: short rows

I wrote up this techinque well over a year ago, and posted it at a knitting board. For some reason it occured to me today that I should post it on my blog too. So here it is, the never fail, no gaps, not fussy, easy as pie, short row wrap technique. It combines all the best of the wrapped technique and the Japanese short row technique without the typical gaps of the first and the fiddly pin business of the second. It's fast, it's easy and it just plain works!

This tutorial is written for those who are knitting circularly and will knit in both wrapped stitches from the right side. If you're knitting flat, see the Flat Knitting UnWrapped Short Row tutorial.
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I've been playing around with how I handle the wrapped stitches of short rows. (Can you believe someone else is bringing it up again????) Anyway, I've found a great way to hide that second wrap - so much so that the wraps are pretty much invisible even on the back side. I discovered it by accident and have been using it ever since.It's never failed me, and I want to know if it will work for others, too. So try it and tell me what kind of results you get! I think it's pretty easy to do, too!

UnWrapped Short Row Tutorial

As you work your short rows, wrap the stitch as normal. When you get to your first wrap:

You have now knit back to your FIRST wrap:

1.) Slip the wrapped stitch off the Left needle & gently pull the wrap off the stitch. (I use my right needle to do this.)

2.) Place the original stitch back on the Left needle. Place the wrap on the Left needle as well.

3.)Knit the wrap and the original stitch as one stitch. (Like K2Tog)

I've found that it really doesn't make a difference how you slip the wrap onto the needle - it becomes invisible by the next round. In this picture of the backside of the wrap, the wrap is really loose, so you can see it. Normally, it's virtually invisible.

Knit as usual until you reach your second wrap. For the SECOND wrap:

This is worked the same way, except you reverse the position of the wrap and the original stitch.

1.) Slip the wrapped stitch off the Left needle & gently pull the wrap off the stitch. (I use my right needle to do this.)

2.) Place the original stitch on the Left needle. Then place the wrap on the Left needle After the original stitch. (This reverses the original order of the stitch and wrap.) Simply pull the wrap untwisted across the back of the work.

The original stitch and the wrap back on the Left needle.

3.)Knit the wrap and the original stitch as one stitch. (Like K2Tog)

The backside of the second wrap. Original stitch in blue, wrap in orange.