Knitting illustrations – techniques explained in drawings

Sometimes a drawing is worth more than a video. Here are the techniques explained in illustrations you can study at your own pace — grafting, the long-tail cast on, sewing up, decreases and colourwork.

1. Grafting · 2. Long-tail cast on · 3. Sewing up · 4. Decreases · 5. Knitting with several colours

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Part 1 – Grafting

Grafting two pieces together

Grafting means sewing stitches together so that they form stitches themselves. Here is how: lay the pieces to be joined edge to edge. Bring the thread up through the top stitch, then into the stitch below and sideways straight into the stitch next to it, so the thread comes out in the middle of the stitch.

Increasing to the right

Put the left needle under the strand between the stitches (from the previous round) from behind, and knit the strand through the front loop as in the illustration above.

Increasing to the left

Put the left needle under the strand between the stitches (from the previous round) from the front, and knit the strand through the back loop as in the illustration above.

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Part 2 – Long-tail cast on

1

Start by making a loop and putting it on the needle (= stitch 1). The tail has to be long enough for you to cast on the right number of stitches. To work out how long a tail you need, you can reckon on 2 cm of yarn for every stitch you are casting on. Reckon a little less for fine yarn on fine needles, and a little more for thicker yarn on thicker needles. If you are casting on for larger pieces, it pays to cast on, say, 25 stitches and measure how much yarn that used.

2

Hold the needle with the stitch in your right hand, lay the tail over your left thumb and the yarn from the ball over your left index finger. Both strands are held in place with the fingers of your left hand. Tighten the strands inside your hand so you have a good firm grip. Put the needle you are holding in your right hand into the loop on your thumb from the front.

3

Take the needle behind the loop on your index finger, see the arrow on the drawing.

4

Pull the yarn through the thumb loop and tighten, while your thumb and index finger spread apart so the strand tightens. Let the loop slide off your thumb. Carry on like this until you have the right number of stitches. You have to keep tightening your grip, and remember to keep your fingers close together – do not let them drift apart.

See also the flexible cast on, with video →

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Part 3 – Sewing up knitting

Sewing up with grafting – part 1

A row of grafting looks exactly like a round of knitted stitches.
Here is how: do not cast the stitches off, but leave them on the needle or on the waste yarn. Lay the stitches right side up and parallel to each other. Use a darning needle, and sew up through the lower part of the right-hand stitch. Then take the needle through the first stitch on the upper piece and through the stitch beside it on the same piece, back into the stitch you have just sewn on the lower piece, and up into the next stitch on the same piece.

Sewing up with grafting – part 2

Then sew the thread down into the last stitch you sewed on the upper piece, up through the next stitch on the same piece, and so on. Pull the thread at regular intervals to even the stitches out.

Sewing up with mattress stitch

Mattress stitch is sewn from the right side and gives an almost invisible seam. Lay the pieces parallel with the stitches facing each other. Put the needle up at the strand that runs between the edge stitch and the stitch inside it. Then carry on, catching the strand on the next round, alternating between the lower and the upper piece. Pull the thread gently so the seam becomes invisible.

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Part 4 – Decreases

Note: at armholes and necklines the stitches are most often cast off at the beginning of the round.

Decreasing – part 1

Slip the first stitch off the needle.

Decreasing – part 2

Knit the next stitch, and pass the previous stitch over the last stitch using the left needle. Repeat until no stitches are left, or until you have cast off the number of stitches you want.

Decreasing – part 3

Knit back and forth as usual, and decrease as described above. Turn the work, and remember to slip the first stitch without knitting it.

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Part 5 – Knitting with several colours

Intarsia – part 1

This technique is perfect where you use more than one colour on the same round, and where the distance between the colours is fairly large — for large motifs, for instance.

Intarsia – part 2

Here is how: keep the balls separate, so the strands do not twist on the back. When you change colour, cross the strands so no holes appear between the colours.

Stranded colourwork – part 1

For a motif or a border in several colours, stranded colourwork is perfect. Here is how: knit in knit stitch from the chart. One square in the chart is 1 stitch and 1 round.

Stranded colourwork – part 2

Hold both strands on the back of the garment, and knit in the colour the chart tells you. When you change colour, cross the strands on the back to avoid holes. The strands not in use lie on the back.

Stranded colourwork – part 3

Take care that the strands do not get too tight, which makes the garment pucker and the pattern draw in.

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