To make sure an i-cord forms a flawless circle when we add it to a seamless project, we should join the ends of this i-cord with an invisible seam.
The best way to do it is to graft the open stitches to the very first row of the same i-cord.
It is a simple process that works great for joining i-cords of any width as well as seaming the ends of an i-cord edging, and finishing off the i-cord bind off.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
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Here’s how this method works step by step.
SETUP
Once you are happy with the length of the i-cord, cut the yarn leaving a tail that is around 30 cm / 12″ long.
Place the i-cord so that you can see the purls of the last row. When the i-cord is in the correct position, the yarn tail will be at the right side of the fabric.
STEP 1
Before we use this tail to make a perfectly invisible seam, let’s deal with the other tail first. The tail that was formed when we cast on stitches always gets in the way as we graft the stitches of the i-cord.
To keep this tail at bay, thread it into a wool needle and insert the wool needle into the tip of the i-cord. Run the needle inside the i-cord and out of the spot that is 3-4 cm / 1-1.5″ away from the tip of the i-cord.
Pull the needle out of that spot and trim the tail close to the fabric.
Stretch this area of the i-cord to help the tip of the yarn tail hide completely inside the cord.
STEP 2
Thread the remaining tail into a wool needle. To make it easier for you to see how this method works, I’ll use a tail in a contrasting colour.
Insert the wool needle from left to right into the first stitch from the tip of the knitting needle.
Take this stitch off the knitting needle and pull the yarn through. Pull it just enough to keep this stitch as big as the rest of the open stitches.
Because this stitch is the first one on the knitting needle, it could be a bit loose. If that’s the case, pull the yarn some more to adjust the size of the stitch, but make sure you don’t tighten it too much.
STEP 3
Arrange the i-cord into a circle and trace the first stitch along the cord to find a corresponding stitch in the very first row of the i-cord.
Insert the wool needle from right to left under both legs of that stitch. Because that part of the i-cord is now upside down, the stitch will look like an inverted V.
Pull the yarn through so that the strand between the open stitch and the stitch in the first row of the i-cord is as long as one leg of an average stitch of this i-cord.
STEP 4
Insert the wool needle from the top down into the open stitch that we’ve just joined to the first row of the i-cord.
Then insert it from left to right into the next stitch on the knitting needle.
Take this stitch off the knitting needle and pull the yarn through both stitches. Don’t pull it too tight. The strand between the first row of the i-cord and the open stitches should be as long as one leg of any stitch that forms this i-cord.
It is very important to treat this seaming like embroidery being careful when we shape each strand of the seam. This is the key to making this seam fully invisible.
STEP 5
Insert the wool needle from right to left under both legs (another inverted V) of the next stitch in the first row of the i-cord.
Pull the yarn through and shape a new strand between two ends of the i-cord.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you join all open stitches to the corresponding stitches in the first row. Finish with step 5.
Then insert the wool needle from the top down into the last open stitch and from the bottom up into the first stitch of the last row of the i-cord (the stitch we slipped off the knitting needle in step 2).
Pull the yarn through and secure the yarn (make a loop close to the last stitch, run the wool needle through that loop and pull the yarn tight to form a small knot).
Then hide the yarn tail inside the i-cord the same way as we did when we hid the other yarn tail in step 1.
When we use a tail in the same colour as the i-cord, the seam is absolutely invisible. It is a perfect way to join ends of free-standing i-cords and i-cord edgings that have a set of open stitches on one side.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
Skip the first step of this process when you join stitches of the i-cord bind off, but skipping a step is not enough when we join stitches of the i-cord cast on. In that case, we should take a slightly different approach. We’ll talk about that method in the next tutorial.
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This and 36 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #7.
