Horizontal Chain created by half-double crochet stitches.
Close up of mid-row bind off
How does a mid-row bind off connect at
all to crochet?
If you know any crochet stitches, the halfdouble stitch (or half treble in UK terms)
consists of an extra yarn over added to the
stitch which helps create a horizontal chain
across the fabric (see half-double crochet
photo above).
To pick up and knit stitches in these strands,
you need to look over the bound-off
stitches as if you were looking over a
banister. Then just under the ridge on the
wrong side you’ll see a horizontal strand
in which to insert the right needle, transfer
the strand to the left needle and knit.
To achieve this in knit fabric, the technique
is quite similar. To make the chain ridge
appear on the right side of the fabric, the
mid-row bind off is worked on the wrong
side.
The first stage is to wrap the yarn around
the needle ending with the yarn forward.
Then the next stitch is purled. And finally
the yarn over and the previous stitch are
passed over the just purled stitch.
I was thoroughly pleased to discover that
my mid-row bind off is actually a purl-side
version of Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy
Bind Off.
The next problem I needed to solve
with the mid-row bind off was to figure
out how to get the stitches back on the
needles. I fiddled around with several
different approaches, but settled with
picking up stitches in the extra strands
formed by those yarn overs worked in the
bind off.
My first design with the mid-row bind off
was the short row shawl pattern published
in the 2015 edition of Noro Lace, (see
short row shawl photo). I worked the bind
off across the different sections of the
shawl to enhance the boundaries between
the lace panels and the stockinette
sections.
I’ve continued to play around with the mid
row bind off to see what other textured
knit fabric would result. The stair-step
pattern is pictured in this feature as well
as a lacy version.The stair-step pattern is
created by working stacked mid-row bind
offs and every other column is offset by
half the number of rows between motifs.
This would be a fun texture for a cowl or
even a sweater. The lacy versions involve
yarn overs and picking up some of the
extra strands in the back of the bound off
stitches.
KNITmuch | issue 2
9