Ribbing Seam in Back of Socks

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After making many, many circular socks on my flatbed knitting machines with ribbers, I decided that I like the seam of the ribbing to go up the back of the leg better than on the side like most sock patterns call for.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the side seam but I don’t like looking at mismatched stripes or fairisle patterns if I don’t have to.  If they mismatch at the seam, someone else can look at them from the back.  ☺

Use whatever ribbing configuration you want but I’ve used a 1x1 in this example.  

I’m showing you 2 different methods of turning your ribbing.  The first is by scrapping off, the second is using a multi-pronged transfer tool, very similar to the Decker comb used on Passap machines.  Check out my post describing the transfer tool here.  http://slisen.blogspot.com/2013/02/diy-decker-comb-revisited.html.  I much prefer using the transfer tool but I used the scrapped off method until I was enlightened about the Decker comb.  It's a great time saver.

So here’s what I do.  

1.  After completing the ribbing, I end with the carriage on the left (COL).  But which side you end on is totally your call and dependent on your pattern; you’ll just have to change my instructions to be worked on the opposite side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Transfer all the main bed stitches to the corresponding needles onto the ribber bed.  (Increase or decrease stitches to make an even number, if necessary.)  At main body tension, knit 1 row across to the right hand side.  Lower the ribber bed one notch.  Remove ribber weights and cast on comb and replace with 4 claw weights, evenly spaced across your work.  

Now it’s time to do the math.  Divide your total number of stitches by 4.  The middle 2 forths (half) will remain on the ribber bed.  The outer forths will be turned and rehung onto the main bed in a tubular fashion.  For this example, I’ve cast on 70 sts in my ribbing but disregard that.  For sake of ease, let’s assume that I cast on 72 stitches.  Divided by 4, leaves me 36 center stitches in the center and 18 sts on each side.  For my 70 stitches, I would have 18 sts on one side, 35 in the middle and 17 sts on the other side.  Never fear, 1 stitch off center up the back will not be a deal breaker.  Just make sure to have the same number of stitches on each bed.

 

3.  This is the scrapping off method.  I prefer to scrap off by hand but you may use your machine if you like.  Just remember to put non-scrapped off  needles back into working position, take your carriage off hold and reset the part levers before resuming circular knitting for the ankle.  Some ribbers don’t like to knit by themselves so proceed with caution here if you choose to use your machine to scrap off on the ribber bed to make sure everything is knitting properly.  So firstly, select and raise the 18 sts up into hold position.

 

4.  Then, manually knit and scrap off the 18 stitches for at least 8-10 rows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.   Remove the stitches from the needles.  Turn and fold the scrapped off section between the beds and in front of the main bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

6.  Rehang the scrapped off stitches to corresponding open needles on the main bed.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  Be sure to have a weight on your work.  Raise that side of the ribber up into working position and make sure the stitches on the ribber bed are still intact.  You may need to realign the needles on the edges a bit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

8.  Remove the scrap yarn when transfer has been completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Now we move to the other side with 18 sts that need to be removed from the ribber bed and transferred to the main bed.  You can scrap off as we did the other side but I’m going to show you how to use the multi-pronged transfer tool that I fondly call the Decker tool.   

With that side of the ribber bed still lowered, raise the 18 needles that need to be transferred and insert the prongs of the Decker tool into the needle hooks.  Keep slight upward pressure so your tool stays in place.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.  Do a quick inspection to make sure you have

a prong into each needle hook, raise up each latch, push down on the 18 needle butts to transfer the stitches to the Decker tool, making sure there is a stitch on each prong.  Slightly lower the Decker tool so it can easily be removed from the needles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.  With downward and backward pressure on the back bar of the tool, move the prongs of the Decker tool forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.  Place a Scunci hair band around the tool in front of the stitches.  A heavy rubber band works too but they’ve been known to break easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.  Move the Decker tool with stitches intact and let it flop between the two beds.  Turn it so it forms a circular tube, pick up the back of the tool and lift it so it lies on top of the ribber and in front of the main bed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.  Raise the ribber bed, remove the Scunci band and place the prongs of the Decker tool into open hooks of corresponding needles on the main bed.  Transfer the stitches to the main bed. This task is made a bit easier if you use your other hand to pull down a bit on the work between the beds.

 

 

 

 

 

15.  Note that the stitches meet in the center of the bed but the yarn is in the middle of your work now, so unravel the yarn tail back to the carriage.   

 

 

 16.  Place the yarn back in the carriage arm and set the carriages for circular knitting.  The yarn is coming off the ribber bed stitch, so the next row knit should be on the main bed.  So flip the right part lever up on the main carriage and the left part lever up on the ribber carriage.  Make sure your tension is set properly, the row counter at 000, weights are hung and knit away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I usually work a Bickford style seam to sew up the ribbing.  It's not totally invisible in a 1x1 configuration but it's not offensive either and gives a nice, flat seam with no bulk, as found in a mattress stitched seam.

 

 

Flat Seam in 2x2 Ribbing

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I normally use 1x1 ribbing in my socks but I’ve had occasion to use a 2x2 for slippers, caps or mittens so I worked out a seam that is totally reversible and pretty good to look at.  It takes advantage of one of the Bickford methods which I am so fond of.  This is a particularly great seam for items like hats, socks or sleeve cuffs that may be folded over.  You may want to practice the technique before using it in the real thing, however it’s not hard at all once ya get into the groove.

 

The needle setup for this example is below.  The outermost needle on both sides must be on the main bed.  So plan your cast on accordingly.

.    . .     . .     . .     .  (Main Bed)

  . .    . .     . .     . .    (Ribber Bed) 

First off, you must be able to identify the loop stitches and the knot stitches along the side.  This seam is worked from the public side, so fold over the ribbing edges into a tube or butt up the edges of a flat garment.  My sample is intended to be a circular sock cuff so this is how I set up the needles on each bed of my machine.  I used my SK860 midgauge machine and Caron Simply Soft in this sample so the stitches would be more easily seen.  

 

So let’s get going on the technique.  You'll be working with the stitches on the outermost edges of your fabric.  From the top down, insert your needle and yarn thru a knot stitch and pull through.  Do not pull your stitching too tightly.  You are trying to match the stitch size of your knitting and you don't want your seam to pucker.
 

 

 

Then on the other side of the fabric, insert your needle and yarn from the bottom of the corresponding loop stitch and pull up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the same side, insert your needle from top down through the next knot stitch and pull yarn through.

  

 

 

 

 

On the other side of the fabric, insert your needle and yarn from the bottom of the next loop stitch and pull yarn up.  Continue in this manner for the full length of your seam.

When you get comfy with this method, you'll be able to go down thru the knot on one side and up thru the loop of the opposite side in one step. 

 

 

 
 

This seam is particularly nice for items or garments with foldover cuffs because the back side looks just as nice as the public side, with no bulky seam.  You won't have to turn your work and seam from one side for the cuff and the other side for the main fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter Crown for Hats

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A fellow machine knitter Margaret, AKA as ‘HybridSJ’on Ravelry, posted a very interesting finishing for crowns of hats.  It involves dividing the hat body into 4ths, knitting triangles from each 4th section and joining together with SAYG (Seam As Ya Go).  It makes a flat, form fitting crown that lends itself nicely to beanies, helmet liners, chemo caps, or any hat crown where gathering isn’t always the best finishing technique.  And it goes much faster than decreasing across the row and moving stitches in.  Since she doesn't maintain a blog, she gave me permission to post it on mine so it could have more visibility.

 

 

So here’s Margaret’s post.  http://www.ravelry.com/projects/HybridSJ/quarter-crown  And I’ll add my own take on it afterward.  

Margaret’s Notes:

The quarter crown can be done at the end of a machine knit hat without removing from the machine, or you can take off on waste yarn, or even rehang stitches from an in the round hand knit pattern.

Last row of the body pattern should be divisible by four, so reduce or increase accordingly. For example, if you have 86 stitches, decrease two stitches evenly on the last row. If you have 87, you could decrease to 84 or increase to 88. I prefer to decrease.

If knitting straight on from the body of the machine, put 3/4 needles in hold. In the case of 84 stitches, that’s 63 in hold, 21 in work.

Decrease one stitch fully fashioned each end. I use the 2 x 1 tool to move 2 stitches over one needle each end. Knit that row and the next, i.e. two rows.

Repeat these two rows until 3 stitches are left. Thread yarn through stitches and take off.

Bring next 21 (or quarter) stitches into work. Knit decrease row. Hang stitch from nearest end of first quarter on end needle opposite carriage.

Repeat these two rows until 3 stitches are left. Thread yarn through stitches and take off.

Repeat twice more. Sew seam or follow instructions for knitting in the round.

Finishing from in the round

Hang quarter stitches and continue knitting as above for three quarters.

On last quarter, pick up stitches as before PLUS unworked stitches from first quarter. I am still experimenting with the best time to pick up the first quarter end stitches but picking up on the first or third row works with some “fudging”.

Or you can do a mattress stitch seam to finish. (only you will notice the slight difference and it is easier)

 

My Take:

I decided to try using a 1 prong tool decrease on the crown instead of a 2 prong tool. It worked well and gives a bit different look.  Both are totally acceptable, it’s just another option.

I worked the hat flat, not in the round, and used a Bickford seam to sew up the last triangles and the seam.  It is flat, virtually invisible and doesn’t leave the inside bulk that mattress stitching does.

So, thank you very much, Margaret.  It’s a keeper technique.

Flat and Invisible Seam in English Rib

This is how I seam two edges of English Rib together to make a flat and virtually invisible seam.  To be successful, the ribbing must be configured to knit with the outermost left hand needle on the main bed and the outermost right hand needle on the ribber bed.

Work from the wrong side of the fabric and sew the seam by catching the outermost stitches of each edge.  On one side, you will go thru the layers and pick up the ladder stitch.  Then on the other side, go down thru the knot stitch of the outer edge.  Then go to the first side and pick up the ladder stitch again.  Continue in this manner along the seam by working back and forth between the sides.  Remember not to pull the seam stitches too tightly so the seam is as stretchy as the garment fabric.

Grafting a Seam from the Purl Side

Grafting a seam with a kitchener stitch is much easier and nicer looking if I work from the purl side.  Before I ran onto this method, I stayed away from grafting a seam like the plague.  I knew how to do it but it sure didn't look very nice.  But it's just so easy for me now and looks much better, totally invisible. I hope you try it the next time you have occassion to graft a seam.  It's particularly nice when used to close the seam across the toe of a cuff down sock.

To kitchener stitch a seam, begin by having both edges scrapped off with several rows of waste yarn.  Then fold fabric in half, with the purl sides out and the waste yarn sandwiched in between the layers.







Begin stitching from the yarn tail side.  Use a blunt nose needle to minimize yarn splitting.  I’m using a contrasting (blue) yarn to highlight the stitches.  Insert needle with the yarn tail into the bottom of the outermost stitch and bring it up through the outermost stitch on the other (top) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.




From the same (top) side, insert the needle into the next stitch from the top down.










At the same time, insert needle into the previously worked stitch of the other (bottom) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.









On the same side as last stitch (bottom), insert needle from the new stitch on the bottom side and into the previously worked stitch of the other (top) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.








From the last stitch worked on the same (top) side, insert needle into the next new stitch and into the previously worked stitch on the other (bottom) side.  You will always have 2 yarn strands in each stitch.







Continue in this manner across the row, keeping your tension snug but not tight and trying to duplicate the original tension of your work.  The folded over waste yarn helps to keep the tension even.  You will soon get into a rhythm of ‘old/new, old/new’ on each side.









Finished row of grafting.








Turn work inside out with waste yarn on the outside.  Notice your new row of stitches (in contrasting blue yarn).










Remove waste yarn and admire your perfectly grafted seam!











NOTE:  When I graft a sock toe, I catch the knot of each stitch from the last row of each side before I start grafting the seam.  This will close any holes that may have developed by stretching the yarn between the ribber and main bed and will minimize the ‘ears’ that may form.  Do the same on the other side of the toe after completing the grafting and before tying off.
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