TECHknitting

Friday, February 15, 2008

Easy-peasy reverse stockinette tubular edging (part 2 of "Pocket Hats")

includes 6 illustrations, click on any illustration to enlarge

* * *

ADDENDUM, 2011: The KAL laid out below stretches out over 5 posts, of which this is second, 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 (click here).

* * *

Today's trick is a nice little rim-like edging at the cast-on edge, very easy to do, which will stretch and never bind--very good for the edge of a hat, or the neck of a top-down sweater, or the top of a top-down sock. The top half of this post gives the general instructions for this easy-peasy edging while the bottom half applies this edging to the POCKET HATS introduced in the previous post.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
for
REVERSE STOCKINETTE TUBULAR EDGING

This edging--a reverse stockinette tubular edging--is pretty much the same as the knitted-shut hem, which was posted here. However, there are two important differences.

First, the knit-shut hem is knit shut in the back, while this edging is knit shut in the front. This means that this edging is FAR easier to do--stockinette wants to roll towards you, and this cast-on goes along with that tendency. You can use this method to start a sweater or a hat at a meeting or on a bus: once you're sure you have the right number of stitches, catching the fabric up into a tubular edging is very methodical and no further counting or fussing is required. (The sample hats for this series were all started during various meetings.)
Second, when caught into a tube, reverse stockinette wants to protrude and stretch outwards, sort of like a rolled edging (scroll link for a gallery of rolled edges). In fact, reverse stockinette tubular edging is the same thing as rolled edging except that the roll-edge knit shut in this edging. By contrast, a knit-shut hem might want to flip up, but it generally does not stretch out like this edging does.

Illustration 1 (below) Cast on by the long-tail method, as many stitches as you need (If you are making the pocket hat, the pattern and number of stitches to cast on is the bottom half of this post.) Knit somewhere between 4 and 8 (or even more) rows or rounds of stockinette fabric. If you are knitting flat (back and forth), end by working a purl row, so that when you turn, you will be on the smooth "knit" side of your fabric. With the right needle, follow the column down to the cast-on loop, and inset the right needle into this loop.

Illustration 2 (below)

Bring the loop you caught on tip of the right needle up to the left needle. (In this illustration, the purl side of the fabric is shown in orange, although in real life, of course, both sides of the fabric would be the same color.)
Next, insert the right needle into first stitch on the left needle, so that two loops are on the right needle--the cast-on loop from the bottom of the column, and the stitch at the top of the column, which lay on the left needle.
Using the running yarn (also called the working yarn) knit these two loops together. In the illustration below, the running yarn (working yarn) is shown in green, although in real life, of course, this yarn would be the same color as the fabric.

One last note about the knitting together process: It IS possible to knit the loops together from this position as shown in illustration 2, above (and I do). Yet, you may find it easier to put the bottom-of -the-column loop (orange) onto the left needle. However, as Mt.Mom points out in the comments, if you so, then the knitting-together row is going to come out either twisted or arsy-versy. Therefore, IF you do want both stitches on the left needle, re-arrange the left stitch so that it lays LEFT arm forward, then slip the RIGHT loop onto the left needle, and then knit the two loops together THROUGH THE BACK LOOPS from this position. (This variation is not illustrated.)

Illustration 3 (below) Continue in this manner around the round, or across the row until all the loops and stitches are knit together. In other words, continue until all the column-bottoms are knit together with the column-tops. The reverse stockinette side of the fabric (orange in this illustration) shows on the outside of the little tube you have just fabricated. Again, in real life, the orange (reverse stockinette tube-outside) the yellow (stockinette tube-inside) and the green (running/working yarn tube-closure) would all be the same color. The illustration shows them in different colors just to make it easier to follow.

Illustration 4 (below) On the next round or row, begin the garment fabric. In this illustration, the garment fabric is a 2x2 ribbing (k2, p2).

illustration 5 (below) Here is the result "in the wool." This illustration shows an 6-round reverse stockinette tubular edging on a 2x2 ribbing, which is the same fabric and edging illustrated in 1-4.

One last note before we turn to the hat pattern: When used for negative ease garments such as socks, hats and mittens, the reverse-stockinette tubular edging will make these garments flare along their lower edges. As you can see from the opening photograph in this series, the pocket hats which start with this edging lay in a bell-like shape when they are flat. However, as soon as the garment is put on, this edging looks very well. On hats, (illustration 6, below) this edging makes a pleasant little brim.

If you want to use this cast-on, but do not want a brim, make the edging on few rows, maybe as few as 2. Alternatively, remember that this cast on is tubular--a tube of 4 or 6 or more rows can serve as a little casing into which you can insert an elastic or a draw-cord.

* * *

As promised, the bottom half of this post is the

HAT PATTERN for the POCKET HATS

1. Using the kind and color of yarn you want for the bottom stripe, and 16" long circular needles (or longer needles in magic loop, or double pointed needles) in a size as discussed in the last post,

for persons of normal head size--children or adults--cast on 117 stitches by the long tail method
for persons with freakishly large heads (such as my husband, who has a 23 1/2 inch head circumference) cast on 121.

Remember--this is ribbing and will stretch significantly.

2. Using the TECHjoin method, join the cast on. The TECHjoin method prevents that nasty little "jog" at the beginning of the round. It also consumes one stitch. After joining, you should have 116 stitches for the normal size and 120 stitches for the super-size. Place a marker after the join.

3. Knit 4-8 (or even more) additional rounds. The fewer rounds you knit, the less bell-shaped the hat will be laying flat, the more rounds you knit, the more "brim-like" this edging will be when you wear the hat.

4. According the edging instructions in the first part of this post, use your right needle to catch the cast-on loop for each column, and knit both the loop and the stitch together.

5. Continue in this manner until you have knit together all the way around. When you come to the marker, remove the marker then SLIP the next stitch, then replace the marker. This little maneuver of slipping the stitch will prevent a jog where the knitting-together ends, and it moves the round-beginning one stitch to the left.

6. Establish a k2, p2 pattern of ribbing around the hat. As discussed in the last post, this hat comes in three lengths, watch cap, stocking cap and rasta-style hat.

for the watch cap, knit 13 rounds of the first color
for the stocking cap, knit 14 rounds of the first color
for the rasta hat, knit 16 rounds of the first color

As you knit this stripe, keep the marker in the same location, simply slipping it from left needle to right each time you meet it.

* * *

In the next posts of this series, three tricks will be shown, all of which have to do with the transition between colors at the stripe-edge. Specifically,

how to join yarn and work the ends in (the back join as adapted for 2x2 ribbing)
how to avoid the jog at the color change (the jogless join as adapted for 2x2 ribbing)
how to knit ribbing without any of those nasty little "dots" showing

Until next time...

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on "Easy-peasy reverse stockinette tubular edging")

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Part 1 of the 8-trick pocket hat: putting gauge in its place

Includes 6 illustrations. Click on any illustration to enlarge.

* * *

ADDENDUM, 2011: The KAL laid out below stretches out over 5 posts, 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.

* * *

Several themes have popped up lately at chez TECH.

The little kids around here keep actually losing their hats, and the big kids keep claiming they're "losing" theirs.
Various threads on Ravelry show the depths of despair knitters are feeling about getting gauge, and particularly, row gauge.
I've been saving up a grab-bag of tricks to share-- a truly flat top for a hat, a ribbed fabric without any icky little "dots" showing on the front of the fabric, an easy-peasy way to start a garment with a stretchy edge--a trick so methodical you can start a garment at a meeting.

Knitting away over the past few days, all three themes came together in a series of little hats, quick to make. I call these little numbers "pocket hats" because they are small enough to slip into a pocket as a spare hat, until a good stiff windchill reminds even careless little kids and hair-conscious teenagers that frozen ears=bad, hat=good.

Pocket hats are easy in the gauge department: they're made in 2x2 ribbing, a fabric very forgiving of stitch gauge. Also, they are made in three different lengths. Even if your row gauge is wildly off, you should nevertheless get a wearable hat somewhere in this range of offerings.

As to the grab-bag of tricks, there are 8 of them, and each post in this series will first lay out one or two of these tricks, and then apply that trick to the hat. The next post after this one will show how to make the easy-peasy cast on: a reverse stockinette tubular cast on, which will immediately be put to use as the hat brim. Following posts will show jogless stripes and working in tails as-you-go as adapted for 2x2 ribbing--and also how to knit a ribbed material without "dots." The later posts will lay out that nice flat hat top I promised, which incorporates three tricks on its own account. The series will end with two tricks to help tame "itchy-wool-against-the forehead" syndrome, for 8 tricks in all--the 8-trick pocket hat.

The series can be read like a little knit-along (KAL). However, even if you have no need for a hat at present, the tricks will be written up in the first portion of each post in this series.

Putting gauge in its place, and making hats that fit

The theory of gauge is simple enough: Suppose you want to achieve a GAUGE of 6 stitches to one inch, and 8 rows to one inch. You gather your yarn, and select the needles which experience has taught you to expect may be the correct size, and you knit a swatch. Next, you measure your gauge, both row and stitch gauge, using a tape measure or a gauge meter specially made for knitting.

If your stitch gauge is off, you switch needles, and try again For too MANY stitches per inch--7 st/in, instead of the 6 st/in you want, for example, knit another swatch, using LARGER needles. For too FEW st/in, re-knit using SMALLER needles.

The same idea goes for row gauge; If you have TOO MANY rows per inch, use a larger needle, if you have TOO FEW rows per inch, use a smaller needle.

All this is clear enough (if dull) but now can come trouble: it often happens that when you finally get the STITCH gauge correct, then the ROW gauge is off. The fact is, fixing this so they are both correct is truly a BIG problem; beyond the scope of this post.

Taming the stitch gauge/row gauge problem

The beat answer is to knit items where ONE of the gauges DOES NOT MATTER. Often, the ROW gauge is immaterial, because the measurements are given in LENGTH (inches or centimeters) rather than being expressed in row count. For example, the instructions will say "knit 48 rows or until piece measures 6 inches." If, for example, the row gauge for the pattern is 8 rows/inch, but you are getting 7.5, simply knit until you get to 6 inches (45 rows, instead of 48). Even if the instructions aren't written using length measurements, you can use math in this way to figure it out.

There are also knitted items where the STITCH gauge does not matter, or at least, does not matter very much-- scarves, afghans, pocketbooks--items which not fitted to the body. However, some garments (including these pocket hats) also aren't crucial as to gauge.

Specifically, with the pocket hats, the ROW GAUGE is not exactingly important for two reasons:

1. The pocket hats have been test-knit in three lengths.

A. (below) A close-fitting watch cap:

B. (below) A medium length stocking cap:

C. (below) A longer rasta-style hat:

Your hat is most likely to end up somewhere in this range, and you can say that you meant to make it in that length all along.

2: the final length on these hats can be adjusted by unraveling and re-knitting the top. These hats are knit in stripes and all the shaping happens very suddenly, all in the top color. Because the top is not actually a "stripe" but is actually a big "spot," it can be made a different number of rows than the preceding stripes, without ruining the look of the hat.

The STITCH gauge is not exactingly important with pocket hats either, because these hats are made in 2x2 ribbing (k2, p2). Ribbing is SO stretchy that specifying a gauge is difficult anyhow. Should the ribbing be stretched when measured? How stretched? Ironed flat? If not stretched, then how "unstretched" should the sample be when measured?

The only real answer is that when a garment is made in ribbing (or any other heavily textured fabric) the pattern should provide a stitch gauge in stockinette. The theory behind a stockinette gauge swatch for a ribbed garment is that if you can match the stitch gauge of the original creator in stockinette, you will match their gauge in ribbing too--not a great assumption, perhaps, but all that we have.

And there is one surprising thing about a stockinette gauge swatch: although the number of stitches per inch varies substantially between stockinette and ribbing, the ROW gauge is accurate and can be read off directly from the stockinette swatch to the ribbed fabric of the hat: on the photo below, each ribbed hat stripe (left) is 16 rows high, each stockinette gauge swatch stripe, 8 rows high, and the stripes line up 2-for-1 perfectly. In other words, the row gauge is identical across the two fabrics, regardless of the variation in the stitch gauge from the textured hat fabric to the smooth stockinette gauge fabric.

So, having stuffed you up with all this conversation about row and stitch gauge, what IS the gauge for the pocket hats? Here is the materials list, and the actual gauge instructions...

MATERIALS and GAUGE for the POCKET HAT PROJECT

These hats are knit in a DK weight of yarn. Each hat has 5 stripes, and each stripe uses about 1/3 ball of a 50 gram ball. In other words, 5 balls will make about three 5-color hats.

The yarn used is Dale of Norway HEILO yarn, in a grab-bag color assortment of colors (truthfully, in left-over scraps.) Heilo is a long-staple yarn, reasonably tightly spun with excellent durability and a wide color range, in a DK weight and excellent for utility knitting: the garments look as good at 5 or 10 years of age as when they came off the needles. Heilo is hand wash, however. If you want to make this same hat in a machine washable wool, consider Dale's FALK yarn: same yarn as Heilo, but superwash. Heilo (and Falk) are relatively ITCHY wools, and the last tricks in this series deal with how to tame the itchy-wool-on-forehead syndrome. They are also fairly coarse wools.

For the reasons above, the HAT is knit in 2x2 ribbing (k2, p2) but the GAUGE SWATCH is knit in stockinette. The swatch has 12 stitches/2 inches (same as 6 st/in), and 16 rows/2 inches (same as 8 st/in). In the photo just below, see for yourself.

Two last notes to swatchers.
1. the hat is knit in the round, so the gauge swatch should be also. Click here for a trick to make that faster and easier.
2. The swatch here, as well as the hats, were dressed before measuring by a light steam blocking. Click here for more info on steam blocking.

Bottom line: make your swatch in stockinette, to match as close as you can: 6 st/in OR 8 rows/in (if you get pretty close to both row AND stitch gauge, bonus points!) Next time we'll cast on with the nifty reverse stockinette easy-peasy rolled cast on.
--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: "making hats fit--putting gauge in its place")

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Length reassignment surgery: lengthening and shortening knitwear

includes 3 illustrations, click any illustration to enlarge
As a frequenter of Ravelry, I have discovered that ~~Ravelry is the greatest timesuck ever invented, although it is also the best website for all knitters (and spinners and crocheters) and you should join now~~ lots of knitters would like to know how to make too-short knitwear longer, and too-long knitwear shorter, or remove a cast on and redo it, or otherwise start or end their fabric in some other place than it is now.

Now, this isn't very difficult, but it is scary the first time you try it, and there are a few shoals in the water, so that's the subject of today's post.

* * *

Problem:

Let us suppose that you have a sleeve or a hat which is TOO SHORT or TOO LONG, and that you have knit

from the top down
in the round or back and forth
in stockinette

Lucky you, that is the easiest case!

Solution:

Unravel and re-knit longer/shorter.

* * *

Problem:
Let us suppose that you have a garment which is TOO SHORT or TOO LONG, and that you have knit

from the bottom up
in the round or back and forth
in stockinette

Solution:

(An aside: the below trick also works for catching live stitches out of an alread-knit stockinette fabric for ANY purpose, not just for lengthening or shortening).

If you knit back and forth, unravel the seam to above the area where you will snip. If you knit round and round, just start right in with step 2.
Snip one stitch of the garment in the round ABOVE the ribbing (for too short) or just where you want the ribbing to begin (for too long).
Using a needle to pick out the yarn along the row or round (purple in the diagrams), unravel all the way around/across the garment.
As each live loop pops free, catch it on your needles--the same needle you used to knit the garment in the first place. Don't worry now which way your stitch is laying, just worry about catching it.
When the ribbing pops loose, put it aside, you will not need it now.
Once all the live loops are caught on your needles, slip your way around the work again, re-orienting and catching each loop RIGHT ARM FORWARD.
Attach a new, unkinked yarn by any of these methods: Russian join, overcast join, overlap join, back join.
If the garment was too short, you are now ready to reknit, downwards, in stockinette to lengthen the garment sufficiently until it is time to start the ribbing again. This works because stockinette has the wonderful property of lining up REGARDLESS of whether it is knit "up" or "down."
If the garment was too long, you are now ready to knit the ribbing from where your stitches are all on the needle. If you have taken out so much fabric that you are several increases higher in the garment, and there are more stitches on your needle than there were when you first knit the cuff/band/edging, switch to smaller (or even to MUCH smaller) needles to re-knit the cuff. This way, the cuff/band/edging will still fit, even though it is being re-knit on more stitches than the old one.
If the garment was too short, and your leftover yarn is insufficient to do all the further knitting, unravel the part of the sleeve you popped off, and process it according to these instructions so that it can be reused.

* * *

Problem:
Your TOO SHORT or TOO LONG garment was not knit in stockinette. This means that the picked up stitches to be knit "downwards" will be a half-stitch off in the fabric pattern.

Solution:

You need to think outside the box. If the fabric is a ribbing, do the additional knitting for the cuffs/bands/edging in a different ribbing. So, for example, if the garment fabric is 2x2 ribbing, do the edging ribbing in 2x1 or 1x1 or whatever other ribbing you've always had a hankering to try.
If the fabric pattern is garter stitch, edge with seed stitch; if it is seed stitch, try a ribbing or a garter stitch, etc.

* * *

Problem:
Your garment is TOO SHORT and you do not have enough yarn to make it longer, no, not even if you recycle the popped-off bits.

Solution:

Matching or contrasting color: If the garment body or sleeves (or hat or other garment) is/are too short, unravel the bands and recycle that yarn to lengthen the garment. Then use a matching or contrasting color in the same weight and kind of yarn to re-knit the bands. A blue sweater with green or gray bands would look smashing, and no one but you would know you never meant to have it that way all along.
Different dyelot of the same color: It often happens, however, that the same color is available, but in a different dyelot. In that case, do the same thing: recycle the yarn of the same dyelot out of the bands to lengthen the garment, and use the different dyelot for the bands. Bands are most often made in a different fabric stitch (ribbing, for example) than the main body of the garment (which might be made in stockinette). The change of fabric pattern on the bands hides the change of dyelot better than simply adding the new dyelot on in the stockinette portion.
Add a stripe of a different color: I don't normally advocate Kitchener stitching (grafting) the snipped off bits back on--the Kitchener stitch is a very slow one, and progress is glacial. Also, there is often a noticeable tension difference between the garment fabric and the Kitchener-stitched row. However, every guideline is made to be broken, and in the case of a too-short sweater for a person of athletic build, a very good effect can be had by snipping and separating the body just below the underarm, or just above the bottom ribbing, and knitting in a stripe of a different color to go around the body. The other part of the sweater is then grafted back on. This can be a successful strategy for too-short sleeves on an athletic person's sweater, also. (Why only an "athletic person?" because a person with a fuller figure, male or female, is unlikely to be much complemented by a stripe just below the bust/chest, or worse yet, a stripe around the belly.) Oh, oh wait, this works on baby sweaters too, for you procrastinators whose target baby has lengthened while the project lay becalmed on the needles for several months. For babies, the stripe looks best just above the bottom ribbing. (Easy Kitchener stitching instruction here.)

Good luck--and if your problem is not solved here, try posting on the "technique" board on Ravelry, or send me an e-mail at TECHknitting@hotmail.com

* * *
Addendum, Jan. 2013: I've done a you-tube on a trick to quickly separate knitted fabric into two pieces--here ya go...

--TECHknitter
You have been reading TECHknitting on: "lengthen knitting and shorten knitting."

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Better bands and cuffs--the wrap-up

Hard to believe it taken from the end of October to the middle of January for this blog to wade through the topic of "better bands and cuffs." Part of the time-span is because posts on other subjects sometimes broke in to derail the train of thought. Between taking so long and being interrupted with other subjects, it seemed wise to wind up this series by tying it together in a (hopefully) coherent way: the wrap-up which constitutes today's post.

The series starts with a prequel, and runs through 9 further posts, 11 total if you include the prequel and this wrap-up post. (Whew!)

The prequel to the series goes over knitted fabrics which don't curl: GARTER, SEED STITCH, RIBBING and DOUBLE MOSS STITCH.

The series proper starts with the post called "Opera and soap opera" which offers an overview of the problem. This post introduces NORM, WANDA and LON. Norm is a normal stitch--situated in the middle of a stockinette fabric. Norm is supported on all sides by his "sibling" and "cousin" stitches. These all share yarn so that stress leaves Norm literally unmoved--he is pinned in place and will return to shape when the stress (from a poking elbow or the like) is removed. Wanda is an edge stitch at the bottom of a sweater band. Stress makes Wanda wander: a stretch or a poke leaves her all ruffled because she has no support along the entire bottom edge: once she stretches, there are no sibling and cousin stitches among whom to distribute the stress and who can bring her into shape again. Lon is an edge stitch on a front band. Lon stretches out long when stressed, because, like Wanda, he has no support along the stretched out edge to pull him back into shape. The conclusion of the first part is that UNSUPPORTED EDGE STITCHES (Wanda and Lon) are the reason GARMENT EDGES RUFFLE and STRETCH OUT.

The second post (Why cuffs and bands are wonky, and what to do about it) suggests a cure: If you KEEP THE EDGE STITCHES OF THE FABRIC AWAY FROM THE EDGES of KNITTED GARMENTS, the edge stitches can't stretch out. In Norm, Wanda and Lon terms, keeping Wanda and Lon away from the edge means that the edges are populated by Norm-type stitches: supported on all sides, these stitches can easily recover from the stretching stresses to which garment edges are subjected.

This part of the series also laid out the easiest way of keeping the edge stitches of the fabric away from the edge stitches of the garment: a SIMPLE ROLLED STOCKINETTE EDGE.

The third part of the series discusses another method of keeping the edge stitches of the fabric away from the edge of the knitted garment, making HEMS AND FACINGS. Again, this works because the edge of the garment is actually made up of Norm-type supported stitches--the Wanda- and Lon-type edge stitches are carefully tucked in on the inside where they are simply not subjected to the stretching stresses present at the garment edge.

The fourth part discusses how to KNIT SHUT A HEM, either a rollover hem, or a hem with a fold line.

The fifth part discusses why knitting shut a hem is best on narrow tubes (socks, cuffs) but how knitted hems flip up on long seams like those at the bottom band of a sweater. The alternative to knitting shut is laid out: SEWING SHUT A HEM.

The sixth part of the series changes direction away from strategies to keep unsupported edge stitches away from the edge of garments. Instead, this post accepts that sometimes the edges of the fabric will be the edges of the garment, and talks about how to stop such fabric/garment edges from flipping and curling. This sixth post also reaches back to the prequel post about non-curling fabrics such as ribbing, moss and garter. You see, the curling and flipping problem actually arises from stockinette's severe tendencies to want to curl. Even when non-curling fabrics are attached to it, stockinette wants so desperately to curl that it simply takes the "non-curling" edge right along with it. This sixth installment shows how STEAMING AND IRONING can help persuade stockinette away from this unruly behavior.

The seventh part also deals with stockinette edged with "non-curling" fabrics: this post lays out a way to knit single-layer fabric edgings which DON'T flip and curl (or at least, which don't flip and curl as much): ZIG-ZAG BANDS. Zig zag bands solve (or at least: help solve) the curling-stockinette problem because the zig-zag pattern breaks up the fault line along which the stockinette wants to curl. The most common use for a zig-zag band is an improved method to attach a garter stitch edging to a stockinette stitch fabric, a scarf, for example, or the garter-stitch front bands of a stockinette sweater.

The eighth post in the series shows TUBULAR CAST ON for a 1x1 ribbing--a method which controls the edge of a ribbing from spreading.

The ninth part lays out the matching TUBULAR CAST OFF for 1x1 ribbing--a method which makes the exact same edge as the tubular cast on, only at the bound OFF edge.

These two posts--the tubular edge posts--really address a very specific bit of the overall wonky-band issue: the problem of controlling stretching in the very edge stitches of a ribbed fabric. Nevertheless, SO many garments are edged with an unhemmed ribbed fabric that the tubular cast-ON and tubular cast-OFF really might be the most useful posts of the whole series.

Tubular cast-on and -off are really spectacularly successful in turning "home-made" knitting into "handcrafted" goodness, and they both work because they stick a Norm-type stitch--a fully supported stitch--at the very, very edge of the ribbed fabric. In other words, we have completely eliminated Lon and Wanda type stitches, and we have turned them all into Norm-type stitches with these two nifty, nifty tricks. In the process, we have come full circle from the first posts to the last, and this is the end of "of the better cuffs and bands" series. Thank you for reading along!

One final thing: some readers have expressed interest in tubular cast ON and OFF for 2x2 ribbings (k2, p2). Although several methods are familiar to me, none are anywhere near as nice as the tubular cast on and cast off for 1x1 ribbing. I'll keep working away on this problem and will be sure to post if some new trick reveals itself.

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: "Tricks for knitting better cuffs and bands, series review and summary)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Tubular cast off (it's pretty)

includes 4 illustrations--click any illustration to enlarge
The tubular cast OFF described today is identical to the tubular cast ON of the last post in every way but one: you create them differently. But when the creation process is complete, these two are identical twins. The structure of the fabric is the same, they look the same, they stretch the same. Knitters often complain that their casts on look so different from their casts off, but after this post, YOU, dear reader, will no longer be able to complain about this particular annoyance. In examining the exposed fabric edge, the most eagle-eyed expert will find it impossible to say whether your tubular ribbing edges were created by a cast ON or a cast OFF.

The tubular cast ON, the subject of the previous post, is a three-phase process:
Phase 1 is a row of stockinette stitches cast on over a provisional tail,
Phase 2 consists of four double-knitting foundation rows which are knitted into the heads and tails of the cast-on row, and
Phase 3 is the 1x1 ribbing which follows.

The tubular cast OFF, the subject of today's post is done exactly in reverse, also in three phases:

Phase 1 is the 1x1 ribbing,
Phase 2 consists of four double-knitting foundation rows (created exactly like the four double-knitting foundation rows of the cast-ON) and
Phase 3 consists of two parts:

part 1 is a preparation row or round to separate and prepare the stitches for grafting.
part 2 is the final trick of the whole thing: the stitches separated in the previous part are grafted together. This creates a row of stockinette stitches on the very edge of the garment which is identical in every way with the row of stockinette stitches of the tubular cast ON.

Phase 1: 1x1 RIBBING

1. This step is easy: you create a 1x1 ribbing, as deep as you would like. ( BTW: 1x1 ribbing means a k1, p1 ribbing.)

Phase 2: FOUNDATION ROWS

2. This step consists of FOUR foundation rows or rounds. These are the foundation for phase 3. If you are working in the round, place a marker. If you are working flat (back-and-forth) no need for a marker.

ROW/ROUND 1: Knit each KNIT stitch, and SLIP each purl stitch.
ROW/ROUND 2: depending whether you are working a row or a round, proceed as follows:

row 2: Turn work, and repeat row 1
round 2: slip maker. Now PURL every purl stitch and SLIP every knit stitch.

ROW/ROUND 3: Repeat row/round 1
ROW/ROUND 4: Repeat row/round 2

This completes the four foundation rows.

Phase 3: GRAFTING

As stated above, this phase is in two parts. For some reason, the first part of this phase often confuses folks, so here are some illustrations:

(below) Hold TWO circular needles in your RIGHT HAND. To make it easier on you, these should be a little THINNER than the needles used to create the ribbing. (If you are a perfectionist, no fears: transferring these stitches onto these smaller needles will NOT affect your gauge in any way--for more information about why this is true, click here.) Slip a KNIT stitch to the front needle. Specifically, slip the stitch as shown: untwisted. (Unlike in phase 2, there is NO KNITTING in this step, just SLIPPING.)

(below) Next, slip a PURL stitch to the back needle--slipped UNTWISTED as shown. (Again, unlike in phase 2, there is NO PURLING in this step, just SLIPPING.)

Alternate the two procedures: A knit stitch to the front needle, a purl stitch to the back needle and so on, until ALL the stitches have been separated.

(Below) At the end of the separating process, you should have 1/2 the stitches (the knits) on one needle, and 1/2 the stitches on the other needle. The project should look like this:

Now that the stitches are separated, the final step is to GRAFT the stitches together. For this, you will use the KITCHENER stitch. If you know how to Kitchener stitch with a yarn and threaded needle, have at it. If you don't know, follow THIS link for a new, easier method of doing the Kitchener stitch with knitting needles. The separated stitches are exactly like the front and back stitches in all the Kitchener diagrams. In other words, the separated stitches are just like the front and back stitches of a sock toe (the most common form of Kitchener stitching).

(Below) Here is the final result "in the wool." Nice, hey?

One last tip: If you are Kitchener stitching in the ROUND, and you want the round to end beautifully, here is the trick: If you are using a method of Kitchener stitch which involves a prep step for the first two stitches, IGNORE the prep step. If you are using the TECHknitting method, no worries as there is no prep step. When you work the first knit stitch, simply work it 1/2 (insert yarn in correct manner, pull it through BUT instead of dropping the stitch off the needle as you would normally do, put a bobby-pin or other holder through this stitch. Do the same with the first purl stitch--work it 1/2 and put a bobby pin through it as you drop it off the needle. When you come to the end of the round, RETURN the pinned knit stitch to the front needle (right arm forward) and the pinned purl stitch to the back needle (also right arm forward). Use these returned stitches to perform the last half of the Kitchener stitch maneuver on the final repeat. Tada! a perfect ending. (If this closing tip sounds mysterious and difficult, it will all come clear when you try it with yarn and needles--really! Is it worth it to fool with the final stitch like this? I think so: the last photo, above, includes the round end as finished according to this tip and I don't think it shows at all.)

ADDENDUM 5-6-09. If you click this link, you will be taken to a post by Revknits, who adapted the 1x1 tubular bind off for a 2x2 rib--and did a great job of it!

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This is part 9 of a series. The other posts are:

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: "Tubular bind off")

Friday, January 11, 2008

Provisional tail method of 1 x 1 tubular cast on

includes 8 illustrations
click any illustration to enlarge
There are several versions and variations of 1x1 tubular cast on. A popular method is Italian tubular cast on, and that is done over a knitting needle. Another method is like a long tail cast on, and here is an excellent link, with a video. Yet a third method is involves a provisional casting on, then picking up the loop tails, and here is a link to that (scroll to last method).

And yet: even with all this expert, well-thought-out instruction available, and with all these lovely methods and videos, I still (stubbornly, perhaps) prefer my own method best, a method I will call the "provisional tail" tubular cast on (to distinguish it from the "provisional" method of the last link, above).

I find this method fast, easy to make and easy to withdraw the tail from. Like all tubular casting on, this method creates a springy edge--as springy as if an elastic were inserted--and has a pleasant-feeling rounded edge which stands up well to wear and looks well.

Provisional tail tubular cast on is done in THREE PHASES:

The first phase consists of the cast on.
The second phase consists of four foundation rows: two on the front and two on the back.
The third phase consists of the true 1x1 ribbing.

PHASE 1: CAST ON

1. (below) The first step is to knot together the casting-on yarn (the yarn for the garment, blue in the illustration) with a piece of yarn of a contrasting color--the provisional tail yarn (green in the illustration) You should be able to recover the provisional tail yarn, so you can take any ball from your stash--but choose a thin yarn, a sock yarn if possible.

Arrange the yarn on your hands as shown. Your right hand tensions the knotted-together yarn ends AND operates the needle, your left hand anchors the other end of both yarns, keeping them spread apart. (This will conceivably be easier for continental knitters than for English-style.)

The hand set-up is very reminiscent of long tail casting-on, but the action is different. Specifically, with the needle in your right hand, reach the needle's tip UNDER the provisional tail yarn (green) and OVER the garment yarn (blue). This will hook a loop of blue over the needle. Withdraw the needle with the blue loop on it by moving the tip of the needle once again UNDER the contrast yarn. The complete path of the needle is shown by the red arrow. (To see greater detail, click any illustration, and each will enlarge to a close-up.)

2. (below) The result step 1, above, should be a single loop of blue yarn on the right needle, anchored in place by the green provisional tail, as shown below.

To make the next blue loop, simply hook the needle tip UNDER the blue yarn, following the path shown by the red arrow.

3. (below) Repeating steps 1 and 2 will result in blue loops over your needle, alternating as "front side" loops and "back side" loops. In other words, there will be a loop which has both tails stands IN FRONT of the green provisional tail, followed by a loop with has both tail strands BEHIND the green provisional tail. In the illustration below, the first stitch visible at the right is a "front side" loop, the second, a "back side" loop, and so on, alternating.

As you can see, it is necessary to end with a front side loop, as back side loops (the result of step 2, above) are not anchored.

PHASE 2: FOUR FOUNDATION ROWS

At the end of the first three steps (above) you have completed phase 1. In other words, you have competed the cast on phase. We turn now to the second phase, the four foundation rows.

4. (below) When you turn the work around after the cast on, you begin the first of four foundation rows. As you can see, the first stitch on your right needle will be a back side loop (ie: the reverse of the front side loop with which you ended in step 3). It would be my advice to keep this stitch as a selvedge stitch, the foundation for a side seam of chained selvedge stitches. Whatever edge treatment you choose, however, it will be necessary to knit this first loop, in order to anchor it onto your needle. Specifically, to work the foundation row, transfer the needle loaded with loops to your left hand, take an empty needle in your right hand, and knit the first stitch, following the path of the red arrow, as shown. The illustration shows continental knitting with its left-handed yarn feed, but if you are knitting English style (throwing) the action of the right hand and the path of the needle is identical--the only difference is that the yarn would feed off the other hand.

5. (below) a. Knitting the edge stitch will anchor the first loop on your right needle, as shown in illustration 5.

b. Once this selvedge stitch is knit, you will begin to establish a pattern, the first step of which is to knit the front side loops--the "knit" looking loops. To knit, follow the path shown by the red arrow.

ADDENDUM 12-12
I see from the comments that there is a certain lack of communication with steps 5 and 6. In step 5, as illustrated below, the knit-looking stitch is knit as ALL knits are knit, that is, with the yarn held in the BACK--that is the blue yarn with the arrow hooked around it.

6. (below) The second step in the pattern is to SLIP the "purls," the back-side loops. Illustration 6, below, shows that the back side loop is simply being transferred from the left needle to the right needle, while the working yarn is brought to the front, and then held out of the way of the fabric--in the illustration, the yarn is being held below the fabric--the point being that the "purls" are to be slipped, without involving the running yarn in the process. In the transfer, the tip of the right needle inserts PURLWISE into the loop to be slipped, which keeps the transferred back-side loop "open" (untwisted).

ADDENDUM 12-12:
Again, the comments show that steps 5 and 6 are, perhaps, not well communicated. Here's the thing: AFTER you knit the knit-looking stitch (as shown in step 5), you bring the yarn to the FRONT and THEN hold it out of the way while you slip the purl-looking stitch to the right needle. When you let go of the yarn (in other words, after you have slipped the stitch and you're done holding it out of the way) the yarn remains on the front, yes. After step 6, however, you go back and repeat step 5, which, if you'll recall, is a knit sort of stitch. But, you can't knit with the yarn in front of the fabric, so you FIRST have to SWITCH the yarn to the BACK OF THE FABRIC before you can do step 5. As stated, step 5 is then again followed by step 6, so you'd once again switch the yarn forward to perform step 6, then switch back again for step 5, then switch forward again for 6, and so on to the end of the row. If this addendum still doesn't clear things up, someone write to me again in the comments, OK? Thanks!

7. Continue knitting the front-side loops, and slipping the back-side loops until you get to the end of the row. This completes the first foundation row.

8. For the second foundation row, turn the work. Repeat steps 5 and 6. In other words, turn the work as you did in step 4, then knit the front-side loops (which are actually the loops you slipped in the first foundation row) and slip the back-side loops (which are actually the stitches you knit in the first foundation row).

9. When you get to the end of the second foundation row, turn the work. You have now established a pattern where the columns growing out of the front side loops are to be knit, while the columns growing out of the back side loops are to be slipped. Repeat this pattern for an additional two rows, alternating knits and slips. You should have now worked a total of 5 rows: ONE cast on row, TWO rows of knitting the front side loops and slipping the back-side loops, and TWO rows of knitting the stitches in the columns growing out of the front-side loops, and slipping the stitches in the columns growing out of the back-side loops.

PHASE 3: THE TRUE 1X1 RIBBING

10. This step is easy! You now knit the knits and PURL the purls (no more slipping.) Continue until the band is as wide as you want.

11: The last step is to remove the provisional take. Specifically, After you've gone worked a few rows of the 1x1 ribbing, undo the knot holding the provisional tail onto the garment yarn, and pull out the provisional tail.

In the illustration at right, the provisional tail is the maroon yarn. The 3-picture sequence shows the tail in, the tail half drawn out, and the tail all the way out.

We'll end with a little ...

Q & A

Q 1: What is all the slipping about? Why not just purl the back-side loops, instead of slipping them?
A: The photo below shows the very edge of the tubular cast on: white stitches are cast on over a maroon tail. As you can see, what you have actually done is cast on in the middle of a fabric. In other words, the cast-on is a series of stockinette stitches which lay across the provisional tail, and the loops on either side of the provisional tail are actually the "heads" (front-side loops) and "tails" (back-side loops), of those stitches.

When you slip the back loops, you are skipping the tails, and knitting into the heads only. When you turn and work back, you are skipping the heads, and knitting into the tails only. By knitting and slipping, then slipping and knitting, you are knitting the fabric out from the middle (In technical terms, you are creating two rows of "double-knitting.") This fabric is half as wide on each face as single knitting, and twice as thick. Now stockinette is very stretchy, and, this proportion: 1/2 the number of total stitches along a thick edge, widening out to a single thickness fabric after several rows luckily turns out to be the correct proportion for lovely stretchy edge. If you were to purl right away, you would not have an nice, thick edge to stretch, you would have an thin, but wider edge, which would tend to flare and ruffle.

Q 2: Why is this called "tubular" cast on?
A: By casting on in the middle of the fabric, you are actually knitting outwards in both directions from the middle. When you begin the true ribbing--the k 1, p 1 ribbing, you are uniting the two sides of the fabric, with the little scrap of knitting between the two sides thus folded into a mini-tube. (The tube is the part where the provisional tail lies, and when you pull out that tail, you are sliding the tail out of the tube.)

Q 3: Are there any tricks to this to improve the tubular cast on further?
A: YES! As stated in the directions, you ought to cast on over a thin yarn, but in addition, you ought to cast on over a SMALL NEEDLE. I use a needle 3 sizes smaller than the size in which I will knit the garment. I switch to a needle 2 sizes larger after I have knit all four foundation rows--in other words, on the first true row of knit 1, p1 ribbing. By starting with a very small needle, I get a really springy cast-on which draws in as well as if an elastic had been inserted.

Q 4: Why are the directions for back-and-forth knitting? Why no directions for circular knitting?
A: Casting this on by this method on a circular needle will lead to a twisted mess where the cast-on slides over onto the cable. I find it best to make the cast-on and four foundation rows over a straight needle (or the straight portion of a circular needle) and then switch to a knitting in the round. At the end, I use the hanging tail to sew up the little gap at the bottom. (BTW: it is easy to hide the tail after sewing--just run it into the tube at the edge of the ribbing!)

If you are a purist determined to try tubular cast-on in the round, consider casting on over double pointed needles rather than circular needles. When you join, the first foundation round is the same as the first foundation row (steps 5 b and 6) : knit the front-side loops and slip the back-side loops. However, the second round differs. On the second round, you must PURL the previously slipped stitches, while slipping the previously KNIT stitches. Repeat these two rounds once more for a total of four foundation rounds.

Q 5: Does this work for socks?
A: Socks are a subset of the circular knitting referred to in question 4. It makes a lovely edge but it is a little fiddly to get the sock cuff started. Therefore, if I want to make socks by this method, I work the cast on and the first four foundation rows back and forth, then start the circular knitting with the first round of true k1, p1 ribbing.

Q 6: Last question: this post started with three different methods of tubular cast on: Italian, long-tail, and provisional and you have described a fourth method in this post--provisional tail. Why are there so many ways to create tubular casting on?
A: Actually, all four methods create more or less the same final result. I prefer the provisional tail method detailed here because it goes faster than some; because it is more elastic than some; because experience has shown me that 4 foundation rows are just about right, and these foundation rows are easy to work (and count!) by this method; and because the provisional tail is in a contrasting yarn, making it easier to find and pull out. (However, truthfully: having tried them all, all these methods for tubular cast on make a pretty good edge. Probably the most important reason of all that I prefer this method is because it is what I am used to! And did I mention? It is fast.)

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This is part 8 of a series. The other parts of this series are:

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Zig-zag bands

includes 7 illustrations. Click any illustration to enlarge

Knitting better bands the TECHknitting way:
ZIG-ZAG BANDS

Way back in October, as this series on better bands and cuffs started, I told you that garter stitch does not curl. (Neither does seed stitch. Neither does ribbing.) Yet you know from experience garter stitch bands on a stockinette fabric DO curl. You see, it is the stockinette fabric to which the bands are attached which curls. (For more about WHY stockinette curls, click here.) The end result is that the bands on your scarf, sweater or afghan are prone to flipping AND curling.

So far in this series, many cures have been recommended: rolled edges, or seaming the garment or steam blocking and/or ironing. Today, yet another recommended cure: zig-zag bands.

The fact is, that bands want to curl along the edge where the bands meet the stockinette. If you break up the line, you'll have less curling. The same is true about flipping: If you break up the line where the band meets the stockinette fabric, you'll be less likely to have flipping.

As you can see, the scarf in the photo above is a stockinette stitch scarf with a garter stitch border all around. Yet, the scarf does not curl, and the borders do not flip, and here is why:

The rolled stockinette edge along the bottom of the garter stitch horizontal (bottom) band adds stability--by curling up so markedly, the rolled edge counteracts the inward curl of the stockinette fabric in the middle of the scarf.
Zig-zag bands both vertical and horizontal, where the garter stitch meets the stockinette stitch. By interlacing areas of garter stitch and stockinette, the "fault line," for flipping/curling is eliminated
A slipped selvedge helps prevent future ruffling along the outside vertical edges of the garter stitch border. (Click here for more info about slipped selvedges.)
Also, the scarf has been steam blocked.

Due to these four tricks, the scarf photographed above does not curl very much, and nor does it flip. Below is a close up of the corner, showing details of the curled bottom edge knitted in stockinette which rolls up below the garter stitch part of the bottom band, a bit of the zig zag design in the garter stitch part of the bottom band and a bit of the the zig zag side edge.

One more close-up for good measure:

* * *

Here are two diagrams showing how to make these non-curling bands. The diagrams show garter stitch, but you can readily adapt these for seed stitch.

* * *

One last note: The zig-zags have to be in proportion to the amount of stockinette stitch in order to provide a non-flipping edge. An empirical rule of thumb seems to be that ON A GARMENT WITH TWO EXPOSED EDGES (SCARF, AFGHAN) the peaks have to extend approximately 10-15% of the way into the stockinette along each edge you want to prevent from rolling, in order to prevent flipping. So, in a a 250 stitch afghan knit all in one piece, for example, that would be a side zig-zag which protruded 25 to 38 stitches into the stockinette at the tip of each peak, along both vertical edges. The bottom edges also have to have zig-zags with peaks just as high as the side zig-zags in order to prevent flipping. Obviously, the wider/higher you make the tip of the peaks, the less likely is flipping, but the minimum seems to be about a 10-15% protrusion. Of course, that means that you have to adapt the above two diagrams to the width of your garment.

FOR THE FRONT BANDS OF A CARDIGAN (one exposed edge), a rule of thumb seems to be that peaks extending about 1.5 or 2 inches into the stockinette will do the trick, and this is true regardless of gauge or yarn weight.

* * *
This is part 7 of a series. The other posts are:

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: zig-zag bands)

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Your steam iron: a mighty weapon in the fight against curling and flipping

Dear Reader:
Today TECHknitting has a Christmas present for you--a maybe new use for an electrical appliance you probably already own: your steam iron. The bulk of this post is about the uses of a steam iron in improving your knitting, and particularly in making hems and bands behave. But before we plunge into all that, I thought to take a brief look at the iron itself.

Steam irons, 101

Steam is vapor from boiled water. In order to make steam, your iron boils water inside a little chamber. Water generally contains minerals. Sometimes, the mineral load of the water will cause problems. If you always use the same pot or kettle to boil water, you already know whether your particular water has troublesome amounts of minerals by the presence or absence of mineral deposits. If your kettle stays clean regardless of how much water you boil in it, you have no worries. But if your kettle is mineral-encrusted, then so will the inside of your iron be.

Now, a new iron will not give you trouble, even if you put in high-mineral-content water. This is because when water turns to steam, it leaves behind its mineral load. But as the inside of the iron's heating chamber becomes coated with minerals, the steam channels get clogged, and the iron starts spitting bits and flakes. Where I live, the water is hard from dissolved limestone, and tap water in a steam iron = little bits of whitish powder spraying out with the steam. In other areas, more staining minerals might be in the tap water: iron (the metal) dissolved in water would cause your iron (the appliance) to stain your clothing in nasty gray or brown splotches. This might be OK on some old underwear but would be disaster on your handknits. (And let's get real, who irons underwear nowadays, anyway?)

Therefore, if you have an new steam iron, keep it new by topping it up only with distilled water--a gallon from the supermarket will last a LONG time in most households. If you are reading this post at 2 A.M. and are struck with a sudden yen to start steam ironing, boiled COOLED water is a near substitute. Boil the water, let it cool in the pot, and pour the cooled water off, leaving the minerals behind. DO NOT USE BOILING WATER--first of all, you will hurt yourself, second, you might wreck the plastic parts of the iron, and third, the water does not shed the minerals until it cools.

If your iron is old, you should also use distilled (or boiled, cooled) water. Fill the iron with fresh water and go steam-iron some old towels on the highest heat setting and the highest steam setting. Run at least three or four refills of water through the iron (this won't take that long--steam irons have tiny reservoirs). This will get the worst of the minerals out. If the iron seems to be getting clean, you might trust it on your woollies, but if you have any doubt, it would be prudent to use a pressing cloth or a flour-sack kitchen towel between the iron and the woollies. (This is also a good idea to prevent scorching, as discussed further, below.)

Another problem with irons is gooky sticky stuff melted onto their sole plates. This arises from ironing synthetics on a high setting: they melt. There are various commercial remedies, and these work well. The old fashioned remedy, as practiced by my grandmother was this: after every round of ironing, grandma would stand the iron on a old rag, and rub an old candle end on the sole plate. (She used white paraffin "household candles" of course, not colored candles or tapers.) The melting wax dissolved any sticky, ironed-on gook, and she'd clean the excess by ironing it off onto the old rag. However, she did this in front of an open window (it smokes) with the iron unplugged, and on a distinctly low-tech iron--no teflon plate or anything like that. Also, the sole plate of her iron covered the bottom of the iron--there was no offset between the sole plate and the heel of the iron for the wax to drip off onto. Nowadays, you are probably better off with the commercial remedies. If you do resort to candle ends for spot cleaning in a particularly tough case, do it CAREFULLY--hot wax is a BURN hazard. It is also a FIRE hazard as are old waxy rags. And of course, with any remedy, home made or commercial, be sure to iron all the residue off onto rags before you would dream of letting that iron near your precious knits.

Well, if you've got the iron in good shape, let's see what problem we want to fix with it...

GETTING THE CURL OUT (or at least taming it)

Stockinette curls. If you want to know more about why, click here. The very worst, the very most annoying curl of all comes when a flat object (scarf, afghan) is edged with a non-curling fabric--an edging which is SUPPOSED to stop the problem. Up flip the edges, or down they curl, or maybe both. The one thing they don't do is lay flat. Almost as annoying is the curl and flip of sweater hems, bands and cuffs.

Now, if you've been following along for the last several posts, you'll know that part of the secret of making non-curling knitwear is by improving your cuffs and bands. The big secret is moving the edge of the fabric away from the edge of the garment by doubling back your bands and cuffs, letting them roll, or hemming them, then knitting them shut or sewing them shut. However, most patterns today do not call for such bands and cuffs. Typically, a garment pattern will call for a band of a non-curling fabric to be knitted onto a stockinette fabric, garter stitch bands on a scarf, say.

The chain of logic behind non-curling stitch bands is this: the garment designer notices, correctly, that stockinette stitch curls like mad, but that garter stitch (seed stitch, ribbing etc.) does not curl or flip. "Ah ha!" says the designer, "I will put a garter stitch band on this stockinette item I am designing, and then the stockinette fabric will be tamed, and the garment edge will not flip or curl."

This is a logical conclusion, and, in fact, garment edge itself will not curl up. However, that does not mean that the GARMENT will not curl up. As disappointed knitters in knitting forums all over the internet can testify, the most likely result of a garter stitch band on a stockinette stitch garment is that the bands either flip up, or the whole garment continues to curl, taking the "non curling edge" right along with it.

"How can I block the curl out of my scarf?" has to be one of the most frequently asked questions on every knitting forum out there, followed by "how can I get the front bands of my cardigan to lay flat?" Of course, the fact that the bands are curling and flipping has as much (or more) to do with the stockinette fabric to which the garter stitch bands have been attached, than with the bands themselves. However, most knitters think of curling and flipping bands as a band problem, so that's why this issue is included as part of a series on bands and cuffs.

One last note before we plunge in: TODAY's post lays out a method for dealing with already existing curled edges, like the scarf or cardigan bands in the above example. The NEXT post will show how to knit edges which are less likely to want to curl in the first place.

Helpers in the fight against curling:
CHEMICALS, BLOCKING and STEAM IRONING

Although the idea of using these methods on one's hand knitting may seem beyond strange, chemicals, blocking and ironing are all actually very common knitwear treatments, albeit commercial knitwear. Think about it: don't you wonder why machine-made items of stockinette consent to lay flat, while hand knits want to curl so badly? The answer is partially because machine-made knits are generally knit from finer yarn than handknits, and so the thinner yarn from which they are made can exert less curling force. However, that is not the whole answer.

In fact, machine-made knits have the same tendencies to curl as hand knits, but industrial processes overcome this tendency. In other words, machine-knit fabrics have chemicals applied to relax them, or have the bejabbers stretched out of them or steam ironed out of them, or all three. Hand knitters faced with a wildly curling scarf, or brazenly flipping cardigan bands will be able to persuade these ill-behaved hooligans to better manners with a page out of the commercial knitter's playbook.

A good soaking spray with fabric relaxer is a good start. Fabric relaxer (or wrinkle remover) is a relatively benign substance sold under various trade names. Evidently the relaxer is essentially a wetter, which lets moisture into the fabric fibers, causing them to swell a bit, and de-kink.

Once damped with fabric relaxer, the item can be further wetted with a spray bottle of water, or even a quick trip to the sink for a brief soak, and this treatment can be followed by some serious wet-blocking. When I say "serious," I mean blocking to the edge of the capacity of your blocking board to hold the fabric outstetched, and to the edge of the capacity of your blocking pins or wires to hold without deforming.

Are you surprised by this advice? Many are. And yet, this sort of extreme blocking is not new. Hand production knitters of the past have traditionally employed extreme blocking. Those picturesque sweater forms in the old photos of the Shetland Islands had a very serious purpose, and couture knitting today also employs these techniques.

Of course, extreme blocking like this is going to make the fabric grow. Commercial knitwear factors this in, but unless you first blocked and stretched your swatch and then knit to the blocked dimensions, you probably have not--blocking and stretching swatches is not part of most hand-knitters' repertoire. For this reason, extreme blocking by hand knitters is best reserved for items where size is NOT important such as scarves and lap robes.

This brings us to the main alternative. For items where fit IS important, the steam iron is the most mighty weapon against curling bands, or against a garment which is curling and taking the band.

Now, a steam iron in the hand of a knitter is capable of producing three things:

steam,
heat, and
pressure.

Each of these factors has the capacity to alter hand knit fabric, sometimes fatally, so the first rule of using the steam iron on your woollies is BE CAREFUL. Increase these factors one by one, each in tiny baby steps. In other words, DON'T start with high steam, high heat and lots of force when you come to improve your knitting with the steam iron.

STEAM

On wool and acrylic, the steam has as nearly as much effect as the pressing, so be sure that the STEAM setting on your iron is set on "high" right from the start. It may be that steam with hardly any pressure at all will do the trick. This is called steam blocking, and if it works, you lucky thing, then you need never actually iron at all. In other words, on acrylic and wool, the ideal is to start with a steaming, billowing iron held just above the fabric, and only if this does not work, would you next progress to light dabs, and only then to pressure.

If your item is silk, bamboo, cotton--anything but acrylic or wool--do NOT start with billowing steam. Instead, start with the absolutely lowest steam AND the lowest heat AND the least pressure. Increase the steam in the same manner as you increase the heat and the pressure: in tiny increments.

HEAT

Heat is a powerful tool on fabrics. Most obviously, a too-high heat can burn your precious hand knits. Even at non-burning temperatures, Heat can "set" woolen fibers--kink them permanently. It can melt acrylics, and can change the very composition of these and other fibers. Therefore, be careful. If the garment is woolen, be careful of scorching--maybe use a pressing cloth or flour sack kitchen towel between the garment and the iron. If your item is acrylic (or another synthetic) use the cloth or towel PLUS be careful of melting--increase the heat by VERY slow degrees, and realize that non-wool, non-acrylic fibers are generally even less resistant to heat, so SLOW is the watchword for increasing the heat.

PRESSURE

All knitting three-dimensional, so ironing has the capability if flattening it. When ironing on stockinette garment with garter stitch bands, remember that the garter stitch itself has no tendency to flip. It is the stockinette which presents the problem. Luckily, the stockinette is far flatter than the garter stitch, and less likely to show the effects of ironing. Keep the iron on the stockinette part of the fabric, and the greater the pressure you are exerting, the more careful you must be of this.

COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS

For wool and acrylic, start with a fully steaming iron. Progress in pressure and heat carefully. For other fabrics, start with the bare minimum of steam, and progress in steam pressure and heat carefully, increasing each in tiny baby steps. It MIGHT be that you have the stubbornest garment this side of China, and you MIGHT wind up pressing your stubborn garment with all your force at the highest heat. However, although this might be the place that you end, this is CERTAINLY NOT the place to start.

Steam ironing is a big gun--it certainly has the power to persuade curling stockinette to mend its ways. However, as with all things, there is a trade-off. Although steam ironing will certainly help with curling bands, the price is a rather listless fabric. I knew a production hand- and machine-knitter who HEAVILY ironed all her garments--and she made many, many garments over the years that I knew her. All those many garments did her bidding. They lay flat, yessiree, no question: never a curl, never a flip, no misbehavior at all, and the bands got up to no tricks. However, all those garments were oddly limp, with none of the spring normally associated with knit garments. Therefore, although steam ironing unquestionably works (especially when combined with fabric relaxer) this isn't a method to use if you can avoid it. Better, more elegant, would be to knit the garment with a band which doesn't want to curl or flip in the first place (or at least--doesn't want to curl and flip as much), which is the topic of the next post.

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This post is part 6 of a series. The other posts are:

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