annaplexis

Short rows are an exciting way to shape your knitting project.

The idea is to turn and knit back before the end of the row. This, however, will make a hole at the turning point. There are several methods to avoid a gap.

My favourite is German short rows. They are easy to work and are done the same on knit and purl rows.

Slip the pivot stitch and make a yarn over, all in one movement. Tighten the yarn and knit on. That’s it! 😉🧶

You can practice your short rows with square 42. The Short One of the Learn-to-Knit Blanket. Find the pattern in the book Learn to Knit in 50 Squares 🔗

Italian/Alternating cast on lifeline

Tubular cast on 🧶🧶🧶

🇮🇹 The Italian cast on can be combined with 2 rows of double knitting for a tubular cast on. Looks really neat 👀 🤩

To work double knitting in a single colour:

Knit a stitch, slip the next stitch with the yarn in front. Repeat to end of row.

Italian cast on 🧶🧶🧶

The Italian cast on works really well with 1/1 ribbing, brioche and double knitting.

👉 Use the long-tail cast on for the last stitch to anchor it in place.

👉 On the first row, note that the knit stitches will have the wrong leg in front — knit these through the back loop.

🤩🇮🇹 The Italian cast on can be combined with 2 rows of double knitting for a tubular cast on. Looks really neat 👀 (Stay tuned for how this is done 😉)

Did you know that you can make cable twists without actually crossing the stitches?

No cable needle and no stitches hanging in mid-air 😉

This works if you are crossing a single knit stitch, i.e. C2F and C2B or 1/1 RT and 1/1 LT.

You can practice these faux cable twists with Square 35. The Faux One of the Learn-to-Knit Blanket

To make a right twist: knit 2 sts together without slipping them off the LH needle, then knit the first st only and sl both sts off the LH needle.

To make a left twist: sl 2 sts knitwise and

place them back on the LH needle (as with SSK), knit into the back of the second st leaving it on the LH needle, then knit both sts together

and sl them off the LH needle.

Find the pattern and tutorial in my book Learn to Knit in 50 Squares 🌺🧶❤️

FAQ: What happens if you drop a stitch all the way down to the cast on edge? 🧶🧶🧶

Insert a crochet hook behind the lowest strand, turn it to create a loop (i.e. “make one right”), then knit up the ladder.

This works with the long-tail cast on. In garter stitch, you should do this from the side where you have a line of single strands at the bottom rather than a purl ridge.

To pick up a stitch in garter stitch, either you turn your work around every row and pick up a knit stitch on each side or check out my relevant video.

One of the most valuable skills a knitter can develop is learning to read their stitches. Once you understand how they're constructed, fixing any issues becomes much more intuitive.

Invisible stranding, also known as ladderback jacquard 🧶 🧶 🧶

This is a technique for catching floats which is completely invisible from the right side. To work it, cast on an extra stitch behind the work and purl it on every round with the colour not in use. This creates an extra layer on the wrong side, like a spider’s web. When the pattern is completed, the extra stitch is eliminated by knitting it together with its corresponding front stitch.

This method is ideal for sweater yokes with isolated motifs and very long floats.

I once tried it on socks, but I wouldn’t recommend it for that purpose: the extra layer on the inside tends to catch when pulling them on…

You can practice this technique with square 28. The Invisible One of the Learn-to-Knit Blanket. Find the pattern in the book Learn to Knit in 50 Squares.

Made a mistake a few stitches back?

Here’s how to un-knit (=TINK) stitches. The process is the same whether you’re undoing knit or purl stitches (unless they were knitted through the back loop) 🧶🧶🧶

To get a smooth and jogless cast off edge when knitting in the round, complete the chain formed at the top before sewing in the end 😉👌

What I like about the Norwegian purl is that whether you are about to knit or purl, you always position the yarn the same way.

This is especially important at the beginning of a row, where most beginners’ mistakes occur.

Whether you should knit, purl or slip the first stitch, is a separate discussion.

Just a fyi, there's a mistake in square 30 instructions: on Row 12 you will make your next bobble. This time I suggest you try knitting backwards as follows: kyok, k3 backwards, k3 forwards, CDD.

I got a bit confused with the k3 forwards part but I watched the Tumblr video to figure out what I was supposed to do