Maryna Shevchenko answers your questions!
NICE AND NEAT
Q The side edges of my knitting always look untidy, making sewing up more difficult. Is there a way to fix this?
Abbey Greene, via email
Yes! I have a simple and efficient way to improve the edges of your projects, which creates a chain of twisted stitches at each side of the fabric. The chains are identical, and the edges look very similar to the ones formed by the well-known Slip-Stitch Chain Selvedges method, but they look much neater and don’t stretch as much.
I learnt this technique from a knitting friend whose Mom often used it to treat the edges of her projects. Because this lady comes from Silesia, I decided to name this method Silesian Selvedges.
Here is how you can make these lovely edges in three (very!) simple steps:
Set-up If you decide to treat the edges of your project with Silesian Selvedges, add two stitches to the total number of stitches you cast on – one stitch for each side edge of the fabric. Then work the steps below starting from the very first row.
Step 1 Knit the first stitch through the back loop. To do that, insert the right needle from right to left into the back of the first stitch on the left needle, wrap the tip of the right needle with the yarn, and pull the wrap through to form a new stitch (it doesn’t matter whether you hold the yarn in your left or in your right hand – the edging works well with any classic knitting style).
Step 2 Work in a stitch of your choice until you get to the last stitch of the row – one of the best things about this method is that it works with the majority of stitch patterns, so whenever you want to treat the sides of your project with a lovely slim edging, you can add Silesian Selvedges.
Step 3 Bring the yarn to the front of the work and slip the last stitch of the row purlwise by inserting the right needle into the stitch from right to left, just as in Step 1. That’s how simple it is! Repeat these three steps in every row, and you will see that each side edge of your project turns into a pretty chain, making the piece look neat and professionally-finished.
I explain many more ways to make the edges of your projects looks fantastic in my book, ‘Neat Side Edges’. Maryna