Dassau - Knitting Short Rows: Techniques for Great Shapes & Angles

Shape your knitwear seamlessly using short-row techniques, including wrap & turn, yarnover, German and Japanese methods, and twin stitch shadow wraps.

The beauty, ease, and charm of knitwear come in large part from its organic nature, from the curve of a sweater around the body, the depth and texture of a warm scarf, or the perfect slouch of a hat. I love designing knits that shape the fabric or create interesting detail using various knitting techniques. One of my favorite techniques of all is short-rows.

Short-rows are an invaluable technique that allow the knitter to create curves, angles, and depth, resulting in modern, seamless knitwear that is both engaging to knit and flattering to wear.

The book is intended to be both a technical learning resource and a beautiful design source that embodies modern, seamless knitting.

Short-rows are exactly that: partial rows in the knitting that create curves, soft angles, and depth.

All short-row techniques involve knitting a partial row, turning the work before the end is reached, and then knitting back in the opposite direction. When you again encounter the place where youve turned the work, which may be on the next row in that direction or many rows later, you will come to a small gap created at the turning point. This is because the last stitch before the turn is not connected to the stitch after it. Generally you dont want a hole in your knitting, so you have to do something to make the gap invisible. Different short-row techniques use various strategies, both when making the turn and when later closing the gap that has resulted. This book provides an in-depth look at five methods for knitting short-rows, presented in five chapters, each dedicated to one method. Each chapter includes step-by-step illustrated tutorials in stockinette stitch; an expanded discussion of applying each method in different pattern stitches, such as reverse stockinette, garter stitch, and working in the round; and three to five patterns, including garments and accessories. You can work your way through the whole book for a complete short-row primer or easily dip into the relevant chapter for a specific method.

Short-rows can make a sweater fit your three-dimensional shape or achieve a nontraditional shawls interesting form. In garments, short-rows can be used instead of binding off stitches for shoulder or hem shaping or to add volume and length to part of the sweater. They can shape seamless garments without the need to knit in pieces that then require seaming, such as set-in sleeve caps. In shawls or accessories, short-rows can achieve interesting changes in the direction of knitting, making intriguing finished pieces. For practical fit purposes or for striking artistic expression, short-rows open up creative possibilities in your knitting.

When you knit short-rows, the goal is generally to work them so that they blend invisibly into the finished fabric, without leaving any holes or distortion. Which method to use depends on many factors, including your yarn composition, stitch gauge, stitch pattern, whether the wrong side will be showing, and personal preference. If one method isnt producing results you like for a particular project, then substitute another; you can employ different methods in different parts of your project, and even on different sides of the same short-row section. With an understanding of these five methods, knitting short-rows is a technique you can apply to any project. A discussion on substituting methods follows the five technique chapters.

The wrap & turn method, abbreviated as w&t, is a simple and effective way to work short-rows back and forth in stockinette and garter stitch. It is also suitable for working pattern stitches and working in the round, with some considerations discussed below. In the w&t method, stitches are worked to one stitch before the desired turning point, then the turning stitch is slipped and wrapped with the working yarn, before turning the work. On a subsequent row, the wrapped yarn, which is called the wrap, may be worked along with the slipped stitch that it wraps, to disguise the turning point. This book uses the abbreviation w&t as the instruction to wrap a stitch and turn the work.

1. Knit to the turning point; with yarn in back, insert the right needle tip purlwise into the next stitch, and slip it to the right needle ().
2. Bring the yarn to the front ().
3. Slip the wrapped stitch back to the left needle ().
4. Turn the work and work the next row. If youre working in stockinette stitch, bring the yarn to the front () and purl the next row. If youre working in garter stitch, leave the yarn in back when you turn the work and knit the next row.

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