This season, Rowan brings us a range of circular
knitting options to suit all tastes and experience
levels, from small accessories such as hats, mitts
and cowls, to skirts and jumpers. For those new to
working in the round, the specific details on the
techniques of circular knitting have been covered
in “How to Knit in the Round”, in the Rowan
Autumn 18 Newsletter. But what if you want to
take one of your favourite Rowan patterns and knit
it in the round instead of back and forth? Just as
we would when substituting yarn or customising
the size, this process needs careful planning and
swatching and there are some general principles
that we can follow when converting from flat
to circular: -
H OW TO WO R K
Flat and circular knitting
by Katherine Lymer
One of the characteristics of knitting I love is its versatility:
how we can find techniques and styles that really work
for us. Be it the needles that we choose to work with
and then how we hold them; the yarns we love to knit
with and wear–their fibres, weight and colour; the types of
garments we like to knit and how we create them. There
are very few absolute wrongs in knitting – but there is a
plethora of differences that allow each of us to personalise
and further embrace our craft.
So it is with garment construction. Over the last decade,
knitting in the round has enjoyed a resurgence, with
knitters advocating its advantages over knitting back and
forth–all of which, you’re no doubt familiar with. The
main argument for circular knitting is that it eliminates
the need for seaming and so, when you’ve finished the
knitting, you’ve pretty much finished the garment. This
is true, but it makes a series of assumptions that may not
always be applicable to your specific project.
The first of these is that, somehow, seaming is “undesirable.”
This may be the view of the knitter (especially those
among us who find this the least enjoyable part of the
process) but it’s not always the best approach for the
desired finish. Some garments need structure and this
is particularly true of large, cabled or textured fabrics–a
style for which Rowan is well known. This does not mean
that seams have to be visible or bulky, or that they’re even
that hard to sew, but they can be essential in maintaining
form, and this is especially true when knitting fabrics in
non-wool fibres. Alpaca and cotton have a tendency to
“drop” (grow lengthways) and garments knitted in these
often embrace seams and shaping to help prevent this.
Fibres that produce beautiful drape, such as linen, will
benefit from being knitted back and forth as they tend to
twist when worked in the round and so hang awkwardly
when worn. Seams can be vital in providing structure and
stability and, ultimately, in maintaining the longevity of
our handknits.
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Newsletter October 2019 | Autumn Winter
Knitting back and forth allows us to create individual
pieces of shaped, flat, fabric that can be seamed together
in a process not dissimilar to dressmaking: After knitting
(cutting) the separate pieces, all are pinned and blocked
(pressed) before being carefully seamed (sewn) together,
making a well-fitting and structured garment. Tailored
clothing (with fitted armholes and sleeve caps) can
be replicated when knitting in the round, but require
short-row techniques that are more complicated than
their standard decrease counterparts–and they also require
purling, which counters any “non-purling” rationale that
some knitters may reference for preferring to work in the
round in the first place!
Another cited advantage of working in the round is to
achieve a more consistent gauge as both the front and
back are worked at the same time. Poor tension can be
due to a lack of knitting experience, but it can also be
due to changes in tension when working knit and purl
stitches. Methods to reduce/eliminate these differences
are known (e.g. pulling the yarn tighter as you purl
or changing the way that you throw the yarn when
knitting / purling) but, for some knitters, they may prefer
to eradicate the need to purl altogether by working
stocking-stitch in the round.
1 Ensure the fibre you’re working with will
maintain its shape and drape without the structure
provided by seams.
2 Convert the stitch patterns (either in chart
form or written) and swatch to compare to the
stated tension.
This argument can be extended to Fair Isle / stranded
knitting as working in the round can provide more
consistent tension and easier yarn “management”
(techniques for simultaneously holding two colours),
creating even stitches and strands/floats and, ultimately, a
constantly smooth fabric. We can see this being used to
its full advantage in “Lingmoor Cowl” and “Skiddaw
Boot Toppers” in British Made by Lisa Richardson and
“Knut” from New Nordic Mens by ARNE & CARLOS.
Intarsia, however, remains predominately a technique for
working flat. While there are “fixes” for incorporating it
into circular knitting (e.g. converting the colour work to
stranded knitting), these can have serious consequences
(e.g. increased yarn yardage) and aren’t always straight-
forward to implement.
3 Determine the construction method, including:
i its order (top-down or bottom-up) - ideally
ensuring it matches the direction of knitting in the
original pattern;
ii sleeves – will they be knitted by picking-up
stitches at the armhole or worked from the cuff up
and sewn/joined into the yoke at a later point (such
as in Lisa Richardson’s “Bennett” in Magazine 66)?
iii necklines/shoulders and other finishing details
– will these be worked at the same time as the main
body or added later by picking-up stitches?
4 Amend the stitch count by removing the seam
stitches from each flat piece – checking whether or
not this will adversely affect the overall fit (removing
four stitches in 4ply is less likely to alter the finished
size than removing four stitches in a heavier bulky/
worsted weight yarn).
5 Rewrite the full pattern instructions.
For consolidation of these techniques for circular
and flat knitting, please consult the Rowan calendar
for an appropriate workshop near you.
ROWAN CALENDAR
Newsletter October 2019 | Autumn Winter
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