Teach Yourself Visually Knitting

Grafting—which is a good choice for unshaped shoulders, toes of socks, and mitten tips—involves
joining an open row of stitches to another open row of stitches or to another edge. The stitches are
joined while they’re still on the knitting needle, and the final result looks like a row of stockinette
stitch. The two grafting methods covered here are Kitchener stitch and the three-needle bind-off.

To prepare to join edges with Kitchener stitch, put each set of stitches onto a knitting
needle.

1 Using yarn that matches your knitting, thread a tapestry needle with a strand that is
roughly twice the length of the seam.

2 Lay both pieces of knitting on a table, with the wrong sides down and the needles
running parallel to each other, with the tips facing to the right.

3 Insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the lower needle as if to purl; pull the
yarn through until only about 6 inches remain. Leave the stitch on the needle.

Kitchener Stitch

Graft

Seams

4 Insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the upper needle as if to knit and pull
the yarn through snugly, leaving the stitch on the needle.

5 Insert the tapestry needle into the first a b
stitch on the lower needle again, this time
as if to knit (a); then slip this stitch off the
needle (b).