One of the most popular knitting stitch patterns – the stockinette stitch – has a major drawback. Its edges curl. Especially its side edges. Sometimes they curl so much that the whole piece of fabric turns into a tube.
Unless we want to knit tubes, we have to do something to tame that infamous stockinette curl. And there are quite a few ways to prevent and fix curled side edges.
Before we take a look at some of the options, let’s talk about why the stockinette stitch curls.
WHY IS KNITTED FABRIC CURLING AT THE SIDES?
The answer to this question lies in the structure of a stitch.
Because the flat surface of the knit side of each stitch is slightly wider than the bump at the purl side of that same stitch, the knit side of the stockinette fabric expands and forms the curling at the side edges.
That’s why knitting looser or tighter doesn’t remove the curl.
Blocking helps a bit, but it will not flatten the fabric.
And that’s why the curl gets worse with every stitch we add to the width of the fabric. The rule is simple: the more stitches, the bigger the difference between the width of the knit and purl sides of the fabric.
You see, the stockinette stitch doesn’t curl because it wants to make our life more difficult. It simply can’t help it.
One of the ways to avoid the curl is to change the structure of the stockinette stitch or choose a different stitch pattern.
But then we’ll lose the smooth, elegant look that only stockinette stitch can offer. Not ideal, right?
Thankfully, there are ways to remove the curl without replacing a stitch pattern on the whole project.
HOW TO PREVENT SIDE EDGES OF STOCKINETTE STITCH FROM CURLING?
The most common solution is to add side edgings that will absorb some of the curl.
The wider the edging, the more curling it will eliminate.
Selvedges won’t be wide enough for this task. It’s a job for borders. If you are not sure which is which, here’s a short tutorial that explains the difference between selvedges and borders.
SUBTLE EDGINGS
When we want the border to blend in with the texture of stockinette fabric, tubular side edging is a great option to consider.
Here’s how this edging is formed step by step.
If you’d rather follow photo instructions, click here.
To make the side edges of your project more prominent without changing the smooth texture too much, use the i-cord side edging.
Here’s a tutorial that describes the easiest way to do it.
And here’s a video tutorial that shows every step of the process.
We don’t have to hide our attempt to prevent the stockinette stitch from curling. We can turn it into a design element and use the edgings that will add beauty to the project.
DECORATIVE EDGINGS
One of such edgings is the yarn over edging – a way to make the side edges look like a line of dewdrops.
Just imagine this delicate edging on your next shawl or scarf!
Or, you can turn the edging into the main feature of your project. The stunning triple leaf edging that I learned from a book of Japanese stitches will do just that.
There are many more edgings that will tame the stockinette curl. I described some of them in the Neat Side Edges book. You are very welcome to get your copy over here.
Note that less conspicuous edgings are usually thinner. They will absorb some of the curl, but you will also need to block your project to help those edgings deal with the curling.
If the project is wide (= a bigger curl), it is best to make the edgings at least 5 cm / 2″ wide. You can work these borders in garter stitch, seed stitch, moss stitch, or any other stitch pattern that doesn’t curl.
Side edges of those stitch patterns usually look nice on their own, but you can easily elevate the look of your project when you add slim edgings to these wide borders. That’s when selvedges come into play. My favourite method to use is Silesian selvedges.
Adding side edges to a project requires planning.
We have to decide what kind of border we want to add. Depending on that decision, we add extra stitches to the number of stitches we cast on, and we remember to work these edge stitches in a way that forms the edging we need.
But what if we didn’t do any of that? What if we discovered the curl only after the project was finished?
We probably won’t get rid of the curl completely, but we can improve the situation quite a bit.
HOW TO FIX THE CURLING OF SIDE EDGES OF A FINISHED PROJECT?
The first step is to block your project. Yes, blocking does not remove the curl, but it softens it, and it evens out the edges.
Both methods that allow us to somewhat fix the stockinette curl require even edges. They also require a crochet hook.
To flatten the side edges without changing the smooth texture of the fabric, use the method described over here.
This simple trick will fix some or most of the curl (depending on the width of your project), and it will make the edges look nice even when the side edges are bare, without any treatment added to beautify them.
The second method is more powerful. It makes the edges more decorative and adds more structure, making the edges less inclined to curl.
These are the benefits of the crab stitch. Here’s how it works.
To see step-by-step photo instructions, follow this link.
Now that we know how we can keep side edges of our projects from curling, let’s give this approach a try.
LET’S PRACTICE
1. Choose any edging mentioned in this tutorial (tubular side edging, easy i-cord edging, yarn over edging, or triple leaf edging) or any edging from the third section of the Neat Side Edges book.
2. Take any yarn in medium weight and knitting needles in a size that works well with this yarn, and cast on 30 stitches plus the number of stitches required to make the edging you picked in Step 1.
3. Work in stockinette stitch with side edgings for 20 to 40 rows.
4. Bind off all stitches. Don’t cut the yarn. It is a test swatch. Once you learn from it, you can unravel it and reuse the yarn to make something else.
5. Observe how the edges are curling. Notice how the width of the edging affects the curl.
6. Block the swatch.
7. Notice how blocking improved the look of the fabric and softened the curl. See how the curling changes after you shake the swatch to remove some of the effects of blocking.
It is a simple exercise that takes less than an hour to do and it teaches us so much about knitting. It is time well spent. Give it a try!
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