Creative Knitting – Beyond Knit and Purl

I don’t know about you, but no matter how good of knitter you are, once in a while there will be a stitch that just doesn’t look right.  In fact, it stands out like a sore thumb, but you can’t figure out what’s wrong with it.  Case in point, is the knit stitch that leans to the left or right, ruining your lovely Stockinette stitch pattern.   Below in the green box is an example of what I am talking about.

You will notice that one stitch is leaning slightly toward the right, and is not in a straight vertical line with the others.

When I first noticed this issue, I  wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but alas, the light went on and, “bingo,”  I had it.   As I looked closer at the stitch I noticed that when I had knitted it, my needle had barely( and I mean barely) split the yarn of the stitch in the previous row.   You would think that just a few hairs, or fibers couldn’t possibly have this much affect on the surface of a Stockinette pattern, but it does.   It stands out for all the world to see.

I my case, I was able to free the fibers with the point of my needle without having to take out several rows, but in most cases a re-do is in order.

So if you see one of these “leaning stitches” in your work, you might consider the above cause, and check it out.

One of the ways that I have learned to avoid this problem is to knit “steel to steel.”  What’s that?  When I put the point of my right needle into the stitch, I make sure that it comes in contact with the left needle, then I let the tip “ride” the surface of the left needle, under the belly and out the other side.  By doing this I have almost eliminated the split yarn problem.

Ever striving for perfection-

KT