Ahh, a wonderful technique that no knitter should be without. Short rows make curves or soft angles on the mostly straight-edged, flat-paneled knitting landscape. They accomplish this by partially knitting an existing row to a pre-determined stitch count, then turning the work and working back to the same (or another) count, and turning again. So really, you are adding shaped rows within the body of the garment without increasing stitches, or casting-on more stitches. Most importantly, you're not changing the overall shape of the exterior of the garment.
Short row shaping can eliminate the step effect you get when you bind off shoulders. Or they can make sock heels elegantly curved. OR, and this is where we are going to live for a while, short rows can add some curve if you got the nerve.
A little cuppage created right into your garment might just be the difference between gaping armholes, an un-intended ride-up by your belly button, or having to make a size larger that fits your chest but sags on your hips and shoulders, because the garment is just too big. This is an easy, sophisticated, non-obtrusive technique.
The wonderful thing about this concept is that you can do this on all your designs that have tightness in the front - short row a custom-fit in the area about 2-3 inches below any armhole shaping.
If you still are having trouble wrapping your brain around this, try this technique out with some scrap yarn first on a swatch using about 30 stitches. Once you get the hang of it, it is like truly a eureka moment. Very easy to do, very tricky to explain.
No comments:
Post a Comment