First I want to define what a Japanese short row is:
Knit to the turning point and turn your work.
Put a marker/bobby pin on the working yarn.
Slip the turning point stitch and then work the rest of the stitches normally.
When you want to close the gap you pick up the loop stored on the marker/bobby pin and work it together with the stitch on the other side of the gap.
Here is also a video demonstrating the normal Japanese short row method:
Many are calling any short row method using a marker/bobby pin Japanese, but it is really the third step that makes it Japanese. If you just place the marker on the working yarn and then work again into the turning point stitch, it is not a Japanese short row anymore. Do not misunderstand me, it is fully OK to do so even thou it is not Japanese.
Despite Japanese short rows are producing a really tidy result for short rows heels, many prefer other methods as they hate to handle a lot of markers. My solution to the many-markers-problem is a fusion of Yarn Over short rows and Japanese short rows:
Knit to the turning point and turn your work.
Do a yarn over.
Slip the turning point stitch and then work the rest of the stitches normally.
When you want to close the gap you work the yarn over you created in step 2 together with the stitch on the other side of the gap.
Basically this is exactly like a normal YO short row, except for that one slips the turning point stitch after doing the YO.
I see what you mean. I do wonder whether there is one defined and definite way to do a Japanese short row turn. In this video Eunny Jang (I love watching her knit!) shows both and calls slipping the stitch after turning a variation. As with most things knitting the variations used are dependent upon the knitter. Personally my preference is German short rows because for me they’re fastest, easiest, and give consistently good results.
This video I saw some years ago, and yes she does both methods. As I said earlier, both methods are good. Suzanne Bryan, the knitter I look most up to on youtube, also work twice into the turning point. Still, I have yet to see any Japanese pattern using the first method (where you work twice into the turning point). They seem to slip the turning point stitch not only in stockinette or garter, but even in ribbing. Earlier I also thought that both methods were Japanese and I even wrote such things here on this forum, but after digging deeper into it I have come to believe that only the slipped turning point is Japanese. I hope I am not wrong as I do not want to spread misinformation,
If you do not slip the stitch after turning, you have the very same short rows as both Wrap & Turn and Yarn Over short rows, with the only difference in where you temporary store the loop of working yarn (around a stitch, around the needle or on a marker). After you have worked that loop together with the stitch on the other side of the gap you can no longer tell what method was used as the result is the same with maybe just a tiny difference in tension.
I think there is a reason why GSR are so popular! They produce a very good result. While I am not trying to convince you to change your way of doing short rows, I can not help my nerdy interest in talking about advantages of different short rows.
It is only when you are stacking turning points upon each other that Japanese short rows is a bit better. By stacking turning points I mean when you twice turn at the very same stitch (as in short rows heels without separating rounds). You notice the difference if you try to stretch the fabric. Then you find tiny holes in the GSR version. But even then, stacked GSR are fully good enough.
I’ve been experimenting with YO short rows because of the problem stacking German short rows. Thanks engblom for bringing this topic up. I’ll try your recommendation for the fusion short rows.
When I’ve done short row heels I’ve used GSR. I see no reason for me - me, not anyone else - to do stacked turns and prefer the look of the rounds used between short rowing in and short rowing out. I would do a short row heel if someone said they’d prefer it but I use faux heel flap heels with adjustments for the gusset as needed. I don’t wear short row heels (extreme gusset increases required for my feet) so have no clue which might fit better. When I’m knitting in the round and that last pesky GSR turn looks strange when picked up on the RS I found that a yo for that last turn works well to cure the problem. When it comes to short rows I am a true creature of habit and think later I could have tried a different technique. I use them when I knit raglans for myself for not only the back neck of the sweater or top but to lengthen the armhole and back without making the neckline too low - think high bust darts in sewing - and later to compensate for the shortened front and pulling up of too much bustiness. I use them to start top down seamless set in sleeve styles for shoulder shaping too and still do the high bust shaping with short rows. Then of course there are the sleeves knit in place using short rows. With all the mods I make it’s small wonder I don’t actually use a sweater pattern when knitting for myself. It’s easier to skip it and make it up as I go. Sorry for the ramble. But yes, in different applications different techniques work better and just as with which increase to use the knitter gets the final say. I think that’s part of why I love knitting. No knitting police. And if I don’t wish to be consistent with the which technique I use in one part of a project and which I use in another, that’s what I do. I mix and match according to what works. And I guarantee I do everything ‘wrong’! I’m a firm believer in KISS - keep it simple sweetie - and am not averse to learning new ways to make things easier and faster. Now you’ve got me thinking that I need to try different short row methods again. Thanks! Oh, last thought and I promise to shut up for now. Slipping the stitch after turning is what I do with garter stitch short rows where I don’t actually apply any other technique. It makes the transition smoother and I think in at least one video I watched that was explained. Was it Eunny’s? I don’t remember.
I’m a firm believer in KISS - keep it simple sweetie - and am not averse to learning new ways to make things easier and faster. Now you’ve got me thinking that I need to try different short row methods again. Thanks! Oh, last thought and I promise to shut up for now. Slipping the stitch after turning is what I do with garter stitch short rows where I don’t actually apply any other technique. It makes the transition smoother and I think in at least one video I watched that was explained. Was it Eunny’s? I don’t remember.