Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Grafting 101

GRAFTING 101 TUTORIAL

No sock or mitten with fingertip shaping should be completely without grafting. It is a relatively easy process, and I hope by the end of this tutorial you feel completely comfortable grafting all of your projects. The end result should be a seamless connection between the stitches on the two dpns.

Preparation Steps: A & B: complete steps A and B once.  
Make sure that your stitches are equally divided between two dpns, and that your working yarn is on the right. 

PREP STEP A: insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch on the front needle, as if the PURL. Pull yarn through. Leave stitch on needle.
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PREP STEP B: insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch on the back needle, as if to KNIT. Pull yarn through. Leave stitch on needle.
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Repetition Steps 1-4: repeat until you run out of stitches
Sing this grafting boot-camp tune: KNIT-PURL-PURL-KNIT!

STEP 1 (Front needle): insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch as if to KNIT. Pull yarn through. TAKE STITCH OFF OF NEEDLE.
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STEP 2 (Front needle): insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch as if to PURL. Pull yarn through. Leave stitch on needle.
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STEP 3 (Back needle): insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch as if to PURL. Pull yarn through. TAKE STITCH OFF NEEDLE.
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STEP 4 (Back needle): insert the darning needle into the 1st stitch as if to KNIT. Pull yarn through. Leave stitch on needle.
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*Repeat steps 1-4 until all of your stitches are used up. Secure with a knot on the WS of your work and then weave in the yarn. Then Voila!! You just grafted!

TIP: Some knitter choose to use a tool called a "darning egg" that they put into the toe of the sock to help them graft evenly. It's not completely necessary.
 
Your grafting should look seamless, as the V stitches should line up vertically between the front and back of the toe:
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