Is my icord wrong?

I don’t know if I am doing my icord incorrectly or if my memory (imagination) is incorrect.

I’m on a lot of pain medication and don’t think straight most of the time and just cannot figure this out.

I put an icord on a neck edge and in my memory (or imagination) it wrapped around the raw edge of cast off stitches on the inside or WS of the neck and looked lovely. This I had to frog as my arm holes were too low.

I’m back at the neck edge putting on the icord and the cast off row is not as I thought, hidden inside the icord making a neat edge on both RS and WS but instead all the cast off row is visible.

Is it possible to icord to hide that edge and I have somehow changed the way I’m working the icord so now doing it wrong?
Or is it just not possible and my memory is incorrect and I imagined the nicer finish?

This time I am working:
Pick up around the neck edge.
Cast on 2 knit wise.

  • K2, k2togtbl
    Return 3 stitches to left needle *

Edited to add - should I perhaps be picking up on the WS of the neck then working the icord on the RS? Not sure what made me think of this or why it would help.

I don’t know if this helps, but I found this page. There is a video on down the page. Looks tidy to me.

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Thanks for trying, I appreciate the effort.
Unfortunately this 8s a tutorial with live stitches used for the icord bind off and I dontnhave live stitches.

I think i have worked something wrong but don’t know what.
Maybe I should not have picked up stitches but just applied the icord although I’m sure I picked up last time.

I’ve picked up sts for the i-cord edge one at a time as in this video. There is definitely a RS/WS.

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Thank you. I’ll try this. I don’t think I slid my stitches but instead transfered to the left needle but that wouldn’t change it would it? I think this is likely what I need to do and should not have picked up the stitches first.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

I have a vague thought that there may be a way. Will try a quick swatch.

Edit: No, sorry, I was mistaken.

Is it possible you had some live stitches on your neckline in the centre front, and then picked up the rest? That way some of your i-cord would have wrapped around and some not.

Or was the first version of the neckline done with short rows so all the stitches were live still when you came to do your i-cord?

It’s so frustrating not be able to remember things. I just found out recently that I have had low blood flow to the brain for the last 20 years, and have started medication to hopefully fix it. So I’ve sort of had the opposite experience.

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My thinking was that if you wrapped the yarn around the BO edge as you went, it would be hanging in the back, at the left of the 3 stitches, after the 3 stitches were returned to the left hand needle, it would enclose the bind off. You are bringing the yarn around and behind the (and the k2t stitch) in the process. But I should have found a video more specific to your situation.

I seldom use Icord BO. I use the Kitchener BO for an edge that shows, or on a very stretchy rib, I’ll add stitches to the circular row setup for the Kitchener. And then Kitchener over the edge. I love it.

Thanks for the ideas.
But, no, I definitely did not have live stitches. I have decided that I prefer not to have live stitches so that ripping out is easier/safer if I don’t like a neck band. Also remember ripping the first one out and the yarn stopped at the end of the icord.

It’s amazing you have just started medication , that’s great that you have improvement!

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Thanks. Not sure I know what you mean but that could be my confused state rather than your description .

I certainly could have been something similar to the link salmonmac gave. It feels not quite right. I may well have picked up a single stitch at a time which certainly brings to icord closer o the bind off rather than the bind off sitting behind, and peeping above, the icord.

I think I picked up all the stitches before doing the icord, and I am certain I worked on the right sidenwhereas salmonmacs link is for an icord worked on the wrong side. But it’s similar.

Theresa video out there with the solution…
Well, I think there is!

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Solved!

Thank you everyone for supporting me.

I felt well enough to have a fiddle around today.

@salmonmac I tried several times but I kept having legs sticking out from the back of the icord so I’m not sure how working it on the WS would help me as it would put those loose legs on the RS ofnthe top. It obviously works for the person doing the tutorial and for you if you use it. I even tried pulling hard on thenyarn to tighten up, i never pull like that on yarn but itmseemed the onky way to get a half decent result. I noticed the RS of the icord was much neater so tried working from the RS which I almost accepted but the stitches were bigger and not as neat as I’d remembered on my original neck so I continued fiddling.

@FluffyYarn oddly enough I found the exact tutorial you posted in my saved bookmarks, so it must have meant something at some point - perhaps I’d planned to use it but then chose to bind off and not have the live stitches needed for that method .

I was convinced nimble needles had a tutorial which had meant something to me and reviewed them all in hopes but no.

Then I watched a zillion icord tutorials from all sorts of people and none of them was the right thing.

Then I came across this


Which is still not how I did it but it rang a bell with me and I realised this is a rare tutorial where stitches are picked up and knitted before starting the icord. Not live stitches, not picking up one stitch at a time.
I was even more sure I’d picked up all around before beginning the icord. The benefit of these stitches all picked up is they can never enlarge the way one new stitch at a time can because the single stitch is attached to the working yarn but the full round is limited in size by being wrapped around the needle.
Unfortunately she doesn’t show exactly where she picks up those stitches. And the icord is worked differently too.

Eventually I worked out what I’d done wrong was picked up in the centre of each stitch instead of under the cast off bars at the top. Picking up in there and working a 4 stitch bind off instead of 3 stitch to make it the right width. And I’d cracked it!

I’ve watched soooo many tutorials and none of them use this method so where did it come from?
I can only assume my brain mashed a few different things together and came out with a nice result. The inside looks almost as nice as the outside. I didn’t have to yank on any yarn but they are nice and neatly formed and consistent, no legs poking out, no weird loose bits or big stitches, and no cast on edge peeping above my icord edge.

I haven’t grafted the join of the beginning and end yet but when I have, and when I can manage a pic, I’ll post one.

Thanks again everyone!

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I’m so glad you worked it out! I often find my self retracing my steps like this, trying to remember what I did.

And you can say you “unvented” it twice :slight_smile:

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Still not grafted the join but here’s the result. I’m a bit shaky so the focus is prob out but it shows the front RS and the back WS of the icord

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That looks lovely and well worth the effort.

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The result is beautiful. You had quite an adventure getting it done.

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Yes it was an unexpected adventure as the first time just happened so easily!
I’ve made sure to write down a note this time!

Just one sleeve to seam on and this top will be finished and i can get back to that pocket I almost started.

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You amaze me with your skill and courage Creations you doing great job as knitter, mom and as person. I’m suffering too and is so inspiring seeing your positivity your fight and not giving up.
That I cord finishing is so perfect for what im struggling to finish neck opening. Noting i try didnt look OK.

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Oh that’s such a sweet message. Thank you! X

I’m sorry to hear you are suffering too. We’ll stick together and knit on through it eh?

Maybe try this method on a swatch if you can follow my description. It’s a shame there’s no tutorial I can just link so you can use it. It really is a nice finish.
The inside has a little line of the cast off edge where I picked up, kind of a lip, but it sits so snuggly with the icord that it looks like part of it. Not that anyone is looking in my top but I like my WSs neat and more importantly it sits below the icord whereas my earlier attempt when I couldn’t remember what I was doing, had some edge peeping which was not nice.
I’m telling you this in case you try it as you might think you have it wrong if you get this line of stitches under the icord.

Ty, I will try it but never knit i cord cast off or w/e is called.

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Are you able to do the neck edge in the round?
If so
Round 1 pick up and knit around neck edge, picking up under the cast off bars at the very top (not in the stotch centre, its like between stitches almost). For how many to pick up it will be 1 pick up to 1 stitch along the parts which are stitches on the body, and perhaps 2 stitches to 3 rows or 3 stitches to 4 rows where you pick up along row edges, that’s the shape to shoulder )

Prepare for icord by casting on 4 stitches (use knit cast on) these extras tithes are on the left needle ready to work
Round 2. k3, k2togtbl
Slip 4 stitches from right needle to left needle, purlwise one at a time. Re-tension working yarn by giving a little tug/snug so the slipped stitch is not over sized
Repeat to end
When neck edge complete either bund off the 4 stitches and use grafting to join end pt round to beginning of round or graft directly one stitch at a time.

Tension needs to be firm but not yanking.
Try on any swatch you have around and see if it works how you like it.

Ty, ty, i just watched few videos but your explanation with 4 stitches is better. I did neck opening with shadow short rows and got live stitches. Will that work?
Before i had 1p1k trim bottom and neck. This one I ower do, want to be something special for he to remember me.