How to make an I-cord

includes a how to
We have Elizabeth Zimmerman to thank for popularizing this simple, knitted cord (as she did so many other wonderful knitting tricks). If the illustration isn't self-explanatory, here are some written directions:

click picture

1. Cast on 3 stitches on a double pointed needle (dpn). (For I-cord, I prefer the the "disappearing loop" method, but don't let this discourage you--ANY method of casting on 3 stitches will work very well.) Leave a tail dangling.
   
2. Slide the stitches back along the dpn so that the ball yarn comes out of the left side of the 3 stitches, and the first stitch cast on lies on the right tip of the left needle.
3. With a second dpn, pull the yarn around the back of the 3 stitches, and knit the first stitch on the right tip of the left needle from this position.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the I-cord is as long as you want.
5. Cast off by threading a needle with the ball end of the yarn, run this yarn though all three stitches once or twice, drawing up tightly after each three stitches.
   
6. Run the remaining tail through the middle of the cord, bring the needle out the side of the cord, snip the excess, and tug the I-cord to make the snipped tail slip back inside the I-cord forever. Repeat with the tail left over from casting on.
   

BTW: I-cord stands for "Idiot cord." Presumably the idea is that anyone could make one.
~~~~~~~~~~
Related posts:
I-cord from a mill
I-cord with added curl (and maybe beads)
I-cord tassels
~~~~~~~~~~
--TK

Velcro and hand knitting--a haiku of pain

Chalk screeching on blackboard.
Dentist's drill in my mouth.
Handknit hat ripping loose from the velcro tabs of my winter jacket.

* * *

Next time I buy a winter jacket, it's honest buttons or a large toothed zipper. I hereby forswear velcro.

--Techknitter

Casting on from the middle--disappearing loop method

includes a how-to, there's a link to a video at the end, too

For knitted objects started in the middle, (shawl, hat) choose the "disappearing loop" method to cast on. Unlike the famous "Emily Ocker's beginning" of which you may have heard, disappearing loop is superior because:

• There is no slip knot, so there is no hard nub in the middle of your work.
• The first stitches are not crocheted, so they are not larger and heavier than the rest of the work.

These advantages make disappearing loop the cast-on of choice for lace and the tops of hats, but any center-start knitting (even I-cord!) looks better with disappearing loop.

HOW TO

1. Make a loop over two fingers of the left hand, as shown. The tail end lies OVER the ball end. In your right hand, hold a double-pointed knitting needle several sizes smaller than you will use for the knitting. Make the first stitch (follow the red arrow) by reaching OVER (not through) the loop, and catching the standing yarn (standing yarn=yarn coming from the ball, also called the "ball end") "up from under" to form a stitch which lies over the needle.

click picture

2. Make the second stitch (follow the red arrow) by reaching THROUGH the loop, catching the standing yarn "up from under" and drawing the standing yarn back out of the loop, to form a stitch which lays over the needle.

click picture

3. Make the third stitch (follow the red arrow) as you made the first one: reach OVER (not through) the loop, and catch the standing yarn "up from under" to form a stitch which lies over the needle. Click here for an explanation of how each finger is deployed in the illustration below.

click picture

4. Continue, making each odd stitch OVER the loop and each even stitch THROUGH the loop and until you have the EVEN number of stitches you need (if you need to cast on an odd numbers of stitches, see point 7, below)

click picture

5. Distribute the stitches onto 3 or 4 dpn and join the work by using the standing yarn to knit through the first stitch cast on. Do not bcome discouraged if the needles drop out--which they WILL do several times, until you finally prevail. (HINT: try different needles until you find the ones which work best for you--bamboo needles are maybe easier for knitting with few stitches where needles are apt to fall out...)


6. After several rounds, tug on the tail end. Ta da! The original loop into which you were working will disappear, and your work will feature a beginning rosette of the even, attractive stitches you worked into that loop. (HINT: give the tail an experimental tug right away, after first joining the work just to be sure the loop CAN tighten and didn't get tangled while making the join. If the tail end did get tangled up, try, try again.)

click picture

7. If, for some reason, you need an ODD number of stitches (a seven-section hat top?) make the loop with the BALL end on top, and make the first (and all odd) stitch(es) by going THROUGH the loop for the first stitch, then OVER the loop for the second (and all even) stitch(es). This way the odd stitch with which you want to end (the last stitch) is "held in" by having been made through the loop.

A final note: Does this sort of cast-on look familiar to you from another context? Perhaps you have used this technique in making a kind of provisional cast on called "invisible cast on." For invisible cast-on, instead of making a loop into which to work, you hold a length of scrap yarn along a straight knitting needle and conduct this same series of manuevers over and under the needle and the scrap yarn. You then withdraw the needle and leave the loops on the scrap yarn until you're ready to expose the stitches. When you withdraw the scrap yarn, you'll see live loops, waiting to be knitted up.

However, IMHO, there exists a far better provisional cast-on (illustrated here) so I'd save this trick for working into a "disappearing loop" for center-started knitting.

ADDENDUM September 2009:  As beautiful as this cast-on is, some folks have been having a hard time following the diagrams.  In real life, you could learn this trick in 5 minutes, but it IS hard to learn from diagrams, no doubt about it.  At any rate, if you like the look of disappearing loop, but are having a hard time of it, then click over to this post: Knitting from the center--belly buttons and the umbilical waste cord method."  Although they do take a little longer, knitted belly buttons end up with the same structure and look as disappearing loop, and are easier to learn from diagrams.

ADDENDUM April 2017:  Here is a video from a reader, Judy Vallas, showing how to do this cast on.

--TECHknitter

Adding a new ball of yarn in the same color

Today: "Joining yarn," or "What to do when you're at the tail end of the old ball of yarn, and you need to add in a new ball of the same color." (Here is a LINK to a post for adding in balls of a different color for multi-color knitting).

An urban myth of knitting is that new yarn always ought to be added at the end of a row (side of the fabric) (scroll).

On the one hand, if you are knitting an item to be seamed, this advice can be good (see trick the third, below).

On the other hand, for items where the edge of the knitting is the edge of the garment (scarf, shawl, stole), or for items where you plan to add an edging, this advice is pretty bad. Adding yarn at the end of a row can leave a big loopy gap along one side of your knitting, and/or a lump where the ends are worked in. The side of your work is probably an inconvenient spot for that gap/lump.

Also, advice to put the yarn change in the seam is of little use to circular knitters.

Another myth is that yarn should be "tied in" with a knot. I've ranted elsewhere against knots in knitting--even slip knots, and won't repeat here. I will add, however, that even the tightest knot has the potential to come undone over time with the kind of wear a knitted garment will get.

Anyway--enough about what won't work. Here are three tricks for adding a new ball of yarn.

Trick the first--felting
(fair warning: if you're squeamish, skip straight to trick the second)

Evidently, the oldest kind of yarn-made fabric is nalbinding. It is made with a large-eyed flat bone-type needle, using short lengths of yarn--originally, the sort of primitive yarn spun by rubbing it between the palms.

Obviously, a major nalbinding issue is how to attach each short length to the next.

Nalbinders solved this problem long ago--maybe in the ice ages--by felting the ends of the yarn together with (this is the squeamy part) spit. Today, most choose to use water, but if you're lazily knitting in bed .... well, just resolve to thoroughly wash your knitting before wearing.

HOW-TO felt the ends

Overlap the ends of the yarn in your hand--by maybe a couple of inches. Add a small amount of the liquid of your choice, and rub the ends between your fingers and your palms or between both palms, until the ends felt. Yup, that's it.

click picture

Of course, the more you practice, the less lumpy the join will be--you can fool with separating the plys in plied yarn before you felt, and fool with the correct amount of liquid, and fool with the rolling action of the felting and fool with the amount of the overlap. However, this isn't rocket science--if cave (wo)men could do it, so can you. A couple of quick experiments will show you the best technique to make the resulting join pretty much invisible in whatever wooly yarn you're using. And of course, by this method, there are no ends to work in.

BUT--felting works best on wool--preferably thickish wool. Felting is a poor choice for thin yarns, such as lace, because even the most careful felted join will show against the lacy fabric. And felting works not at all on non-wool yarns. Which brings us to...

Trick the second--overlapping

HOW-TO overlap

Overlap the new end and the old end. Knit THREE stitches with both yarns, then drop the old yarn.

click picture

Be sure there are several inches of EACH end hanging down.

click picture

The overlap may look bulky, but this is temporary.

click picture

Several rows or rounds AFTER the joining, carefully adjust the tension by gently pulling on each end in turn. In heavy work, pull tight enough so that the stitch attached to that end will shrink behind the not-pulled stitch and disappear. In lace work, tug each end carefully only as hard as it takes to make all six overlapped stitches the same size--see photo of lace work below.

click picture

The central stitch, in which both yarns lay unpulled, will be slightly larger than the stitches on either side, but even in loose lacy knitting, where there is little tugging, this join hides.

click picture

If you're working in heavy wool, you clip the ends after you've washed and blocked the garment. Leave a short end (1/2 inch) still sticking out--over time, it will shrink into (and felt onto) the fabric as the garment is pulled and twisted in everyday wear. After several further washings, when you're sure that little tail will shrink no further, you can clip it down as far as the fabric surface with a clear conscience. In woolen lace, where both sides of the fabric are designed to be seen, wash and block the item. When dry, stretch the area of the overlap several times to adjust the tension before clipping the excess very near to the fabric surface.

With non-wool yarns, three stitches MIGHT be enough to hold the ends for all times, and it might not, depends how slippery the stuff is. I find that superwash wool, for example, requires more, so I'll sometimes work 4 overlapping stitches. If you have doubts, then use the overlapping method of join PLUS, for insurance, work your ends in further using whatever method you generally use, before you clip the excess. (Working-in ends will be the subject of a future post...)

If there is a pattern to your knitted fabric, think about placing your overlapped stitches there, rather than out in a flat, smooth stockinette stitch area. The 3-stitch-overlapped join is nearly undetectable, but by placing it in a pattern--where the eye is already predisposed to accept a disturbance--you have additional insurance that no one will ever notice.

Trick the third--for items to be seamed

A reader of this blog, Noricum, gets the credit for this trick.

For garments which will be seamed (sweaters made in pieces, for example) the idea is to change balls at the side (seam edge) and leave a long tail from the new ball AND the old ball. When the time comes to seam the garment, use the long tails for the sewing yarn--remember to cross the yarns, one going up, and one going down, in such a way as to draw closed the gap where the new ball comes in. Thanks Noricum!

* * *
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

Flat knitting (back and forth) on circular needles--how and why

click picture

HOW TO KNIT BACK AND FORTH ON CIRCULAR NEEDLES

Is it a mystery to you how it is possible to knit flat objects back-and-forth on circular needles? If it isn't a mystery now, I'll bet it once was.

Here is the secret: Think of each tip as a separate needle. Cast on the stitches you want. Next, put the tip formerly in your right hand into your left hand, the tip formerly in your left hand into your right hand. The fact that the tips are joined around the back need not concern you at all. Knit normally. When you've knitted all the stitches off one tip, turn the whole business around by again putting the tip formerly in your right hand into your left hand, and the tip formerly in your left hand into your right hand. Keep on doing this until it all makes sense.

WHY TO KNIT BACK AND FORTH ON CIRCULAR NEEDLES

Why, you might be asking yourself, would anyone want to knit back and forth on circular needles? Why not just use straight needles?

There are a few reasons.

• Less lethal: It's actually scary to watch a 6 year old zooming in for a hug when mom is working a pair of long straights.
• Public knitting: At conferences, seminars, movies--wherever others may think that you're not "supposed" to be knitting--circulars eliminate the distinctive clang of one needle hitting the floor... at crowded events you're less likely to lose a needle. .. you're less likely to poke the stranger in the next seat on a packed plane, bus or subway.
• Security: A long pair of nice pointy aluminium 10 1/2's at the airport? Maybe not... Same size in circulars? You've probably got a better chance. Circulars pack better too. (Remember--if you're traveling abroad, even if those long sharp things are OK at the US end--as knitting needles currently are--they might not be when it's time to go through security at a foreign airport to come home again.)

For heavy work with lots of stitches, there is a division of opinion as to whether long straight needles or circular needles are better. In my opinion, circular needles will give nearly every knitter a better result--although some straight-needle knitters strongly disagree. Here is the debate laid out:

Some straight-needle knitters stabilize their straight needles by using very long ones, tucking one (or more) under their arm.

click picture

This is a modern version of the knitting belts and sheaths used by the old production knitters (and some traditional knitters even up to this day). Once long straights are stabilized in this way, the weight of the work is also transferred. This method of efficiency leaves the fingertips free to maniplate the stitches without having to carry the weight of the fabric. There are other ways to stabilize long straight needles also--some knitters tuck the needles into their sleeves, and I once saw a knitter with her left needle tucked into her watchband. Some of the very fastest knitters of all times knit with a stabilized needle or needles.

HOWEVER, few US knitters knit with sheaths or belts--and most straight-needle knitters do not stabilize their ends, or transfer any weight by tucking. Realistically, therefore, the choice is is often between straight needles held in the hands (ends left untucked) and circular needles.

Under these circumstances, I think that circular needles have a better chance of yielding a superior result for flat back and forth knitting of large objects.

With circular needles, the needles are attached by the cable. This allows both hands to support the weight of the work even at the end of a row of 274 stitches, for example. With straight needles, all these stitches would be all bunched up on one needle or another at every row end, but with circulars, the work stays mainly on the cables, with only a few stitches on either tip. Stated otherwise, the shape of the circular needle cable and tips lets a lot of the weight of the work rest in your lap. If all those stitches were hanging from one needle, as they would be at the end of every row knitted on long straights, that'd be a lot of weight to swing around with every stitch--exhausting work, actually, and the weight shift from hand to hand often makes the gauge go off.

Also, the cable of a circular needle is a smaller diameter than the tips. That makes it possible to squish a LOT of stitches along the cable. In fact, you can squish a whole back-and-forth sweater on even a too-small pair of circular needles, a trick pretty much unfeasible on even the longest straights.

--Techknitter

Gauge-less gauge swatches, or "dating tips for knitters"

includes a how to
You've read the blah, blah, blah advice a hundred times--make a gauge swatch before you start knitting your garment. Wash the gauge swatch. Dry the gauge swatch. Measure the number of stitches and number of rows per inch to be sure you're getting the same gauge as the pattern calls for. Adjust to smaller needles if you need to get more stitches per inch, larger needles for fewer stitches per inch. Blah, blah, blah.

If you do all that stuff, congratulations--you are a sober, mature person with whom it would be a honor to shake hands--a beacon, a knitting role model. You're all set--no need to read further--read a different blog for today.

Back here in the real world, there's a ball of yarn screeching to be knit, and a pattern demanding to be started NOW. You know you shouldn't, but sister, you know you're going to do it anyway--grab the needles recommended in the pattern, cast on, and hope for the best.

It's a classic in philosophy--what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? What happens when your irresistible desire to start NOW smacks up against the stone-cold fact that, without a gauge swatch, you're most unlikely to actually accomplish that flattering, graceful garment in which your imagination clothes you? Will you stop and reconsider? Will you actually make a gauge swatch? Maybe--but if you're still reading, I'm not laying money on it.

So, how shall you tame the mighty urge?

I have one word: gaugeless objects. (OK, that's two words. But it's still the answer.)

If you're ready to make a whole sweater, starting right NOW, that's puppy love. You've got to face it--you're in the grip of a crush. But no matter how HUGE the crush, you'd never marry that cute guy before you went on even one date, would you? What if he snores? What if he already has a wife? What if on closer inspection, he's unacquainted with the concept of soap? So how about a date with your new yarn--just one date? Check it out, just once, before you commit to slogging through the sleeves (two) the fronts (two) and the endless back; or, for circular garments, the doubly endless tube to the underarms.

Classic gaugeless objects are scarves, potholders, pillow tops, quilt squares and hats. Wouldn't it be a testament to your skill to have a one-of-a-kind unique and amazing patchwork pillow around the house made with one square from every project in recent times? How about a set of potholders, ditto? A quilt?

You might think I'm tricking you into knitting a gauge swatch and just calling it something else. And maybe so. But then, maybe not. Today's fashions are adorable, flattering and short. Maybe it makes actual sense to have a matching scarf to cover the shivery parts left uncovered by that fashion-forward masterpiece?

And, maybe you'll be glad you've got that potholder made ahead for your Christmas gift basket when you realize that the yarn with which you were planning to have a long term relationship is a flirt, a liar and a come-on artist. What if you HATE the yarn after you start working with it? What if that hand-dyed, hand-spun one-of-a-kind masterpiece skein turns out to be overtwisted? What if you discover that P5tog (purl 5 together) pattern, although exceeding beautiful, has a side you weren't expecting?

Have I convinced you? A little bit, at least? If so, here are some considerations.

HOW TO go on a date with your new yarn

First, buy only one ball of yarn for a start. If it's too late--if you've already succumbed to the desire to possess massive quantities of THAT yarn right NOW, at least keep the receipt handy--think of it as your rescue call if your first date is going sour. And for heaven's sake, DON'T wind all that yarn off the hanks into balls before your gaugeless object is complete and your decision made to proceed--once it's wound, it's yours.

Second, make the gaugeless object with the exact yarn and with the exact stitch pattern you're going use for the garment. If the garment is in moss stitch, it helps you not at all to have a stockinette stitch object. (Yup, it's obvious. Yup, I've messed up on this myself...)

Third, change needle sizes at least a couple of times over the course of your object. That way, you've got a better chance of actually nailing the desired gauge, and who cares if the gauge for a scarf or potholder or quilt square wanders?

Fourth, make the gaugeless object with the same technique as the garment. If the garment is made back and forth, make the object back and forth--a potholder, quilt square, pillow top, skinny scarf.

If the garment is made circular, cast on enough stitches to go round on dpn's (double pointed needles) or your smallest circulars, and make a gaugeless circular tube neck-scarf. Other than sewing up the ends if you're inclined to, a skinny tube neck-scarf features no finishing at all--all those dangling ends from color changes, etc. will be on the inside and will never, ever, be seen by any mortal again.

click picture

If even a circular neck-scarf is too much work--if you're too deeply smitten by the "right now" bug to go round and round for so long, at least make a potholder by using the method for "circular swatch knitted flat," illustrated below. (For a potholder, cut the ends and tame them by knotting or felting)

click picture

• Addendum, Feb 4 2011: There is now a new TECHknitting post with a BETTER way to make circular swatches knit flat--easier and nicer result!

Most important, after you make your gaugeless object, LOOK AT IT. Do all the blah blah blah stuff. Wash it. Measure it. Be honest with yourself. Ten and a half stitches over 2 inches isn't the same thing as five stitches per inch. It just isn't. But, because you were foresightful, and made your gaugeless object with several different needle sizes, you've got exactly ten stitches to 2 inches in there somewhere.

And finally, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. For each garment you make with the same yarn and needles, you'll get an increasingly professional result--your body of experience with that yarn and those needles will make more likely a "handmade" result, as opposed to a "home made" result. And after the first garment, you won't even have to swatch at all.  (Have a look at these made-more-than-once projects on Ravelry to see the lovely possibilities.)

--TECHknitter

Kinky yarn

includes a how-to
Recent minor events brought two kinds of kink to mind. No, not THAT kind. I mean the kind that happens when yarn doesn't lay straight as you try to knit it.

FIRST kind of kink--
knitted-in kinks

click picture

As I sat by a friend at a local guild meeting, she noticed a mistake a few rows down. She ripped, then began to knit up again. BUT--the yarn she'd ripped out was kinked. Her project must have sat for at least a couple of days--long enough for the yarn to set up in the loops and shapes of her knitting.

If my friend had kept knitting, her gauge would have suffered. Each stitch knitted with kinked yarn would take a longer, loopier, kinkier path around the needle instead of laying smooth as it should. Knitted-in kinks usually come out with moisture, so once the garment was washed, the kinks would have relaxed. The portion my friend had knitted with the kinked yarn would have been off-gauge--wider and messier than the rest of the fabric. True, that's not too bad for a couple of rows on a child's sleeve or the sole of a sock. But bad gauge on the breast of a woman's sweater might be a different story.

HOW TO relax knitted-in kinks

Method 1: steaming
Make a loose skein of the yarn to be de-kinked and lay it on the ironing board.  Set a steam iron to high and let it heat thoroughly.  If your iron has the "shot of steam" feature, so much the better, but any steam iron will work.

You don't actually iron the yarn, NO! For WOOL (as shown in the you-tube below) you can sorta-almost actually touch the yarn--not ever rest the iron on the yarn, you understand, but get it pretty darn close, just for an instant or two.  For non-wool (especially acrylic) do NOT get as close as shown in the video below, instead, hold the steaming iron an inch or so ABOVE the yarn.

When the yarn is soft and steamy, smooth it gently, then wind it and you can instantly re-knit it.

click picture

Method 2: Wetting
  Swish the hank briefly in warmish water. If the kinks persist, add some yarn-friendly soap, swish, then rinse in water of the same temperature. If the kinks come out, good. Roll up the hank in a towel, squish firmly without stretching, then lay to dry on a sweater-dryer or a different (dry) towel. However, if the kinks still don't come out with this amount of washing, AND IF the yarn you're trying to de-kink is only a portion, but not all of the yarn for an already-partly-knitted garment, you might have a problem.

See-most yarn will de-kink if you mash it around long enough. The problem is, the more you pull and twist, the more the de-kinked yarn changes. It might get thicker (felt) it might get thinner (stretch). Whichever way it changes, the de-kinked yarn might knit up differently than the never-kinked yarn in the rest of the garment. So IF you find that you have to seriously smack your yarn around to get the kinks out, AND IF the yarn you're trying to de-kink is only a portion of the yarn for an already-partly-knitted garment, you might want to quick cruise on down to the LYS and see if they have another ball or two in that dye lot...

If you need to de-kink a lot of yarn--enough to make a whole garment OR you need to de-kink some yarn, but the rest of that yarn is not yet knitted, then you have no worries. If you can de-kink the yarn with gentle methods, just de-kink what's kinked. If you need to seriously smack the yarn around to de-kink it, then make up all the yarn, the kinked and the never-kinked, into hanks and wash it all up the same. Feel free to smack and twist your yarn as much as you need to, to get the kinks out. Just be sure to smack around the never-kinked yarn too. Because all the yarn is getting the same treatment, there's no problem of differing gauges between the de-kinked and the never-kinked--it's all getting washed and processed the same. Just be sure to knit the gauge swatch out of yarn that's been through the same washing process.

The bad thing is, sometimes it's not you--it's the yarn. There really is some yarn that never wants to de-kink. With yarn this stubborn, you might try to tame its woolly little kinks with a spray-on fabric-relaxer like Downy Wrinkle Releaser. If that still doesn't work, you'll have to make up your own mind what do with it--I propose potholders.

SECOND kind of kink--
overtwisted yarn

A knitter at my LYS was knitting a sock. The yarn twisted, snaked and kinked as it went onto her needles. Perhaps the yarn was overspun at the mill, perhaps the yarn was center-pulled, then rewound hard to say. What was clear, however, is that the yarn wanted to writhe and kink because it had WAY too much twist.

When this kind of overtwisted kinky yarn is knitted up, the whole garment fights itself. The fabric never lies smooth, it humps and bumps, especially if the extra twist is worked down and corralled onto a short stretch of yarn, and then this extra-twisted portion is knitted up over a few stitches or the entire garment biases (or both).

Twisted kink is actually harder to eliminate than knitted-in kink. The best thing you can do is try to corral the excess twist down to one length of yarn, snap the work together with a rubber band so it doesn't unravel, hold that length of yarn in the air with the work dangling at the bottom for a weight, and let the whole business slowly untwist. Of course, you have to constantly work to corral the excess twist down the yarn, and then untwist every few lengths knit, so progress is S-L-O-W. If you find you have this kind of twisted kink, think about returning the yarn. Or, again--how about a batch of potholders?

Good knitting! --TK

The stitch and the needle it rode in on

Left and right needles of a different size
If you've ever knitted even one stitch, you know that the size of the needle determines the size of the stitch. Bigger needles make bigger stitches, smaller needles make smaller stitches. That's why needle size matters.

What may not be so obvious, however, is that once you've knitted the stitch, that stitch will not change shape or size, even if you later manipulate it using a different size needle.

"Huh?" you might ask yourself "what is that woman talking about?" Well, I'm glad you asked.

click picture

In the photo above, the left needle is smaller than the right needle. But because the stitches were made with the right needle, a smaller left needle won't affect the gauge or the tension.

Still confused? Here are three real-world examples.

Suppose you are a dreadfully tight knitter. No matter how you try, you cannot relax your tension. The stitches are hard to push around. Knitting exhausts you.

For circular knitting, at least, you can solve this problem without brandy.

Buy an interchangeable knitting needle kit--a packet of interchangeable tips which fit on a series of cables of all sorts. Screw the tip you need for your gauge onto one side of the cable. Holding this tip in your right hand, use it to knit-- to create the loops which become the "new stitches." Screw a much smaller gauge needle onto the other side of your cable. Holding this smaller tip with your left hand, use it to feed the "old stitches."

Because the left "holding" needle is so much smaller than the right "creating" needle, the stitches will easily slide around, and your tight tension will be at least half-tamed. This trick works because, once you've created the stitches using the right needle (the one at the proper size for your gauge), you cannot change the size of those stitches by knitting them off a smaller left needle.

Another example: Suppose you've made a mess on a complicated knitted fabric of some kind--a lace scarf for example. You now want to rip back to some point before you made your mistake. You would locate a plain row, and without ripping back anything for the moment, you'd pick up the stitches of that row on the very thinnest needle you can find. Once those stitches are safely on the very thin needle, remove the needle used to knit the lace, and rip the lace back, past the mistake, to where the plain row is impaled on the thin needle.

Once you've ripped back and have the stitches of the plain row sitting there, you can knit those stitches right off the thin needle--no need to transfer those stitches onto a larger needle. As long as the needle doing the knitting is the needle size used to create the lace in the first place, the size of the "holding needle" will not change the size of the stitches.

Final example: Stitch holders are a much smaller gauge than the actual needle used to produce the stitches being held. Most knitters transfer the stitches from the stitch holder back to a needle before knitting further. But there is no reason to go to all that trouble. If the design of your stitch holder allows, no harm will come to your gauge or tension if you knit the "held stitches" right off the stitch holder, as long as the needle doing the knitting is the correct gauge.

The moral of the story: In knitting, all the matters is the size of the needle DOING THE KNITTING (the right needle). The size of the holding needle (the left needle) DOES NOT MATTER.

(Mirror image knitters: if you substitute "right" and "left" in all of the above, everything remains true)

--TECHknitter

Three decreases-- *knit 2 together *slip, slip, knit *3 stitch decrease

*Knit 2 together *slip, slip knit *three stitch decrease
click picture

includes a how-to

This post is about 3 handy decreases.

The first, "Knit 2 together" (abbreviated "k2tog") slants to the RIGHT. K2tog decreases away ONE STITCH every time it is done.

The second decrease, "Slip, slip, knit" (abbreviated "ssk") slants to the LEFT. Like k2tog, ssk also decreases away ONE STITCH every time it is done.

In lots of garments, paired decreases are used: k2tog AND ssk to make raglan decreases, v-necks (and other shapings too, like hat tops, sock gussets, etc.)

A third type of decrease "3 stitch decrease" (abbreviated "3stdec") slants neither right nor left, but makes a STRAIGHT LINE. 3stdec decreases away TWO STITCHES every time it is done. It is used especially on the tops of hats where a flat top is wanted (tams, roll-brim shaped hats) or to make the flat bottom of a knitted bag.

click picture

Here are directions for each of the three decreases:

KNIT 2 TOGETHER
(k2tog)

click picture

1. PREPARATION: Insert right needle from left to right (knitwise) through the two stitches at the tip of the left needle. Draw the yarn through the loops.
2. The FINAL RESULT: The LEFT stitch lies on top, the RIGHT stitch is hidden behind, and the decrease slants RIGHT. One stitch appears where 2 were before, so k2tog is a one-stitch decrease.

SLIP, SLIP, KNIT
(ssk)

click picture

1. FIRST SLIP: Insert the right needle from left to right (knitwise) into the first stitch on the tip of the left needle, and slip the stitch onto the right needle.
2. SECOND SLIP: Repeat same step with the second stitch
3. KNIT TOGETHER THOUGH THE BACK LOOPS: Insert the left needle into the front of the 2 stitches previously slipped onto right needle. Draw the yarn through the loops from this position.
4. The FINAL RESULT: The right stitch lies on top, the left stitch is hidden behind and the decrease slants left. One stitch appears where 2 were before, so (like k2tog) ssk is a one-stitch decrease.

3 STITCH DECREASE
(3stdec)

click picture

1. Inserting from left to right (knitwise), run right needle through TWO loops at tip of left needle and slip these two stitches onto the right needle. Note: You are to slip both stitches at the SAME TIME, therefore, insert the needle from L to R through the second stitch from the tip, then through the stitch at the tip, then slip both off the L needle, together, onto the R needle. 
2. Knit the next stitch. 
3. Next, insert the tip of the left needle under the 2 slipped stitches and lift them OVER the knitted stitch. (This is called "passing the slipped stitch(es) over" and is abbreviated "psso.")  
4. If 3stdec looks like combination of k2tog and ssk, that's because it is. The stitch which originally lay two from the tip of the L needle comes to lay on top of the resulting stitch sandwich, and it is pointing straight up--the orange stitch in the above diagram, while the two stitches lower down in the sandwich (green and red) slant R and L, respectively, as shown.
5. One stitch appears where 3 were before, so 3stdec is a two-stitch decrease.

--TECHknitter

Jogless stripes--a new way

includes a how-to

click picture

Knotingale asks "can you explain the 'jogless' join method for stripes knit in the round? I can't understand the instructions I've found thus far."

As we say here in Wisconsin, "yup, you bet!" But, it all depends on WHAT KIND of stripes you're planning to make.

--->For one or two round-high stripes worked in the round, using the same two or three colors throughout consider trying the barberpole (helix) method.

--->For one round-high stripes where every round is a different color, consider working the smoothed circle way. 

--->For stripes with designs in them (such as Fair Isle) worked in the round, consider trying the picture-frame method which disguises the ends of the rows, while allowing you to stay in pattern.

--->For stripes which are three or more rounds high worked in the round, try this nifty method described below:

JOGLESS STRIPE HOW-TO
(a new way)

• On color change rounds, change colors by knitting the first stitch of the new color as you usually would. Then, knit the rest of the stitches to the end of the round.
  
• On the next round, slip the first stitch of the new color, then knit the rest of the stitches.
• On every following round, knit every stitch as usual

Keep doing this over and over again. That's it. That's really all there is to it. Well--nearly all. You still face the issue of--

STACKING the COLOR CHANGES

The only thing at all complicated in jogless striping is how you choose to stack the color changes. If you choose to let the beginning of the round travel one stitch to the left with each color change (this WILL make sense as soon as you try jogless stripes with needles) then every part of every row will be the same height and have the same number of stitches. Such jogless stripes are called "traveling stripes." If you choose to hold the beginning of the round in the same place, then at one spot on every stripe, there will be one fewer stitches. Such jogless stripes are called "stationary stripes."

Here it is, one more time, slower, with complete step-by step directions and more photos.

TRAVELING JOGLESS STRIPES

1. On the round BEFORE you intend to change colors, insert a stitch marker at the place you intend to change colors.
   
2. On the color change round--slip the marker, then change colors by simply starting to knit with the new color.
   
3. On the following round, when you come to the marker, slip it. Then, slip the first stitch of the new color from the left needle to the right needle WITHOUT KNITTING IT (and without twisting it--this is called "slipping purlwise"). Knit all the rest of the stitches of the round.
   
4. Knit as many rounds as you desire for the stripe, knitting every stitch.
5. One the round BEFORE your NEXT color change, shift the marker over one stitch to the left.
6. Make more stripes by repeating steps 2 though 5.
   

These stripes are called "traveling jogless stripes."

• ADVANTAGE: Every part of every round is the same height.
• DISADVANTAGE: The round beginning "travels" one stitch leftward with every color change.

click picture

STATIONARY JOGLESS STRIPES

1. On the round BEFORE you intend to change colors, insert a stitch marker at the place you intend to change colors.
   
2. When you come to a color change round, slip the marker, then change colors by simply starting to knit with the new color.
   
3. On the following round, when you come to the marker, slip it. Then, slip the first stitch of the new color from the left needle to the right needle WITHOUT KNITTING IT (and without twisting it--this is called "slipping purlwise"). Knit the rest of the stitches of the round.
   
4. Knit as many rounds as you desire for the stripe, knitting every stitch.
   
5. Make more stripes by repeating steps 2 through 4.

These stripes are called "stationary jogless stripes."

• ADVANTAGE: the color change remains in the same place.
• DISADVANTAGE: at one part of each round, that round will dip one stitch lower.

click picture

WHICH TO CHOOSE?

With stationary stripes, each stripe dips one stitch lower at the color change. With thin stripes, and/or in thin wool, you'd soon have substantially fewer stitches along this column, so the fabric might start to "pull" along that column of stitches. However, with thick wool (5 st/in or fewer) and/or thicker stripes, this isn't an issue because the knitting stretches enough to solve the problem. Therefore, stationary stripes are best for thick wool and/or thick stripes.

With traveling stripes, a faint spiral pattern will develop along the diagonal of the color change, so be careful not to pull your yarn too tight, especially if you are carrying the yarn behind from stripe to stripe. This spiral pattern is more obvious in heavy fabrics and less obvious in thinner fabrics, so the traveling stripes are better for thinner stripes and/or thinner wool.

If you have thin stripes in thick wool, or thick stripes in thin wool, you'll have to make up your own mind.

JOGLESS STRIPES AND GARMENT SHAPING

If you choose stationary stripes, you have no problem you wouldn't have with regular (non-jogless) stripes--you begin the garment shaping as directed in the pattern. If, however, you choose to let the round beginning shift by one stitch with each stripe--what will happen when you come to shape the garment?

Suppose your directions require that, "at the beginning of the next round," you must increase (or decrease) to shape the garment. If you've been using traveling stripes, where the heck IS the beginning of the round? Is it where the COLOR beginning of the round is, or is it where the cast-on ACTUAL beginning of the round is?

Long answer short: if you've used the 3-in-1 TECHjoin to start your circular knitting, you won't really be able to tell where the cast-on beginning of the garment is. This frees you to use the COLOR beginning as the beginning of the round. You start your shaping opposite the last color change (double-headed arrow photo below). When you start the shaping, you switch gears. In other words, once shaping begins, you hide the color change IN the shaping (the right part of the photo below). This keeps the color beginning of the round from wandering further and avoids complications.

click picture

Are you wondering how the spiral shift of traveling stripes will affect the shape of the finished garment? Will the one part of the garment be longer than another? The short answer is "no problem." Many knitted garments face this issue--to match shaping, the left front and the right front of a cardigan are almost always off by one row. The same thing with shoulder shaping--that too is almost always off by one row between the left and the right shoulders. Even a circular-knitted sock is one row off between the left side and the right side of the heel tab, or on either side of a short row heel. Knitting stretches, and a spiraling round beginning will not cause any greater problem than do any of these.

WHY ARE OTHER INSTRUCTIONS SO COMPLICATED?

In some other instructions, the pattern writer seeks STATIONARY color changes (the color change should stay in the same place) AND the same number of stitches in every part of every round. The only way to accomplish this is by somehow inserting an extra stitch in the same column as the color change, which can get messy pretty fast.

In other instructions, the jog is evened out--not by slipping the first stitch of the new color as set forth in this post--but by slipping some other stitch or part of a stitch already knitted (typically, a stitch in the row below). The complication isn't really one of execution--it is one of explanation. In other words, the complication arises from trying to explain which stitch or which part of which stitch from the row below should be slipped "up" onto the left needle, how that should be done, and what to do with it once it's there.

CONCLUSION

One thing is for sure: regardless of how you choose to stack your color changes, whether with traveling jogless stripes or stationary jogless stripes, your result has got to be better than regular (jogging) stripes--see photo below.

click picture

--TECHknitter

PS: There is a different version of this same information in a newer post with prettier photos, so for a different and prettier view of jogless stripes, here is the link.

Pretty, aren't they?

Addendum June 2016:  I was sent the following link to a method which makes a very nice jogless result, using a sewing needle.  I am sharing it with you here. Thanks to Lizzy for this new trick.