How to Graft Your Knitting, The Easy Way - No Kitchener Stitch Required! | Yay For Yarn

[@ddeskjockey]

OMG! You saved me. I have to graft on the end of a shawl for a wedding. This worked perfectly! Thank you...thank you...thank you! No more Kitchener! Yea!

[@MazzyMadness]

Technique starts at 9:18 👍🏻

[@jankenney3831]

Great technique. Very clear tutorial. Wish you had used different color yarn for holding yarn and grafting yarn.

[@jacquelinechneour1536]

Thought that too. But it's great.

[@roserofe]

easiest grafting I've ever done. thanx.

[@kierstylong4364]

This is an amazing technique and much better than traditional kitchener. Thank you so much! I had a big sweater, knitted in the round, that needed shortening, so I had quite a number of stitches to graft. I was able to use long interchangeable needle cords to hold one set of stitches and I found this much easier than using waste yarn.

[@oneidalopez4225]

Very nice technique. Thank you.

[@marionlacey1986]

Fabulous tutorial, thank you from South Australia . So well explained and articulate. You have a great calming voice 💕

[@boujiequeen1197]

I screw up kitchener every single time. About to try this method. Seems so much easier! Thank you!

[@boujiequeen1197]

Update: so, I screwed this one up too, but not quite as bad, lol. I should have used a better waste yarn, i.e. I had a multicolor bulky project and used the first other yarn I could find, which was skinny and kinda ended up blending with my project...oops!

[@daisytan7893]

You made it easy to understand this knitting grafting method.

[@Snaphappy26]

This is exactly the same as kitchener stitch....just no knitting needles....you are knitting off, purling on, purling off knitting on...

[@elaynegreaves9511]

Thats what I thought. I've just done my first cowl using kitchener stitch and I find this one harder. Much prefer the needles as a beginner.

[@margoteddy8057]

Was just going to say the same, but looked through comments first!

[@karensemones9302]

It looks pretty simple and you demonstrated it well.

[@MsKarenMR]

Great tutorial! Seems great for mending, too! Thanks for Sharing!🌻

[@erieaulibrary9635]

Thank you ! I've been struggling with this on a sweater that I'm "fixing". Now you've saved the sweater and my sanity !!Thanks again.

[@elisiathompson2123]

Your approach to grafting has changed my (knitting) life!! I just used it to graft 200 to 200 stitches at the edge of a hat brim, which I could NEVER have done without your technique - thank you! I will never Kitchener again. 😊

[@waltons-crochet]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. It's a beautiful way to join.

[@mary-loumcgivney894]

Great video - I followed along with my piece and it worked! Thank you

[@mitzipigna]

Thanks, down and up....for my dyslexia, this was a good lesson

[@valeriewoods6754]

Using your technique - at last I can do it. Thank you.

[@malargunaseelan]

Thank you so much for teaching how to graft. From India :) :)

[@daisiesushitam984]

Wow! What a neat method. I can finally see what I'm doing:) Thank you!

[@vijayalakshmisankaran7906]

Thank u I used this method long back about 30 years i recollected it

[@sylvialonghurst8745]

Thank you so much, you made it a lot easier

[@heatherroach7817]

Thank you. I've only been knitting for a year and just designed my first sweater. I decided to graft the shoulders together but found Kitchener stitch difficult to understand. Your method works for me.

[@annettewilkins4903]

Very easy to follow thank you

[@karendavis7278]

I like this method. Will be fun to try

[@lisalou3377]

I just used this method on a foxpaws cowl. I was interrupted right in the middle of grafting and was able to pick up again and finish with no trouble. Worked GREAT!! Thank you for posting such clear instructions!

[@dianaconnolly7141]

Talk about reinventing the wheel

[@rayel.2178]

Thanks for sharing! I do like this method better. I'll have to try it next time.

[@yethan]

Thanks a ton. I knitted a raflan sweater but find knitting sleeves in the round very slow. So Voila... I knit the sleeves flat and grafted them to the raglan.

[@sandracollins1143]

Hi... Thank you so much for answering my question. I'm definitely going to be using this join from now on.

[@vadec5909]

You are totally amazing how you know this stuff. I am going to try socks in about 1 month

[@purplequeen1727]

Great job! Thank you for sharing!

[@catherinelord2594]

Genius, thank you!

[@lindazipper9071]

I love this technique and have used it for years. However I am grafting an afghan with 207 stitches so I will take much more time than across the toe of a sock. Wish Me well on my endeaver. Biggest problem is the yarn length I’m using for the grafting to accommodate the 207 stitches.

[@thoughtsofjoyk]

I always use the Kitchener method (with a cheat sheet at first), but I’ll try this with the socks I have on the needles. Thank you! 😊

[@fabhabfan1]

Ohhh. I wish i wouldve found your vid before now. Doing a pattern which said to use kitchener and it was sooo confusing and didnt turn out so well....lol. Cheers!

[@yethan]

It's so much easier and you can see what you are doing without having to bother about needles and pulling stitches off

[@Vivianalovesherfamily]

Hello, yesterday I had never heard of the Kitchener Stitch nor Grafting but, I had knitted a jumper that was a tad short for my daughter so, I read about it, and learnt from the other clips time and time again …. well I thought I was learning it. I diligently listened to 22 different clips from 22 different crafters from 15:00 hours yesterday to 02:20 hours this morning. I used contrast yarn, I clipped my top stitches to the bottom stitches. I was getting so worked up about it and very frustrated. I would not be beaten. I am actually not bothered if this ‘new way’ is the actual Kitchener Stitch or not; we all have different ways of learning things. No disrespect to the other 22 fabulous knitters but, for some reason their methods simply did not stick with me. I am not bothered if you do not say purl wise or knit wise. I only know I have lengthened and reattached the lengthened portion of the back of my daughter’s jumper and will now confidently do the same this afternoon to the front section too. I cannot thank you enough Yay for Yarn. I have knitted for more years than I can remember and I for one, am grateful for your little chant (probably not a chant but a method. It helped me). I decided to pull back the rows I was repeatedly joined time and time again as ,after 22 other failed methods, the yarn was rather raggedy. I worked the rows and there is now a neat and invisible joint 🎉🎉 I think people who write anything negative should not. I have not left one single negative comment on any of the other 22 knitters comments. Go with what works for you and, as the old saying goes “If you haven’t got anything nice to say to someone, say nothing”. Thank you.

[@KarylLudwig]

Liked the demo; the pattern I'm knitting just said to "graft" here. I wondered how this compares with three-needle bind-off, since binding off is what I'm going to be doing. Am going to mark this demo for future reference. Thanks!

[@YayForYarn]

You're welcome! If a pattern calls for a three-needle bind off, you probably don't want to use this grafting technique (or the regular Kitchener stitch method, for that matter). Grafting makes the pieces of knitting as though they were one seamless piece, with just as much stretch as the rest of the fabric. The three-needle bind off is kind of like binding off and seaming the two edges together at the same time. That has more structure to it than grafting. For instance, the three-needle bind off is often used to join shoulder seams. If you graft a shoulder seam, it will be stretchy just like the rest of the fabric, and the weight of the sweater could pull down on and stretch out the shoulder area of the sweater. The three-needle bind off would be better suited for something like a shoulder seam, because it does not have the stretch to it that a grafted join has. However, this grafting technique would be great for things like closing the toe of a sock, where it's fine for the fabric to have a good amount of stretch in that area. I hope this helps!

[@paulaknit]

Thanks

[@ZeEbstar]

Thank you so much!

[@SteveB357]

I should have watched more 😁

[@malcolmnicholls2893]

So much easier than Kitchener

[@sabinejordan3110]

This looks beautiful and is pretty straight forward, even though it's essentially the same as kitchener stitch but using a darning needle instead of knitting needles. But it makes everything a lot more visible than doing kitchener with needles where the fabric is back to back and you have no way to tell what the tension is until you're done. Could you tell me how to do this graft in pattern? This is knit stitch facing knit stitch. How would this work with different stitches facing each other, i.e., purl stitch facing purl stitch, but even more importantly, knit stitch facing purl stitch and purl stitch facing knit stitch?

[@YayForYarn]

I think the best way to figure out how to do it in pattern is to make a swatch in the stitch pattern you're using, with one row (whichever row of the stitch pattern that you would be grafting on in the project) knit in a different color yarn. Then, as you graft, you can follow the different-colored strand of yarn through the swatch, watching how it goes in and out of the loops above and below. That can help make it easier to visualize where to insert the needle for the grafting. I hope this helps!

[@mtalmage5097]

Thank you for this. Question if you are still answering posts. Is there a video of this method using garter stitch? Often there is a border on scarves, shawls, etc that is garter or seed stitch and you can't just put a row of stockinette in the middle of a border. Thanks.

[@YayForYarn]

Hi. I do not have a video showing how to use this method with garter stitch, but it can be done. With garter stitch, on one edge, you would always bring your needle down through the last stitch worked, and up through the next. On the other edge (where the ridge would be), you would always bring the needle up through the last stitch worked and down through the next. Does that make sense? I hope this helps!

[@sandracollins1143]

Hello... What a great idea. How does it look at the back of the work? Is it as smooth as the front?

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Sandra! Yes, if the graft is done with matching yarn, and the grafting stitches are about the same size as the rest, it blends in completely on both sides. It just looks like one continuous piece of fabric. I hope this helps!

[@jacquelinechneour5480]

This is great, but using a piece of really contrasting yarn, completely different from the waste yarn you used to secure the stitches, w would have been even better.

[@traceyhannwongchong]

Thanks for this demo. I feel it would give better tension on a large project than Kitchener - which on the first attempt was a bit visible. Could you use the circular needle nylon instead of waste yarn? I’m going to graft 2 edges of my circular jumper together and figure it’d be just as easy to keep both sides on their loops.

[@YayForYarn]

Yes, you can graft in this method with the stitches held on the cable of the circular needle. It works the same way as the waste yarn in the video. I hope this helps!

[@traceyhannwongchong]

Thanks for your reply. Am looking forward to using your method to join the 2 halves of my jumper back together!

[@loripennington-joyner9386]

Thank you for sharing. This is going to be very helpful I was wondering does it look the same on the back and is there a way to do this for garter stitches?

[@YayForYarn]

You're welcome, Lori! On the wrong side of the fabric, if you use matching yarn to graft, it just looks like part of the fabric on the purl side. It can be done for garter stitch, but I don't have a video on that yet. I hope this helps!

[@gabijohn7027]

In garter stitch you only have to make sure that both of your pieces end with the same row. You face the “bump side} then you craft a knit row in between the two, done!

[@margewickins1056]

Your method is fantastic but you are showing two top ends with live sts. What if I need to join along the sides of a cardi. How do I do that seaming. Your advise. Marg

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Marge. If you're joining the side seams of a cardigan, you'll probably want to use mattress stitch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaeWYqhtpZyCbMk Grafting is primarily used for joining two top edges with live stitches, or bottom edges with live stitches from a provisional cast on. I hope this helps!

[@margewickins1056]

@@YayForYarn Many thanks for your reply. Marge

[@rachaelelliott347]

If you use this method on a tube is the set up the same? Great tutorial too! Thank you.

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Rachael. I have a video on how to graft a tube here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZC2ooGVpZtniqs The video is showing how to do it with a machine-knit tube, but it would be the same for a hand-knit tube. I hope this helps!

[@lindaflanagan4731]

Is this also the mattress stitch? I like doing the Kitchener but it leaves an edge instead of being a flat join. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong?

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Linda. Kitchener stitch is meant for joining two edges of live stitches, whereas mattress stitch is used to join the side edges of two pieces. The grafting method shown in this video accomplishes the same thing as kitchener stitch, but is a little bit simpler to work. Kitchener stitch / grafting is supposed to be flat and blend in with the rest of the fabric. It should look like a row of knitting in the fabric. If your grafting row is not flat and doesn't blend in, you may be doing it too tight. If you pull every stitch tight as if you were stitching a seam, then the graft will be too tight. Instead, you'll want to leave a bit of grafting yarn in between the two pieces you're grafting, so that it looks like a row of knitting in the fabric. I would suggest grafting two swatches together, and using a contrasting yarn for the graft. Then, you'll be able to see how tight you're pulling the stitches. If the grafting stitches are the correct tension, they will look like a one-row stripe across your knitting, and the stitches in the grafting row should be about the same size as the stitches in your swatches. I hope this helps!

[@margewickins1056]

Love your method but does the wrong side leave a ridge or is it flat. Marge

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Marge. If you use the same color yarn for the graft, the wrong side of the fabric just looks like one continuous piece, no seamline, ridge, or anything like that. I hope this helps!

[@lesleyoliver5582]

Does this method have a Name? About to start socks so thank you. From Australia 🐨🐨

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Lesley! This technique is just something I made up, and I have not come up with a name for it yet. But it does work great for socks!

[@lesleyoliver5582]

Yay For Yarn ok. Do you have a sock pattern you would recommend using 3ply wool (I live in Australia)? Thanks.

[@YayForYarn]

Yes! If you are using a multicolored yarn, my favorite is the Skew sock pattern by Lana Holden. I have made it several times, and it is the perfect project for those self-striping, hand painted, or variegated yarns. This pattern is knit on the bias, which involves some pretty cool, intricate shaping, but it looks so unique when it is done. You can get the free pattern here: knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTskew.php I also showed one of my pairs from this pattern in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3iwomWfhrd7ebM You can view the over 6000 pairs that other people have made here: www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/skew/people If your yarn is a solid color, I don't recall any particular sock pattern that really stood out to me (I tend to gravitate towards the multicolored ones), but there are plenty of pretty ones available on the internet for free. LoveCrafts has quite a lot of free sock patterns as well. I hope this helps!

[@lesleyoliver5582]

Yay For Yarn wow, thank you. Much appreciated.

[@AnaBananaNutBread]

Thank you so much for sharing this! It certainly makes your knitting look so much smoother. While this is very comprehensive, is there a condensed version of the video showing just the in and out of the stitching?

[@olgaalvarez8534]

can you do this grafting stiches with somr thing that has ?cables

[@YayForYarn]

Hi Olga! Yes, you can graft pieces with cables, but if there are any purl columns, you'll need to alter the technique for those stitches. The direction that you insert the yarn needle will be reversed on purl stitches. Also, when you're grafting, the top piece will be offset from the bottom piece of fabric by 1/2 of a stitch. So the cable design will also be offset just a tiny bit, but it won't likely be super noticeable. The nice thing about this method is that the waste yarn stays in the stitches until you're finished, so if you make a mistake or you don't like the look of the slight offset, you can just pull out the grafting yarn and the waste yarn will still hold your stitches. I hope this helps!

[@SteveB357]

Do you have instructions for a sock toe?

[@YayForYarn]

Hi, Steve. I do not have a video specifically showing a sock toe with this method, but it works exactly the same way as shown in the video above. Just put each half of the stitches on a piece of waste yarn, and graft as shown. You can then weave in the tails at both ends of the graft. I hope this helps!

[@annettewilkins4903]

Very easy to follow thank you

[@vadec5909]

You are totally amazing how you know this stuff. I am going to try socks in about 1 month