These two photos show what this
looks like on a cabled swatch – I’ve
taken the middle stitches and put
them aside on the stitch holder. At
this point, if it were a “real” sweater,
I would continue working one side
at a time and do some decreases
on each side of the held stitches
to finish shaping the rest of the
neckline.
Another popular place to use a
stitch holder is on the under-arm of
a sweater knitted in the round, or
when needing to hold aside thumb
stitches on a mitten. This is where it
helps to have a few different stitch
holder sizes handy, depending on
how many stitches you’re working
with at once.
We’re using this cabled swatch as though it is the front of
a neckline, to separate out the middle section of stitches.
If you’re absolutely stuck and don’t
have a stitch holder handy, you can
accomplish the same task by using
some “waste yarn” (a bit of extra
yarn you’re not using) or even dental
floss to hold onto the stitches. The
advantage of stitch holders, though,
is the security of being able to snap
them closed! At those times when
you’re working on a large project, it
definitely feels like stitch holders are
safety nets for your knitting.
Simply slip the stitches from the needle onto the stitch
holder, and then lock it closed.
Photos by Glenna Harris
KNITmuch | issue 1
41