When we want to knit wide stripes or work in a colourwork that leaves one strand resting for several rows, we have a choice – to cut the unused strand adding two more tails that we need to weave in later on, or carry that strand up the side of the project.
Of course, the second option is more appealing. Who needs more yarn tails, right?
But that option comes with its own challenges – the unused strand should be invisible on the right side of the project, and it should not constrain the natural elasticity of knitted fabric.
A while back, I shared with you several ways that allow us to carry yarn up the side of the fabric when we work back and forth. Fairly recently, I discovered a method that works better than the ways described in that tutorial.
This “improved” method is simple, it makes sure the unused strand stays hidden and does not mess up the stretch, plus this method can be used on projects worked with and without side edgings.
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First, let’s see how we can easily carry an unused strand up the side of a project that does not have any special side edgings.
In the right-side row when we change the colour of the yarn, we don’t do anything unusual to the strands. Simply let go of the strand in the “old” colour, pick up the strand in the “new” colour, and work all stitches in the main pattern of the project.
STEP 1
At the beginning of the next right-side row, bring the working yarn to the right.
Then bring the unused strand from behind the working yarn, and wrap that strand around the tip of the left needle from back to front.
Hold the strand at the back of the work to make sure the wrap does not unravel.
STEP 2
Insert the tip of the right needle from left to right into the first stitch on the left needle and into the yarn wrap that we formed in the previous step.
Wrap the tip of the right needle with the working yarn as we do when we knit a stitch.
And pull this wrap through knitting the stitch and the yarn wrap together.
STEP 3
Pull the unused strand at the back of the work to tighten the knitted wrap.
The unused strand is secured, and now we can continue to work in the main stitch pattern of your project to the end of this row.
Then work the wrong-side row as usual without doing anything special to the unused strand hanging at the wrong side of the project.
Repeat these three steps in every right-side row for as long as you need to carry up that unused strand. After a few rows you will notice that the unused strand forms a neat line at the wrong side of the work.
This line is twisted around the back of the edge stitch in every other row, and thanks to that twist the strand does not constrain the fabric in any way.
At the same time, this line does not show on the right side of the project, even when the colour of the unused strand is very different than the colour of the working yarn, as is the case in my swatch.
Now let’s see how we can carry the unused strand up when a project has a side edging.
To demonstrate this method, I added a slipped i-cord edging to my swatch.
This edging is worked over three stitches at each side of the fabric. We knit the first three stitches of every row, and we slip the last three stitches of every row with the yarn in front of the work.
If we repeat the three steps described above at the very first stitch of the row, the line formed by the unused strand will ruin the look of the edging at one side of the project.
To avoid this, we have to work the stitches of the edging first. In my swatch, it means knitting three stitches.
Once we know the edging is safe, it is time to take care of the unused strand. We do it in exactly the same way as we did when we didn’t have to worry about the edging. We bring the working yarn to the right, take the unused strand from behind the working yarn and wrap it from back to front around the tip of the left needle.
Then we knit the first stitch from the tip of the left needle together with the yarn wrap.
And pull the unused strand to tighten the just-knitted wrap.
Repeat these steps in every right-side row, and you will successfully carry the unused strand up while keeping the stitches of the edging intact.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
We can also use this method to carry the unused strand up when the first stitch of a right-side row is a purl. The strand will get anchored, and it will not interfere with the stretch of the fabric, but it won’t be invisible.
If you want the strand to stay hidden, make sure the stitch that gets knitted together with the yarn wrap in step 3 is a knit stitch.
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This and 31 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #8.
