/ 01/17/2016 at 17:38
Greetings, friends! Let's continue our knitting training.
From previous lessons we learned starting row, as well as knitting knit and purl stitches. Mastered the simplest knitting - And . And if you followed my previous lessons, then, as attentive students, you probably noticed that the methods of knitting knit stitches in lesson No. 2 and in lesson No. 4 are different.
Yes, indeed, there is different ways knitting loops with knitting needles, both knit and purl. And the purpose of this lesson is to consider these methods and learn to determine in which case which method to use, since beginning knitters experience difficulties with this matter in certain cases. We’ll also figure out what crossed stitches are and how to knit them.
I think the mistakes and confusion that beginner knitters make when using stitch knitting methods is due to the fact that everyone starts learning differently, and different knitting teaching sources use different terminology.
So, you can come across the concept of “granny loop”, “classic loop”, or the expression “remove the loop like a knit stitch”. The latter, in my opinion, is not at all clear, since, as you saw in previous lessons, you can pick up a loop to knit it in different ways.
Therefore, it seems to me, the most understandable terminology in knitting is the one where the expressions “for the back walls” are used (they also say “for the lower lobules”), “for the front walls” (the same thing is “for the upper lobules” ).
Now let's look at this in more detail. In fact, everything is simple: how to knit a loop, be it a knit stitch or a purl stitch, is told to you by the loop itself, or rather, by the way it lies on the knitting needle.
Methods for knitting knit and purl stitches
The knitting method is intuitive; the knitting needle seems to guide itself so that knitting a loop is more convenient. Look at these 2 pictures and notice how the loop lies on the left needle. Notice the difference?
In the first picture, the loop on the left knitting needle lies so that its upper “half” is located closer to the right edge, that is, to the place from which we begin knitting the row. In this case, it seems obvious that to knit a loop, the right needle must be inserted into the loop on the left under the upper lobe (front wall) of the loop. This is the way to knit a front loop using the upper segments (under the front walls). We went through this in .
And we learned to knit the front loops for the lower segments (under the back walls) in . This method is used when the loop lies on the knitting needle so that its right half is located below the knitting needle, as shown in the second picture. In this case, to knit a knit stitch, insert the right knitting needle from the right, under the lower lobule (under the front wall).
The situation is similar with the upper and lower lobes of the purl loops. We discussed in detail how to knit a purl loop using the upper segments in . Only there I offered, in my opinion, the most easy way knitting a purl loop, which is also sometimes called a “grandmother’s” purl loop. But there are two ways to knit purl loops under the front walls (upper lobes). Look:
It is precisely because of the methods of knitting the purl loop that later there is confusion with knitting the knit stitches in the next row when .
The fact is that when we knit a purl loop in the second way (with a “grandmother’s” loop), it lies on the knitting needle so that if in the next row it needs to be knitted (as in stocking knitting), then it must be knitted by the lower segments.
And if you knit the purl loop first (the so-called in the classic way), then in the next row the front loop is already “asking” to be knitted behind the upper segments.
Each knitter knits purls, of course, in the way that is most convenient for her and as she has learned. But you should always remember about the features of the “upper and lower lobes”!
If you suddenly have to knit purl loops using the lower lobes, then the technique is the same as in the pictures above, only the right knitting needle needs to be inserted into the loop under the back wall from below and to the right towards you, and then knit purlwise - in this case it will be more convenient to use the second one (grandmother's) way.
Crossed loops
What happens if you knit stitches without taking into account how they lie on the knitting needle? Or rather, take into account, but vice versa. That is, the loop lies in such a way that it needs to be knitted through the back walls, but it must be knitted through the front walls, and vice versa? Then we will get CROSSED loops. See what it looks like:
For stockinette stitch, you must admit, this is unsightly, and knitting is inconvenient - once again your hand strains. But in some patterns, especially of a fantasy nature, such loops are used very successfully:
Well, my dears, I hope that I have brought some clarity with knitting loops. If you are reading this lesson, please write in the comments how clearly you were able to explain it.
It is impossible to remember all the patterns that can be knitted. But each of them is a combination of loops, and there are only a few of them. Even if you only know knit and purl stitches, you can knit ribbing, stockinette and garter stitch and even raised stripes. The ability to perform crossed loops will significantly expand your capabilities.
Crossed stitch on knitting needles
Knit or purl
You can knit the entire fabric with crossed loops. It will be very similar to the one made with regular knit or purl stitches, but somewhat tighter. Crossed loops can also be an element of the pattern, in which case it is important to strictly follow the pattern. Special requirements for yarn in in this case no, choose the same one from which you would knit the product with regular loops. The presence of this type of loops in the pattern also has a slight effect on thread consumption. Before you start, don't forget to look symbols– in different literature crossed loops are designated differently.
In the literature, crossed stitches are sometimes called “knit behind the back wall” or “purl behind the back wall.”
Knitting technique with knitted cross
Cast on 20-30 stitches on the knitting needles. Knit the first row with regular knit stitches, the second row with regular purl stitches. Pay attention to how you knit these stitches. By doing knitting needle is inserted from right to left into the nearest loop so that the front wall is under the right knitting needle. Then you grab the working thread with the same knitting needle and pull it into a loop. When knitting a crossed knitting needle, insert the right needle into the loop under the front wall, then into the gap between the back wall and the next loop. Pull the working thread out from this gap. Knit the row to the end.
At this stage, the difference between regular and crossed facial expressions is not yet visible
Technique for performing purl crossed
Turn the knitting over. Perform the next row with crossed stitches. When knitting regular purls, you insert the right needle under the working thread and under the front wall, grab the working thread and pull it into a loop. To purl a crossed stitch, insert the right needle into the stitch under the working yarn, but above the front wall, pull up a new stitch, and discard the one on the left needle. When you complete the row, you will notice the difference between the fabric knitted with regular and crossed stitches.
A crossed loop is a loop whose finished walls are arranged crosswise; its outdated name is a cross loop. These loops can be knitted in a special way from knit or purl stitches, or formed involuntarily when knit and purl stitches are combined in a pattern. Their advantage over ordinary knitwear is the higher density of knitting, which becomes less elastic and less susceptible to stretching. It is recommended to knit socks, mittens and other items that require increased wear resistance from the knitted ones. Crossed loops also have a significant drawback - in relation to the surface of the canvas they are turned at an angle, and from this ready product may become warped, limiting their use.
If for some reason you have to remove the loops from the knitting needles and then reassemble them, you need to carefully ensure that as you continue knitting, you do not end up with crossed loops. They will stand out on the canvas, and if not included in the design, they will spoil the integrity of the item. When knitting the next row after the knitting has been interrupted and the loops have been dropped, you need to monitor the location of the walls of the loops in relation to each other. If such a loop is encountered, it should be turned to a straight position before work.
The knit stitch is always knitted on the right half, and if knitted on the left, it turns out to be a knit stitch crossed. When using such a tricky and twisted loop, knitting looks different than when knitting with knit stitches, primarily the difference is in the density of the fabric. There are two options for knitting a crossed knit stitch; in one of them, the working needle grabs the working thread clockwise, in the other - counterclockwise. The resulting loops on the knitting needle will look slightly different. For many knitters, performing a knitted crossed stitch seems uncomfortable; it is difficult to confuse it with a knit stitch.
This type of loop is very useful as it is used to add stitches in knitting. When additional loops are added, a rather large gap is formed in the knitting, which catches the eye and spoils appearance. If you use a crossed knit stitch, there will be no gap. The crossed knit stitch is always worked on the left half of the stitch. When knitting a crossed knit stitch, the right knitting needle is inserted behind the back wall of the loop on the left knitting needle, it pulls out the working thread and remains on the right knitting needle. But if the knitting style of the craftswoman differs from the standard one, and she knits a classic knit stitch behind the back wall, to form a knit stitch, she needs to knit it behind the front wall.
They use crossed loops to highlight a place in a drawing; most often they can be found on Japanese schemes Oh. In them, they participate in knitting shawls or jacquard designs on smooth fabric. Looking at examples of Japanese patterns, it is clear that a crossed knit stitch is almost always used when knitting side leaves and to highlight the sides of the entire pattern. The face crossed is involved when tracing each of the leaves, lateral and middle. It is also knitted in the center of leaves, used to highlight veins or on the petals of voluminous flowers.
We will dwell on the topic “Crossed loops” in detail. Understanding what crossed stitches are means a lot for accurate and competent knitting. However, this topic is not fully covered in numerous books on knitting and on the Internet. As a rule, they talk about ways to get a crossed loop. But the crossed loop is not a way to knit a loop, but its structure. So, let's see what a crossed loop looks like in the figure:
 |
 |
As a rule, let's say - by default, the walls of the hinges are parallel. We will call such loops straight loops. But sometimes, to obtain certain patterns or perform some knots knitted product required crossed loops. Such loops have walls crossed to the right or left.
How are crossed loops made? During the process of knitting the loops of the next row, the walls of the loops remain parallel or turn and cross.
Rule: To cross a non-turned (right) stitch, you need to work it behind the back wall. To cross an inverted (left) loop, you need to knit it behind the front wall.
In the descriptions you may come across the terms: “crossed knit stitch” and “crossed purl loop”. Since in the instructions the authors usually imply that you are knitting in the classical way, these terms mean - knit a loop behind the back wall, knit or purl.
Crossed knit loop
The knit stitch knitted behind the back wall is a knit stitch knitted in grandma's way. In the process of knitting a loop behind the back wall, the classic loop is turned and crossed.
Crossed purl stitch
In order to knit a crossed purl loop, you need to pick it up by the back wall and knit it in the classic or granny way.
We grab the loop from the back wall
If it is difficult for you to knit a purl loop behind the back wall in one step, then you can do it in stages. We pick up the back wall of the loop with the right knitting needle from right to left, just as written above, remove it from the left knitting needle, turn it and return it to the left knitting needle (the loop turns out to be crossed). After this, we knit a purl loop as usual.
Why did we dwell in such detail on crossed loops?
Descriptions and diagrams of patterns are designed for the fact that you knit with classic loops. If you confuse one and the other method, it is possible that some of the loops, where they are not needed, will turn out to be crossed, and the pattern will not look beautiful. So Always knit with classic stitches unless otherwise specifically stated in the description.. Let's remember the example from the previous lesson.
The broken line of crossed stitches was created because we switched to knitting with granny stitches on the front row and when we knitted the loops behind the back wall we crossed them.
Besides, when knitting in the round with stockinette stitch using granny stitches, the fabric turns out skewed due to the fact that the loops are constantly crossed in one direction during the knitting process. The same effect can be achieved when knitting with other patterns.
The sock, knitted with crossed loops, turned out to be skewed
However, there are cases when the use of crossed loops is completely justified. Knitting from them is denser and stretches less than from classic loops. This property can be used when knitting strips in garter stitch.
Be sure to understand this topic. Learn to distinguish between classic and crossed loops. Experiment. Knit the swatch in garter stitch using granny stitches only. Take a closer look - the loops turned out to be crossed. Compare the pattern with what you knitted with classic loops earlier. In the photo: at the top the sample is knitted with classic loops, at the bottom with crossed ones.
Adviсe:
- knit loops in the classic way, unless otherwise indicated in the description or if you yourself do not want to achieve a certain effect;
- If you still prefer grandma's way of knitting loops, be careful and do not allow crossed loops to appear where this is not required.
- do not knit the stockinette stitch in the round with granny stitches: in this case, your loops will constantly cross in one direction and the knitting will twist;
- Use crossed loops where they improve performance.
In descriptions of models, especially in Japanese and Chinese magazines, crossed loops. And our needlewomen like to use crossed loops when knitting elastic bands, since in this case they turn out to be more embossed and more elastic. At first glance, there is nothing difficult in knitting such loops. But the result does not always turn out to be what we would like. Today we will try to figure out why sometimes a column of crossed loops turns out even, and sometimes not.
Take a close look at the loops in the image above: on the right the columns of crossed loops are even, all the loops are turned in one direction, but on the left they are not. Why? Because these loops were knitted differently. And the mystery here lies in knitting the purl loops.
Let's look at how the loops are knitted. First, let's purl the stitches. The purl loops are always located on the knitting needle with the front piece forward, regardless of the method of knitting the front loop, and the purl loops are always knitted behind the front piece, unless, of course, we want to get crossed purl loop.
If we want to connect crossed purl loop, then you need to hook the loop to the back wall. Look at the loop - it turns, its walls cross. The purl loop always turns clockwise:
Now let's look at knitting knit crossed loop. After knitting the purl loop in the second way, the front loop is located on the knitting needle with the front wall forward and a regular front loop is knitted in this case behind the front wall:
We want to get crossed knit stitch, so in this case you need to grab the loop by the back wall. Look carefully at the image: the front loop turns clockwise, its walls cross. Pay attention to the underlying loop, which we knitted purl in the second way, it is also turned clockwise:
Now let’s move on to the column of loops where we purled in the previous row using the first method. The knit stitch is located on the knitting needle with the back wall forward and a regular knit stitch is knitted behind the back wall:
In this case, to knit a crossed knit stitch, you need to grab it by the front wall so that the loop turns:
Pay attention to the lower loop, which in the previous row we knitted purl in the first way, it is turned clockwise. And the loop that we just knitted turned counterclockwise.
Let's summarize: when knitting purl loops in any way, they always turn in one direction - clockwise, no matter how we knit them. But the choice of knitting method for the purl crossed loop affects how we knit the knit stitch in the next row. When knitting a purl loop in the first way, turn clockwise, the crossed knit stitch in the next row is knitted behind the front wall - turn counterclockwise. And such a seemingly insignificant detail, in which direction the loop has turned, gives us a column of “dancing” crossed loops.