How-To’s Day: Knitting an I-cord edging on as you go!

1. Welcome one and all! I hope you are back and eager to learn a new trick today! It was fun figuring this one out and I hope you find it useful and enjoy it too! We can solidly blame the development of this method on Elizabeth Zimmerman. I bet she never imagined that her ideas for knit on I-cord would ever be applied to the knitting loom. I can say though that I have had a definite spark of interest in reading up on her works to learn more! So let’s get to it!

Included in today’s tutorial are and I-cord cast on, I-cord edging knit on as you work the peice. This can be done on both edges, or one edge as you need it, and an I-cord cast off so that the edging goes all the way around the peice.

Here is what it looks like:

(Click on Photos for larger view.)

This method can be used on any knitting loom or rake, (*or needles) you simply need to use yarn appropriate for your particular loom. I have made the samples with a garter stitch pattern in the center, this really brings out the I-cord edging and makes it loom nice. I am sure it can be done with stockinette stitch, however the edging will not be as pronounced. My thought is that it will help with curling found when doing stockinette a bit as well, but I have yet to try it. If you are using self striping yarn, the stripes will just go along for the rid right up to the edges and blend right in, unlike an edging applied after the fact!

So please try it out and let me know what you think! Just click here!

THE KNITTY GRITTY:

I understand that many of you will want to use this technique in patterns that you write. I encourage this, however please follow these simple rules:

1. Please do print out a copy of the tutorial for your personal use, if you are teaching a class and wish to print out multiple copies simply email me and ask.  

2. Do not copy and paste the tutorial into any document, or post it on any  website or blog without my permission, again a simple email request will suffice.

3. If you wish to use this techique in a pattern, I prefer that you refer the users of your pattern to this tutorial, rather than requesting to reprint it.

*For my needle knitting friends: this works as well by just bringing the working yarn to the front of  your work and slipping your stitches as if to purl on the right edge of your work and the opposite on the left edge! So you all try it too!*