It’s not that stitch markers are bad. No. They are very helpful tools, our big friends. But because we attach one marker each time we turn the work using the Japanese short rows method, the process of shaping gets really slow and all those small objects dangling on the wrong side of the work quickly become confusing and annoying.
We can easily change that and make this method faster and simpler if we work Japanese short rows without using stitch markers. All it takes is some basic understanding of the logic behind this method.
All ways to make short rows intend to somehow close the gap that inevitably happens when we turn the work mid-row.
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When we use the Japanese short row method, we do it by working the last horizontal strand of the turning row together with the first stitch at the other side of the gap. Once we understand this simple concept, we don’t need to plant dozens of stitch markers into our project.
Here’s what we do instead.
Because the Japanese short rows method works best on stockinette stitch, I’ll use a swatch in this stitch pattern to show you every step of the process.
TURNING THE WORK
This part is super easy and it is the same for turning the work on the knit side and on the purl side of the fabric.
STEP 1
When you get to the point where you should “wrap and turn” according to the instructions in the pattern you follow, simply turn the work so that you are looking at the other side of the fabric.
If you were working a right-side row, you would now look at the wrong side of the work.
If it was a wrong-side row, the right side of the fabric would be facing you after you turn the work.
STEP 2
As you start working the next short row, slip the first stitch purlwise.
If it is a knit stitch, keep the yarn at the back of the work.
If the first stitch is a purl, bring the yarn to the front.
After you work a few stitches, you will notice that turning the work without taking any precautions created a gap at the turning point. It is perfectly fine for now. We’ll deal with that gap when it is time to work that part of the project again.
CLOSING THE GAP ON THE KNIT SIDE OF THE WORK
STEP 1
Work all stitches until you get to the gap formed in the previous short row.
STEP 2
Bring the yarn up and over the needle, then rotate the fabric around the right needle so that you could see a few wrong-side rows at the top of the right needle.
Find a strand that runs between the last two worked stitches (these will be the first two stitches from the tip of the right needle). Then find a strand that is right above it. This strand was formed in the turning row.
Insert the tip of the left needle under that strand. Do it so that the left needle enters the strand from the side of the current row. The way the fabric is placed right now, it will be a bottom-up move.
To make the picked-up strand less visible on the wrong side of the work, make sure the yarn is not caught between the first stitch on the left needle and the picked-up strand.
STEP 3
Bring the yarn around the right side of the picked-up strand and to the back of the work. Then knit the first stitch from the tip of the left needle together with the picked-up strand.
Continue to work to the end of this row or to the next turning point if it is another short row of shaping.
CLOSING THE GAP ON THE PURL SIDE OF THE WORK
This part is very similar to the way we closed the gap on the knit side of the work with one significant difference – we’ll rearrange the stitches to place the picked-up strand at the left side of the first stitch on the left needle.
STEP 1
Work all stitches until you get to the gap formed after you turned the work.
STEP 2
Slip the first stitch at the other side of the gap to the right needle. Do it purlwise with the yarn at the front of the work.
STEP 3
Bring the working yarn up to keep it out of the way. Then find a strand that is underneath the strand running between the last two worked stitches on the right needle.
Because we slipped one stitch, these stitches will now be the second and the third stitches from the tip of the right needle.
Insert the tip of the left needle from the bottom up under the strand that we’ve just located.
STEP 4
Return the slipped stitch back to the left needle. Do it purlwise, without twisting the stitch.
Keep the yarn at the front of the work at all times to ensure that it doesn’t get caught between the stitch and the picked-up strand.
STEP 5
Purl this stitch together with the picked-up strand.
When the shaping is finished, you will see that the short rows are not showing at all on the right side of the fabric. No gaps, no twisted stitches, and no signs that the work was turned in the middle of a row.
On the wrong side of the fabric, you will see additional dashes going across the spots where we turned the work. These are the strands that we picked up and dragged across the gap.
Because we pull each of those strands from the fabric, we tighten the stitches attached to that strand. That’s why you may notice uneven stitches in the area of shaping. But don’t worry, this minor imperfection is easily fixed by blocking.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
Aside from making the Japanese short rows method faster and less cluttered, this “marker-free” approach has another valuable benefit – it makes it easier for us to use this method on projects worked in the round.
When we add short rows to a seamless project, we can use the same method as we do when we close the gap on the knit side of the work to close gaps at both sides of the shaping, eliminating the need to swap the stitches as we did when we closed the gap on the purl side of the fabric.
SAVE IT FOR LATER
This and 36 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #7.