Confession: I love grafting. There’s something magical about using a needle to create stitches and end up with a seamless join between two pieces of fabric.
But, I know grafting can be intimidating. Reading directions for grafting with all it’s “Prep as if to purl, work as if to knit” can get confusing. In my latest video I demonstrate an actual graft I do and talk though my thought process for figuring out any grafting situation. Below I describe my rules for thinking through any grafting situation.
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Rule 1: Know Where Your Purls Bumps Are Going
1st to Prep as if to Knit or Purl
2nd to Work as if to Knit or Purl
To know how to prep the stitch you first have to understand how you need to work the stitch.
What distinguishes a purl stitch from a knit stitch is whether the purl bump is pushed toward you when knitting or away from you:
Knit stitches push the purl bump away from you to the back of the fabric
Purl stitches push the purl bump toward you to the front of the fabric.
When live stitches are sitting on the needle they are in a neutral position. But, knitting into those live stitches, the purl bump gets pushed either to the right side of the fabric or the wrong side of the fabric. The same is true when grafting. So, the first question to ask yourself is which side of the fabric will the purl bumps be when I complete the graft?
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Rule 2: Know What You’re Looking At
Knowing where you want your purl bumps is important. But, how you get them there, either by mimicking purl stitches or knit stitches, will be determined by what side of the fabric you are actually looking at. Knit stitches cause purl bumps to move to the back of the work away from you and purl stitches cause the purl bumps to move to the front of the work toward you.
If you’re looking at the public side of the work and want purl bumps on the wrong side, you want to weave the yarn to mimic knit stitches. If you’re looking at the public side and want purl bumps on the public side you will mimic purl stitches. All of this is in reverse if looking at the wrong side of the fabric. |
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Rule 3: Prep Opposite What You Work
1st to Prep as if to Knit or Purl
2nd to Work as if to Knit or Purl
Step 2 is what will eventually push your purl bump to the side of the fabric you want. But, before you can work the stitch as if to Purl or Knit and take the stitch off the needle, you need to prep the stitch. When you prep opposite of what you work. So it’s either
Prep as if to Knit
Work as if to Purl
Work as if to Purl
Prep as it to Knit
Once you know which of the two you will do for an individual stitch you’re ready to start grafting.
Note: When prepping the stitch you leave the stitch on the needle. Stitches come off the needle when working the stitch.
Rule 4: Prep before you Work
Rule 5: Know the Grafting Dance
Once the first stitch on Needle 1 and the first stitch on Needle 2 are prepped you are ready to follow the Grafting Dance.
Step 1: Work as if to …. and take the stitch off the needle. |
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Rule 6: Ending the Graft you must prep, working is optional
– Only prep the last sttich
– Prep and Work 1 stitch while leaving the other stitch only Prepped
– Prep and Work Both stitches