Knitting Tips & Techniques – June 5, 2014

v.4 Replacing Stitches Held on Scrap Yarn Back on Working Needle…

While I’ve been working on the longer version of the ABRIA cardigan, several of my favorite (and really useful) techniques have been in play.

So far:

• Provisional Cast-On (my fave? a Chained PCO!)
• Slipped Edge Sts
• Pick-Up-and-Knit (will be teaching a workshop on this soon at the Friends & Fiber Retreat)
• m1L and m1R (slanting, low-profile directional increases)
• Slip stitches to scrap yarn to hold
• Replace held stitches back on working needle

After putting the Abria body stitches on scrap yarn to measure its length in the last session, it was time to do the technique last on the list above: replace the stitches held on scrap yarn back on the circular working needle so I could keep knitting.

From my casual, non-scientific chats with other knitters, taking live stitches off the needle like this, especially when it’s a large number, is something that many avoid like the plague! But when making no-sew garments (top-down sweaters we’re lookin’ at you here!) unless you are willing to resign yourself to living in sleeve-less sweaters (v.e.s.t.s.), there’s going to come a day that you are just going to have to Do It.

It’s been my experience, that in the long run, if you just jump right on it and get the Fear Factor out of the way, just like when you decide to RIP off that band-aid, most of the time you’ll find that there was very little to be afraid of!

Awkward? Yes.

Difficult? Not really…

Time Consuming? No – once you’ve done it a couple of times, replacing stitches from scrap yarn to a needle goes really FAST.

It is especially fool-proof when you’ve used Scrap Yarn as your Holder. :)

Secret Sauce: you do not have to remove the yarn while you replace the stitches! You just use your working needle and poke it through the center of the loop of the held stitch while the scrap yarn “lurks” behind that stitch.

Here’s how it works (and please excuse my Minnie Mouse voice! My little in-camera mic is wonky.)

That’s all there is too it!

Here’s my longer ABRIA ready for its sleeves…

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