Wednesday, March 02, 2016

ELONGATED DROP STITCH

STITCH OF THE MONTH - March 2016
The Elongated Drop Stitch is a light and airy stitch pattern that is produced by wrapping the yarn around the needle a few times and then dropping the extra wraps from the needle on the following row. The more times the yarn is wrapped around the needle the longer the elongated stitches.

I found that by gently pulling the fabric lengthwise after knitting the row dropping the wraps will take up the slack and even the stitches. Avoid having a single edge stitch because it will cause the edges to become distorted since there will be less length in the edge stitch than the others in the row. Careful blocking is recommended to even the stitches.

A textured or variegated yarn would create added drama and interest. Also experiment with additional wraps around the needle creating longer dropped stitches but as you increase the number of wraps you may want to increase the number of garter stitch rows to maintain the stability of the fabric.

This is a reversible and decorative stitch that also drapes well making it a good choice for scarves and shawls.



Elongated Drop Stitch
(Any number of stitches)
Row 1 through 5  Knit
Row 6  *K1 wrapping yarn around needle 3 times; repeat from * to end of row.
Note: When working the next "knit" row, knit each stitch allowing the wraps to drop off the needle.
These 6 rows form the Elongated Drop Stitch