Short Rows Rock

Good Afternoon,

Sorry I missed you all yesterday.  It has been a bit hectic getting ready for Los Angeles County Fair.  Also, Mom had a complete knee replacement on Monday.  She is doing great and is expected to be released on Thursday.

I have a few things on the back burner for winter, one is working with short row shaping.  If you haven't given it a try except for sock heels, please have fun and play with the technique.  It can be used for so many things.

• Sock heel shaping...you already know that
• Raising the back neck of a sweater
• Lowering the back edge of a sweater
• Creating curved and slightly rounded angles
• Creating wedges that will form a half circle

These are just a few ideas for short rows.  A unique idea is shaping for bathing suits.  The short rows are used to create the cups of the bra top. 

For those that love to swatch and play with design, what a great technique to add to your list.
Short rows use two basic methods.

1. Wrap and turn: knit X number of stitches, yarn forward, slip next stitch, yarn back, slip the slipped stitch back, turn work and continue.
2. Instead of W & T's, my favorite method is a yarn over.  Knit X number of stitches, turn work, and yarn over the right hand needle.  If this is a purl row, make sure you bring the YO all the way around to the front. 

Picking up the wraps or YOs varies slightly.  The wrap is worked with the stitch it is wrapped around.  The YO is worked with its neighbor that is the farthest away from it.  I know this sounds silly, but it works.

Enjoy and don't be afraid to give these methods a try.  Once mastered, think of all the great shaping you will be able to accomplish to make otherwise plain knitting come to life.

One of my biggest short row projects was Oat Couture's Curlicue Coverlet.  I knit it about 8 years ago for a friends new baby.  Since I do not have a picture of it, I will include an image from Short Rows.   This photo is courtesy of Long Lake Yarns.  This was knit using Noro Silk Garden.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and Happy Knitting!