While knitting scarves, handbags, dishcloths, and placemats is always both fun and useful, learning how to shape something can open up endless possibilities in your knitting projects. The main three ways used to shape a piece by manipulating knit and purl stitches is by increasing, decreasing, and short rows. The focus of today's Knit Tips Tuesday will be learning how to increase the number of stitches on your needle to make a piece larger.
Increasing the number of stitches in your project is a common practice for knit-from-the-top-down items, like sweaters and hats. Increases may be used to shape the waist of a garment, after a few rows of decreasing has already occured. A good pattern will tell you at the end of a row if you have increased the number of stitches on your row, and of course it will be obvious on a chart since the row you are completing has an extra box compared to the one below it.
There are three main types of increases used: making one, yarning over, and knitting into the front and back of a stitch. All three will give you a different look, but they all result in an extra stitch being added to the needle. The Lion Brand Yarn Website has great examples (below) of how to complete each increase.
Making one (M1): This increase is created by taking the running thread between stitches, placing it on the left needle, and knitting the stitch through the back loop. This increase causes no holes or interruptions in your work, and it makes a smooth new row of increases if done in consistent increments. To practice this increase, knit a few rows of either garter (all knit) rows or stockinette (alternating knit and purl) rows, and then knit the last row to the middle. Get a decent grip on your stitches by turning the points of your needles up, and then pull the two needles apart to see the running bar between stitches. Click here for illustrated instructions on how to complete this increase.
Yarning over (yo): Yarning over is the increase most commonly used when a decorative border is needed, or when the stitch count in lace patterns change row by row. Yarnovers are also used to increase stitch counts in shawls so that there are defined panels which are identical to each other. It creates a stitch-sized hole in the fabric, so the effect can can be gorgeous if the increases are spaced evenly. To yarn over on a knit row, simply bring the yarn to the front of the work and continue to knit. You will see the yarn you brought to the front of the work has now rested over the needle, causing an increase, and it can be either knitted or purled when you turn your work and reach it on the next row. Click here for illustrations regarding a yarn-over increase.
Kfb (knit into front-and-back): This stitch is probably the most complicated of the three, but it is still called the "simple increase" because it is honestly simple. This increase is most common on garments and ruffles, and it creates a bar across the second stitch which becomes nearly invisible on the next row. To complete this increase, simply knit a stitch without removing it from the left needle. Before transferring the stitch from the left to the right needle, bring the right tip around to the back of the stitch and insert it into the stitch you just knitted. Finally, knit this stitch again, only this time you are knitting through the back loop. Click here for illustrations and video on how to complete this increase.
To practice increases, a good project would be a simple garter-stitch triangular shawl. Take a worsted-weight yarn and some size 10 needles (or any size which would be about two sizes up from what you would normally use with your yarn). Knit the first row and every odd-numbered row after that; this will be the wrong side. For the right side rows, alternate which increases you practice like this:
Row 2: K1, yo, K to last st (on the first row, you will just K1), yo, K1.
Row 4: K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1
Row 6: K1, Kfb, K to last st, Kfb, K1.
You can practice in this pattern for as long as you like, and in the end you will have a triangular shawl with a decorative edge, and you will have increased two stitches on every other row. You can add fringe or tassles, or just leave it as is and throw it over your shoulders when you go to the movies. Next week, we will talk about common decreases so you can make knitted pieces both smaller and larger.
Comments