Masterclass
Combining Eastern and Western knitting styles can make your work faster and neater, as Jen Arnall-Culliford explains
Try Combination Knitting for neater results and faster working
ONE OF the many things that I love about knitting is that there are so many different ways to make fabric from sticks and string. It is tempting to think of our way of doing things as the right way, but as soon as you start to dig into the wider topic of how
other people do things, it becomes obvious that there are in fact many, many ways of knitting, and nothing so simple as right and wrong. From the way that we hold our needles and yarn, to what increases or decreases we use, the variety of methods out there is mind-boggling! This month’s masterclass is all about Combination Knitting - one of those clever techniques that might solve a problem you have noticed, but have never been able to solve.
SOLVING COMMON PROBLEMS
A few issues are common among knitters: ‘rowing out’; discomfort while purling; and loose stitches on the transition from knit to purl. Combination Knitting can help to improve all of these issues.
‘Rowing out’ is when the tension of your knits and purls is noticeably different. Most commonly the purl stitches are looser than knits (although the opposite can also be true). The stocking stitch fabric you create looks uneven ( 1), and the problem is even more obvious on the reverse side, where the purl ridges appear as pairs ( 2). Using the Combination method can help to tighten the purl stitches and even up your fabric.
Many knitters dislike purling, and this is often for the physical reason that it is less comfortable to purl than to knit. The way in which yarn is wrapped to create a purl stitch uses slightly more yarn than the
equivalent knit stitch, and so (often unconsciously), in pursuit of even fabric, knitters wrap purl stitches more tightly. This extra tension in the yarn can lead to discomfort in the hands when purling. By wrapping the yarn differently when you use Combination Knitting, the problem may be alleviated.
Does your ribbing look messy? ( 3) Do you get a baggy knit stitch right before the first purl of each set? This is a remarkably common issue, and again is due to the way yarn is wrapped around the needle when going from a knit to a purl stitch. Combination Knitting might be the answer to neaten up your ribs.
KNITTING METHODS
To understand what Combination Knitting is, first you need to understand your own knitting method.
Most European and North American knitters wrap the yarn around the needle such that (regardless of how you hold either yarn or needles), the stitches are oriented on the needles with the leading leg (the one that sits to the right when the needles are removed) of each stitch at the front of the needle. When knit and purl stitches are worked through the front loop, the stitches created are not twisted. ( 4)
In contrast, knitters from Central Europe and Russia tend to knit with the Eastern method, which has two variations: Eastern Crossed and Eastern Uncrossed. Both of these methods involve the stitches being mounted with the leading leg at the rear of the needle (the opposite way round to Western knitting).
Eastern Uncrossed involves the stitches always being worked through the back loops, which results in a fabric identical to that which Western knitting creates - with uncrossed stitches ( 5). The Eastern Crossed method works the stitches through the front loop, which because the stitches are mounted with the leading leg at the rear, twists the stitches. The fabric this method creates is therefore slightly denser as all stitches are twisted ( 6).
Many beginner knitters in Europe and North America are told that their knitting is incorrect because their method has the stitches mounted Eastern and the fabric has twisted stitches, where actually they are just unknowingly knitting in the Eastern Crossed method. It’s refreshing to share this as ‘different’ rather than ‘wrong’. New knitters need to work in a consistent method so that they know how to work increases and decreases (which depend on stitch mount), but they don’t necessarily need to change their method.
COMBINATION KNITTING
So how does Combination Knitting fit into all of these different methods? Well, as the name implies it combines both Eastern and Western techniques. The following instructions demonstrate how to create stocking stitch in Combination Knitting.
7 The yarn is wrapped around the needle for purl stitches in the Eastern way (under to over).
8 At the end of purl rows the stitches are mounted on the needles with the leading leg to the rear of the needle.
9 On subsequent knit rows, all of the stitches are worked through the back loop, but with the yarn wrapped in the Western way, which uncrosses them, thus creating untwisted stocking stitch fabric.
At the end of knit rows, the stitches are
mounted with the leading leg to the front of the needle.
As described at the start of this article, using Combination Knitting can help to neaten up ribbing. Here are some instructions for working 3x2 rib in the Combination method:
Knit the first 3 stitches through the back loops. Bring the yarn to the front to purl. Purl 2 stitches, by wrapping the yarn around the needle from under to over.
Take yarn to the back ready to knit. Repeat steps 11 to 14 as required to the end of the RS row. On WS rows, work knits through the back loop, and wrap the yarn under to over when you purl. Continue as necessary.
One of the great things about Combination Knitting is that you can use it when required. You don’t necessarily always need to knit with this method. If your stocking stitch is perfectly even in your normal method, and you don’t find purling uncomfortable, then there likely isn’t any point in changing your method permanently to Combination Knitting. But if your ribbing is messy, then you may choose to use the Combination method for rib, switching back to Western when you return to stocking stitch or whatever your stitch your pattern calls for.
If you do mix and match, just take care to set up your stitches in preparation for changing methods. For example, if you have been knitting with the Western method and want to swap to Combination to work some ribbing, then you will need to knit your stitches through the front loop on the very first row (since they will be mounted with the leading leg at the front). On subsequent rows, you should then work the knit stitches through the back loop. Likewise, to swap from Combination to Western, you will need to work any remaining Eastern mounted stitches through the back loop on the first row, in order to avoid twisting them.
WORKING INCREASES AND DECREASES
When you knit using the Combination method, you will need to take care when working increases and decreases, since your knit stitches will be mounted on the needles with the leading leg at the rear. If you work a normal KFB (knit into front and back) increase, for example, your stitches will be twisted. So rather, you need to work into the back loop first, and then into the front, to adjust for the different stitch mount.
Decreases also require thought, since working them in the normal way will result in the decrease leaning in the opposite direction. So for example, a K2tog decrease worked on stitches mounted in the Western way, results in an untwisted decrease that leans to the right. If you knit two stitches together through the front loops with your stitches mounted in the Eastern or Combination way, the decrease will lean to the left and the stitches will be twisted. Grumperina has a handy table for how to adjust some common stitches when you use the Combination method (see link below), but alternatively you can simply slip the stitches to remount them with the leading leg to the front, prior to working your decreases as normal.
Why not pick up your needles and have a play with the different methods outlined in this article? Even when you’ve been knitting for a very long time, it can be surprising to discover that there’s a new way to work that may help to tidy up some niggles in your knitting. And even if you don’t find it works for you, it’s handy to know that other options are out there.
Further resources:
General information on
Combined/Combination Knitting: – www.grumperina.com/comboknitbackground.htm – www.anniemodesitt.com/combo
Eastern Uncrossed Knitting: – http://cloopco.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/eastern-uncrossed-knitting-knits-and.html