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Techniques:

Some of the techniques I use in my knitwear designs are slightly out of the ordinary, I'll describe them for you here.

Printing pattern booklets:

click here for the .pdf which uses screenshots to outline the process.

Knitted hem:

Work 8 rows with contrast yarn and a smaller needle size (e.g. 2.5 mm)

Work 2 rows with contrast yarn and e.g. 2.75 mm needles

Work 6 rows of pattern

Pick up and knit hem as follows: fold at hemline, wrong sides together, pick up and knit 1 st from cast on edge with one st from needle, repeat to end.

(picture shows a hem with knitted lace, the line of blue sts prior to the line of white sts are where a normal cast on edge would be)

if you are casting off at the same time as knitting the hem, then you just slip the previous stitch over the one you have just worked as in a normal cast off.

Provisional cast on:

(there are many versions of this cast on - this is my favourite way)

Using a smooth yarn of similar thickness to the garment yarn (I prefer to use cotton) cast on the number of sts required, work 1 row in the waste yarn, then start knitting your garment, when you remove the waste yarn you need to unravel the waste yarn 1 st at a time and pop that st onto the needle.

3 needle cast (bind) off:

(this is used to join 2 peices of knitting together with a firm seam e.g. shoulders)

place sts for both pieces on needles and place right sides together with both needle ends pointing to the right, hold these two needles together and use a third needle to knit 1 st from each needle together with it's partner from the other needle, cast off each stitch as you go.

Cast (bind) off knitwise/purlwise:

knitwise: knit each stitch before casting it off

purlwise: purl each st before casting it off.

Needles sizes: metric, imperial, US

METRIC SIZES(mm)	US SIZES	UK/CANADIAN
2	0	14
2.25	1	13
2.75	2	12
3	n/a	11
3.25	3	10
3.5	4	n/a
3.75	5	9
4	6	8
4.5	7	7
5	8	6
5.5	9	5
6	10	4
6.5	10 1/2	3
7	n/a	2
7.5	n/a	1
8	11	0
9	13	0
10	15	0
12	17	n/a
16	19	n/a
19	35	n/a
25	50	n/a

I-cord

using 2 double pointed needles, cast on 3 sts, knit these 3 , then slip the sts to the right end of the needle and knit them again, you will be slipping the yarn straight across the back f the work in order to do this - don't worry, just keep working this way and you will have a length of cord in no time (keep the work under strong tension)

Applied i-cord

Work 2 rounds of i-cord

With the right side of your garment facing

You have 3 sts on your left hand needle, work the first 2 sts as per normal.

Pick up 1 st from your work and knit it together with the 3^rd st – as follows

Work the 1^st 2 sts as usual (i.e. knit into the front of the st

With both “3” sts on your left hand needle knit them together through the back loops

See your needle goes straight through the backs of both sts, then knit it off. This prevents the sts twisting and keeps the I’cord surface nice and smooth.

Continue in this way, knit the 1^st 2 sts, then pick up 1 and knit it together with the 3^rd st.

You can edge anything with applied i-cord

Cable cast on

make a slipknot right needle in the back
knit a stitch and place it on the left needle insert the right needle between the 2 sts on the left needle from the front
knit a stitch and take it off with the left needle, insert into the front
and slip it off, this twists the stitch .
insert the right needle between the last 2 sts on the left needle again, and continue until you have the required number of sts. You have a firm tidy cast on edhe.