Ingrid: Edge stitches

#1

Ugh, I feel like I’m beating a dead horse. I’ve been pretty happy with my edges as I slip the first kwise and p the last for garter and stockinette. But for some reason I wandered upon this post:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34368&highlight=neat+edge

and am now pondering your method of slipping the first pwise and k the last. (Honestly I thought I was already following your method which came up in discussion years ago… oh well).

Anyway, I’ve read it and I’ve studied the pictures you posted, but for the life of me I cannot get rid of a bump on one side. It happens when I’m working on the reverse stockinette side.

Perhaps I’m not understanding the path that the yarn takes after it is slipped.
[ol]
[li]I have my yarn in front as if to purl; I’m good with that.[/li][li]I slip the st from the left needle to my right. Yarn hasn’t moved. Cool.[/li][li]By what I’m reading I’m to take the yarn from the front (cause that’s where it was when I slipped it) and I pass it all the way around and under the right needle. To do this I must let go of the right needle.[/li][li]Now I bring the yarn forward like normal to get into purling position.[/li][li]I insert my needle and purl the next st.[/ol] [/li]But when I do this I create a bump. I am knitting the last st of each row through the front loop with yarn in back just like any normal knit stitch.

I guess I’m beginning to wonder if the edge is SUPPOSED to produce a bump… which isn’t what I’m looking for.

Yes, this is a long post, but hopefully detailed enough to make sense to you. I’ve knitted an 18" long piece trying every which way under the sun to understand how you are bringing the yarn back around, between the needles into p position without the bump being created.

Yes, I’ve pondered this even without the needles in hand today… in the car, in the shower, unloading the groceries, etc…

Save me from my insanity, please! :oo:

#2

I’m not Ingrid, but I slip the first stitch purlwise with yarn in front and knit the last stitch. It gives me a nice chained edge. So- I bring the yarn forward slip as if to purl and move it back between the needles. No need to let go of the right needle. I bring it back just like you do after a purl stitch.

If you’re happy with what [U]you’re[/U] results are then it doesn’t matter how you do it. :thumbsup:

#3

I also slip the first stitch when flat knitting purlwise for you Western Knitters (slipping the stitch for me) and it gives me a much more even edge that I am very happy with. I used to only do this on heel flaps, but then I realized when working on my husband’s sweater that it might be easier to work seaming if I did the loops on the edge. It stuck and I’m very happy with the results.

I used it yesterday to do a quick scarf for my daughter with super bulky yarn and I have to say, I absolutely loved the results.

#4

Yes, Jan this is the same way I would do this. In the post I referenced first it seemed that you had an a-ha moment in realizing that the yarn went “under the knitting and back around”. As it seems to show in this picture that Ingrid took.

I’m always inspired to understand other ways of doing things then decide if one way is better (it’s in my nature). My edge is not not horrible; there’s a bit of a gap which I can live. Ok, perhaps I’m a little obsessed. :eyes:

#5

By what I’m reading I’m to take the yarn from the front (cause that’s where it was when I slipped it) and [COLOR=Red]I pass it all the way around and under the right needle. To do this I must let go of the right needle.[/COLOR]

The way you described putting the yarn to the back sounds more complicated than what I do though. I just put it between the needles to the back as if to knit. Is that what you do?

I am not getting a bump on the side at all. If you are bringing the yarn to the right under your right hand as it sounds in your description you would get a bump.

#6

I’m with Angela. I slip the first stitch on all rows. Because I like the chain edge. And I find it easier to seam. The only time I don’t slip the edge is when I’m working seed stitch.

Marni, I can’t figure out what you are doing wrong. Sounds like what I do. Maybe I need more coffee this morning.

#7

[I]I[/I] have no problem with creating a chain edge without bumps. My curosity is in how INGRID does it since I don’t understand [U]her[/U] method which seemed to require the yarn to travel under and around the back after slipping and before working the first purl stitch of a purl side row.

I’m done evaluating and experimenting with this and have concluded that out of all the methods I’ve tried - and believe me I’ve tried a lot - I like the way I currently create my edges. I’ve tried…

• SL 1st st & last st KW for all RS rows and P all sts for all WS rows
• SL 1st st KW and K last st for every row
• SL 1st st KW on RS rows and SL 1st st PW for all WS rows
• SL 1st st PW and K last st TBL for every row
• SL 1st st PW and K last st for every row
• SL 1st st KW and P last st for every row
• K 1st st TBL and SL last st PW for every row
• SL 1st PW and P last st for every row

If you’re bored and/or want to read more about this you can read the entry I just posted to my blog. DetroitKnitter

Thank you all for replying. :muah:

#8

I went back and looked at that post and her pictures have me more confused than the description. What I got from it is what I said I did. I learned it from her in the first place. :teehee:

I don’t know where she is…she’s been out for a couple days. :shrug: