In the last issue, I promised
to show you how to join two sets of live stitches
without leaving a seam. Perfect for this particular
issue of Knitty with its focus on garments
to be worn ... hmm ... well, let's just say
places you might not want a seam. It's also
perfect for the toes of socks, the top of
hoods and baby garments or anywhere else you
don't want the thickness of bound-off edges
sewn together. It's not, however, particularly
well suited to shoulder seams on heavy sweaters
or other places where you might want the stability
of a bound-off edge to hold the shape of the
garment.
Grafting, also known as
Kitchener stitch or weaving, joins two sets
of stitches that are still on the needle (a.k.a.
"live") by using a tapestry needle
threaded with yarn to create a row that looks
like knit stitches between them. I still find
it a rather magical and mysterious process,
even though I've gained some understanding
of what's happening as I graft. If you haven't
grafted before and have been feeling intimidated
by the mere idea, all I can ask is that you
take a leap of faith and give it a try. But
it may be a smart idea to make a couple of
small swatches in a nice plain sturdy yarn
-- one that isn't slippery, lumpy or otherwise
difficult to work with -- and follow these
instructions a few times before trying it
out on something you've spent days knitting.
And you'll want to do this the first few times
someplace quiet without the least possibility
of interruption. If your attention gets pulled
away from the process, it's not terribly easy
to figure out where you left off. [I still
have to be careful to finish one complete
series of steps before stopping so that I
can be certain of starting again at the proper
point.] But before we get to step one there
are a few preparations that have to be made.
Before you can start grafting
you must divide the stitches evenly onto two
needles -- these can be straight, circular
or double-pointed needles -- it's all the
same, but if you're just learning you might
want to start with straight needles so there's
less chance of the stitches slithering around
and confusing you. It is vital that you have
the exact same number of stitches on the two
needles. If you have 10 stitches on the first
needle you have to have 10 stitches on the
other. No way around this. Count the stitches
at least twice to be absolutely positive.
And while we're on the subject, I'll admit
that I obsessively count the number of stitches
remaining from time to time while in the process
of grafting to be sure I'm not going to wind
up with an extra stitch at the end of one
of the needles -- also a good way to be sure
you're doing it right. The number of stitches
must be equal because there's simply nothing
to do with any leftover stitches and they'll
just be left hanging there to unravel, poor
things. There's many a thing in knitting that
can be fudged, but this isn't one of them.
A quick note: For this tutorial,
I'm going to focus on grafting stockinette
stitch together, with a note about grafting
garter stitch at the end. Grafting more complicated
stitch patterns are, to tell the truth, beyond
my current scope of practice.
Okay. Sit down someplace
quiet with a good light source, your knitting
and a tapestry needle. You can thread the
tapestry needle with a length of yarn that's
not attached to the knitting and weave it
in later, but ideally you will have left a
tail on one of the pieces of knitting that's
at least twice as long as the finished join
will be. From experience, I've found that
the results are best if the tail is coming
from the piece on the needle furthest from
me when I start.
