Soldiers Knitting

Word/s of the episode (28)

What is an "edge" or "selvage" stitch?

An "edge" or "selvage" stitch is a stitch worked at the beginning and end of each row to create a neater, more presentable finished edge to your work. It is often used in situations where no additional finishing will be done to the edge of the knitted piece, e.g. for scarves, necklines, or armhole edges.

One type of selvage stitch, called a "chain stitch selvage" is created by always "slipping purl-wise" the first stitch and always "knitting" the last stitch on every row. This creates a neat-looking finished side edge that resembles a bound-off edge. By slipping the first stitch, you are essentially only working the edge stitch on every other row, which helps to create a firmer, more finished edge.

Another type of edge stitch, most commonly worked when working the body of your piece in Garter Stitch (where every row is knit), called a "slip garter stitch selvage" is created by always "slipping knit-wise" the first stitch and always "knitting" the last stitch on every row. This creates a slightly tighter finish that if you just knit the first and last stitch on every row. It will blend perfectly into your Garter Stitch fabric, but look neater.

There are other types of selvage stitches (please refer to guides like Vogue Knitting). Your pattern should include explicit instructions if it requires a specific type of selvage. I like to use them when making scarves for extra nice edges.

Tip from episode 26

From Maeve:
My tip is to re-use earrings as stitch markers. I had quite a few pairs of small dangly earrings that I don't wear anymore, so I took a knitting needle and wrapped the earring wire around it. I snipped off the very end of the wire to make a more-or-less smooth circle, and voila! Fancy stitch markers. I used both a size 5 (for smaller needles) and a size 10 (for larger needles) so that I could have both large and small markers.

"Knitter's Wading Pool - My Knits!"

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Soldiers Knitting

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