Kitchener Stitch Tutorial
The Kitchener Stitch is the perfect way to seamlessly graft two "live" rows of knitting together. This tutorial was created for finishing the Attached I-cord on Whitney's Mary Jane Slippers, if you'd like to knit yourself a pair, please visit her Mary Jane Slippers Project Journal.
The Attached I-cord for The Mary Jane Slippers begins with a provisional cast-on. To use the Kitchener stitch to finish the ends of the i-cord, first put the provisional cast on stitches onto a needle and remove the crochet chain.
Cut the yarn and thread a tapestry needle onto the tail.
The first two steps of Kitchener Stitch are set up steps. They only happen once at the beginning. So, holding the 2 needles parallel, thread the yarn through the first stitch of the FRONT needle as if to PURL and LEAVE the stitch on the needle.
Next, thread the yarn through the first stitch of the BACK needle as if to KNIT and LEAVE it on the needle.
That completes the set up. The next 4 steps can be repeated for however many stitches you want to graft together (in this case, only 4 stitches).
Thread the yarn through the first stitch of the FRONT needle again, but this time do it as if to KNIT. REMOVE the stitch from the needle.
Thread the yarn through the next stitch on the FRONT needle as if to PURL and LEAVE it on the needle.
Thread the yarn through the first stitch on the BACK needle as if to PURL and REMOVE it from the needle.
Thread the yarn through the next stitch on the BACK needle as if to KNIT and LEAVE it on the needle.
Here's a recap of the Kitchener Stitch:
FRONT; KNIT; REMOVE
FRONT; PURL; LEAVE ON
BACK; PURL; REMOVE
BACK; KNIT; LEAVE ON
Repeat these four steps until there are two stitches remaining, then KNIT the FRONT stitch and REMOVE it and PURL the BACK stitch and REMOVE it.
Here's what the finished edge looks like:
January 23, 2008
Reader Comments (7)
I just want to add two little pieces of information:
1. This will add a row of stitches to your finished object (this is something not always immediately apparent to beginners).
2. This method will give you an invisible stockinette stitch _not_ garter stitch.
:)
It sounds like you have the needles properly arranged. I suspect the trouble is in identifying the first and last stitches of the I-cord. They can be somewhat obscure because of the way an I-cord folds around, making for a tricky initiation into the world of kitchener stitch.
I might advise you to practice the kitchener with two pieces of normal flat knitting. Just knit up two quick stockinette swatches, don't bind them off and try grafting them together. The confidence and experience you get from that practice may be all you need to tackle the I-cord!
Good luck!
Whitney
I do have a question - I threaded on yarn that was about 5X the width of the scarf and still ran out before I reached the other side. Is there a handy ratio/way to tell how much yarn you will need for wider projects?