Sunday, March 4, 2007

behavior issues




In this swatch I've slipped a stitch on the Right Side (knit) row; and on the return row I've purled it just like all the others. Then I've repeated the same two rows to form a vertical ridge. Notice that each slipped stitch is elongated vertically. Because of this, slipped stitches tend to compress the fabric lengthwise. This compression will not be very significant when the stitches are slipped on one row and worked normally on the return. It becomes more pronounced when the same stitch is slipped on two or more subsequent rows.





Looking at the back of the same swatch, you can see that there is a strand of yarn running across each slipped stitch. This is the working yarn that was simply carried behind the work as I slipped the stitches. As with color stranded knitting, this unworked float has a tendency to compress the fabric widthwise. Again the tendency is not too obvious when only one stitch in relative isolation is slipped. In some patterns, however, you may slip several consecutive stitches in a row. In this case, take care that the float is not pulled up too tightly. The relative number of stitches slipped in any row will also affect the widthwise compression, as you can see below.




At the very bottom, the pattern I used (excluding garter border) is
Row 1: K5, sl 1 wyib, k5.
Row 2: Purl.
What you can't see is that fabric wants very badly to form a sharp fold along that vertical ridge. So it might not be a smart idea to line up slipped stitches this way down the center of a scarf. It would be smart to use them like this where you want a fold, say for a facing at a cardigan front.

In the middle I changed to
Row 1: K1, sl 1 wyib, (k3, sl 1 wyib) 2 times, k1.
Row 2: Purl.
This gives a simple but rather handsome ribbing effect. These "ribs" could be spaced more widely apart, or more closely.

At the top I worked
Row 1: (K1, sl 1 wyib) 5 times, kl.
Row 2: Purl.
This, of course, is the classic Heel Stitch. It can be worked on any odd number of stitches. Actually, it can be worked on an even number if you just omit the final "k1" of Row 1. This makes a fairly thick fabric that pulls in widthwise yet is fairly elastic, and these are the characteristics that make it so suitable for heel flaps. But it might also be nice substituted for traditional ribbing at the lower edge of a hat.

4 comments:

YarnThrower said...

Nice tutorial. I've been making the "Ball Band" dishrags from Mason Dixon Knitting, and it's the first time I'm doing slip stitch (well, except for sock heels), so I'm enjoying and interested in your lessons here.

Anonymous said...

What a cool blog, I'm going to try it out.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the tutorial! I am getting a much needed education.

Ann said...

I am unable to obtain a ridge when knitting this slip stitch ridge. My swatch remains flat. Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong? Thanks much.