'd make up the garment and block it before cutting off the tails, giving those ends all the opportunity they need to draw up to their final length (and hopefully, to begin felting into the back face of the fabric).

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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."
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--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: "skimming-in ends with a sewing needle")

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.)