Great Effects

When I first retired from machine knitting I renewed my interest in dressmaking,and started making shirts and trousers for myself. It was then I discovered the wonderful trimmings one could now obtain in haberdashery and dress fabric shops which I realised could be used to great effect on knitwear. Having been absent from the industry for a number of years, I was also impressed with the number of novelty yarns now available from people like Yeoman and Uppingham yarns which can also be used to trim, rather than knit with. I decided to experiment and came up with various ideas which I am sure you will find useful.

For example look at sample No. 1,

Sample 1

this effect is achieved by leaving the desired number of needles at intervals out of work so a ladder is formed. Then simply thread the yarn into a large eyed tapestry needle (I used a double eyed transfer tool which works really well) pass it under one thread, miss two and repeat the process. A different look can be achieved simply by missing three threads, what could be simpler! In fact the first row I have used a ribbon yarn by Yeoman and the second row a very similar yarn by Uppingham. Of course you can use any narrow ribbon or try a velvet ribbon, knit a sample and experiment.

Sample No.2 is achieved by transferring a stitch to the adjacent needle,

Sample 2

knit 2 rows then transfer the same stitch, knit 2 rows etc. then simply weave in and out up the row . I have left the one row empty so you can see what it looks like. In fact if you left just 4 needles between the transfer and wove alternate rows you would create a very attractive lacy panel. If you want to weave across the knitting simply transfer every other stitch as you would for a picot edge and continue knitting.

For sample No.3 I purchased this lovely braid for just 44 pence per metre.

Sample 3

For the first column of braid, I transferred a stitch to adjacent needle, knit 2 rows, transferred the same stitch then knit 4 rows etc. For the second half of this column the process was reversed weaving under the 4 rows and over threads, this creates a completely different look. For the second column of this sample, the braid was simply stitched on, if you look close you can see the thread.

On sample No.4 all the examples are sewn on.

Sample 4

The broderie anglaise braid normally has ribbon threaded up the centre, instead I have sewn it directly onto the sample by inserting the needle or bodkin into one hole catching knitting underneath before coming out through next hole. Again I used the space dyed ribbon yarn from Uppingham Yarns. Many yarns can be used to put this braid on, narrow ribbon, gold fingering used two or fourfold, the same yarn as the sample used fourfold the list is endless. The lace sample is simply stitched on as is the fringe. All would look good placed at the base of the rib on a V neck making sure you mitre it at the point of the V.

For sample No.5 I could not resist this lovely guipure lace type braid which is just stitched on using the background yarn.

Sample 5

I placed it on a piece of knitting so I could calculate how many stitches would be required between the cables, in this case it was 21 sts. The cables were highlighted by doing a running stitch up the stitch each side of the cable using a white yarn of suitable thickness to tie in with the white of the braid.

For more trimming ideas see the cable magic article.

Carl