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How to Sew a Kitchener Stitch (a.k.a Graft Your Ends!)

November 3, 2014 2 Comments

How to Sew a Kitchener Stitch (a.k.a Graft Your Ends!) - Video Knitting Tutorial at Hands Occupied

Sometimes a knitting project requires sewing. If you’ve been knitting for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed that you have to weave in ends. I prefer to weave in my knit ends with a tapestry (yarn) needle since I feel like it goes a little faster. This is probably the most common form sewing takes in my knitting. The second most common sewing action that happens in my knitting is the kitchener stitch. Also known as grafting your knitting, the kitchener stitch lets you join two ends of knitting, and if done right, it looks seamless.

I’m all about cowls, and the kitchener stitch is a cowl knitting lover’s BFF, especially if that cowl knitter hates knitting in the round. Knitting in the round is fine with me, but sometimes as I imagine a cowl pattern I want the stitches to lay in such a way that knitting in the round won’t work. That is when I know I’ve got some kitchener in my future. And if you are newer to knitting or, like I said, simply hate knitting in the round, grafting is the way to make infinity scarves that will, due to their lack of seams, have a true infinity effect.

All of that said, I’ve done a photo-based tutorial on the kitchener stitch in the past (you can see it at the bottom of this post), but I had a request for it also in video form, which totally makes sense. Kitchener stitch is really useful, but kind of awkward to learn at first. For today, I’ve only done a right handed kitchener stitch tutorial because even when I knit left handed, I fiddle around with the loops and use a right handed kitchener stitch to graft my ends. If someone would like me to make a proper left-handed tutorial for this, just holler and I’ll make it happen. ;)

Hands Occupied Patterns Featuring Grafting

If you want to see the kitchener stitch in action, here are two cowls I’ve designed that use it. They both knit up pretty quick and have video tutorials for how to knit the stitches featured in each if you’re looking to try a new stitch in addition to the kitchener. Happy knitting!

Faux Woven Cowl

Knitted Faux Woven Cowl - Free Knitting Pattern at Hands Occupied

Brioche Cowl

Brioche Knitting & A Brioche Cowl Pattern at handsoccupied.com

Filed Under: Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: grafting, joining ends, kitchener, kitchener stitch, live stitches, provisional cast on, video tutorial

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Marayla Wallace

    February 14, 2017 at 3:32 pm

    I love your videos! They are easy to understand and fun. I especially like the music in this Kitchener stitch video.

    I made a Brioche cowl, using the provisional cast-on you suggest. So the beginning number of stitches and ending number of stitches are different, but I thought I could count the ‘x’ stitches at the ending as 1 stitch, as in the Brioche stitch, and end up with the same number of stitches as the beginning of the cowl. In joining them with the Kitchener stitch, something went wrong, even though I was trying to be careful. I noticed some big, gaping holes, so I un-knitted back to the start (or tried to, I need to read your instructions on fixing mistakes in Brioche!). By the way, this is a möbius cowl, so maybe that screws up the orientation of the stitches too much to do this?

    My question is, what is the trick for joining the 2 ends with the Kitchener stitch? Do I need to add a row of Brioche at the beginning? Do I decrease the Brioche row at the end to be the smaller number of stitches like at the beginning?

    Should I just join the ends with a mattress stitch or something?

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 15, 2017 at 10:27 am

      Good question, Marayla! Yes, for the kitchener stitch to work, there needs to be the same number of stitches on both ends of the piece. If you want to get creative, you could work two of the stitches on the longer edge into one stitch on the shorter end, but that could get tricky. For a more seamless look, I’d recommend decreasing the end with the larger stitch count to match the shorter end, which will taper the longer end more gradually into the shorter for that close-to-seamless look. Let me know if I can explain this better!

      Thanks for reaching out,
      Heidi :)

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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