Knots and bobbles add texture and interest to knitted garments and accessories, but there is no denying the fact that making them interrupts the flow of knitting. Bobbles, with their multi-row construction, can be such a distraction that people avoid adding them, which is a shame as they do look fabulous particularly tucked in amidst cables and other textured stitches. I find knots, however, are much easier to knit and look just as effective as bobbles, whilst taking less time to make and cause less disruption to the flow of knitting.
Knots can be made in any size, just use an odd number of stitches – 3 for small, 5 for medium, 7 for enormous (depending upon your yarn weight). They can be placed in the body of a garment or used as a type of picot along a cast off edge to add stretch and interest. Here I describe how I make the small cast off variety, followed by the larger surface detail knots. The basic principal is the same for any size of knot, edge or body.
Small Knots on a Cast Off Edge
Cast off up to the point where the small knot will be made, marked with a calabash pin. The cast off stitch on the RH needle, here, waits its turn.
Purl, knit, purl into the marked stitch (you could used k, p, k depending on the pattern, but purl first and last helps the knot to “sit” on the RS surface)
Reading from the left, pass the 2nd stitch on the RH needle over the 1st
Pass the 3rd stitch over the 1st
Pass the cast off stitch over the remaining knot stitch
The completed small edge knot, with the cast off stitches tucked behind it to enhance its prominence
The completed edge showing a small 3-stitch knot in the centre of the curved edge, flanked by two 5-stitch knots
Close-up of the small 3-stitch knot, an unobtrusive but neat detail on the edge of a cape
Large Knots as Surface Detail
Large knots add texture and interest on the surface of a garment, and I find they are easier to make than bobbles.
At the point where the knot is to be made, (purl, knit, purl, knit, purl) into the stitch designated (you could used (k, p, k, p, k) depending on the pattern, but purl first and last helps the knot to “sit” on the RS surface). Here I am working into a slipped knit stitch.
A clearer view of the five stitches in one
Reading from the left, pass the 2nd stitch on the RH needle over the 1st
Pass the 3rd stitch over the 1st
Pass the 4th stitch over the 1st
Pass the 5th and last stitch over the 1st
The completed large knot
The completed knot after working a few more rows/rounds of the fabric
The samples shown here are of the Yule cape, second in the Wheel of the Year collection of shawls and accessories. The pattern will be published in December 2024.
In the Samhain shawl/cowl pattern, two variations of the lifted increase are used to achieve invisible shaping. Normally, lifted increases are designated either left- or right-leaning; but in Samhain I have chosen a slightly different approach, and this is fully described in the pattern itself. The photo tutorial here is in support of the pattern and is not a substitute for the detailed description given in the pattern. I have named the two increases as m1k and m1p; both are shown here.
M1K
I have reached the increase marker for the i-cord edge, the last stitch I worked was a slip stitch
Lift the purl bump of the i-cord edge stitch with RH needle
Place the stitch untwisted onto the LH needle
Knit into the purl bump through the back loop
M1P
I have reached my increase marker, this time, the last stitch worked was a knit stitch
Lift the purl bump of the i-cord edge stitch with RH needle
Place the stitch onto the LH needle without twisting
I-cord makes a stretchy and effective edging to a shawl, especially when it carries on from an i-cord edge along one side of said shawl. I use this bind off in my Samhain shawl/cowl, and I like the way it curves around to blunt and shape the corner of the shawl. Samhain is a double-layered accessory and for the cast off, in order to avoid flaring, the two layers are treated as one.
This is how it is worked
Knit the first two i-cord edge stitches, slip the third i-cord edge stitch knitwise
The three i-cord edge stitches are now on the RH needle. The next stitch is a knit, so I will slip that also knitwise.
The third i-cord edge stitch and the first (knit) stitch have been knitted together through the back loop – a standard ssk
Pass the three stitches from RH to LH needle without twisting them
Knit the first two i-cord edge stitches again, slip the third knitwise, then treating the next two stitches as one unit, slip them also knitwise
Knit the three slipped stitches together through the back loop
The three stitches on the RH needle are now the i-cord cast off, and the curve of the corner is already evident
Pass the three i-cord stitches back to the LH needle
A few more stitches cast off and the corner has taken shape with a smooth curve
