Picking up stitches along edges.
When your pattern says: pick up and knit stitches, it means that you need to make new stitches with your working yarn in a place where there were none previously. Picking up stitches along edges is a very useful skill to learn, since it is used in almost any knit project I can imagine.
Picked-up stitches are needed for example in these places:
- Neck bands and button bands.
- Sleeves worked top-down from the armhole.
- I-cord and other edgings.
- Ribs worked afterwards on cast-on edges.
- Heel flaps of cuff-down socks.
Picking up stitches on garter stitch selvedge edge.
Picking up stitches is easy when you knit garter stitch selvedge edge in your garment. Use this method when you need 1 st per 2 rows.
Insert the tip of you right needle between the garter stitch column and the next stitch column in. Wrap the yarn around your needle as if to knit. Pull the needle through. You have now picked up one stitch.
Continue like this: Insert the needle into the space between the purl ‘bumps’ and pick up the next stitch. Repeat. This way you will have 1 st per 2 rows. The garter stitch column is folded to back.
Use this method always when you are working in garter stitch. When you pick up 1 st between every garter ridge, the tension will be the same in both directions. This is because the width of 1 st is almost exactly the same as the height of 1 garter ridge (=2 rows).
Picking up stitches along vertical edges.
When you pick up stitches for button bands, you need more stitches than one for every other row. But if you pick up one stitch for every row, the band will be too wide and it will look wavy. For perfect result use these two pick-up ratios:
Knit 2, purl 2 -rib: Pick up and knit 3 stitches per 4 rows. This ratio is also perfect when you work in stockinette stitch. For 3 times pick up one stitch for every row and then hop over one row. Repeat.
Knit 1, purl 1 -rib: Pick up and knit 4 stitches per 6 rows. See in the video how this happens when you have garter stitch selvedge edge. If you don’t have slipped stitches along the edge, pick up 2 sts per 3 rows (=4 sts per 6 rows).
Picking up stitches along horizontal edges.
Picking up stitches along horizontal edges is simple. Pick up 1 st for every bound-off or cast-on stitch.
Bound-off edge: Insert the needle into the stitch. The center point is easy to see, since that is in the middle of the V-shape. Wrap the yarn around the needle and pull through. When you pick up stitches from these points, the stitches will line up perfectly and the seam will be almost invisible.
Cast-on edge: Now you need to pay attention. The knit work is up side down and the V-shape is in between the stitch columns, not in the center of the stitch. Insert the needle in between the stitch columns, wrap the yarn around the needle and pull through.
See in the video here below, how to pick up and knit stitches along horizontal edges.
Finishing edges
For perfectly finished edges you need to learn how to pick up and knit stitches. This is an important skill needed for many knitting patterns. For example my cardigan pattern Lumi has very simple edging: Use bulky yarn, pick up and knit stitshes along all the edges, turn and bind off. More about Lumi you find here.
This edging you can use for example for scarfs and shawls. And for cardigans, if you need no button bands.
Wish you all sunny spring and Happy Knitting,
Piia Maria
Alpakkalanka ja neuleohje kutsuvat, kurkista kauppaan !
