Kidsknits - How To: Steeks
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Why would I ever want to use a steek and (shudder) cut my knitting??? While it is possible to use steeks for openings in many types of knitting, the reasons for doing so become most apparent in stranded multi-color knitting styles such as Fair Isle, Nordic, Baltic and others, i.e., styles with extensive patterning where 2 colors (or in some cases, more) are used in each round/row. Here, the advantages are significant: 1) Consistently aligned stitches
Knit and purl stitches tend to slant in slightly different directions. This difference becomes particularly obvious with the colorful motifs of Fair Isle and Nordic knitting. If you knit the bottom half of a sweater in the round and then switch to flat knitting to form the armholes, you're switching from all knit rounds in the bottom half to alternating rows of knitting and purling in the top half. The alternating stitch types can sometimes create a subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) zigzag in the lie of the motifs. While your bottom half was nice and consistent, suddenly, from the armholes up, those pesky purl stitches are slanting the other way every other row and, oh no,
so are your motifs! With some knitters, this can even create a slight change in gauge. Instead, if you steek the armholes and necklines, your steek bridges allow you to keep knitting circularly, round and round, all the way to the top. Your stitches
lie in the same direction each round; your motifs and your gauge are consistent.
2) Its easier to read charts in one consistent direction.
We're used to reading words in one direction. Naturally, it's easier to read knitting charts in one direction, too. That one direction would, of course, be the direction in which you're working. If you resort to purling back every other row, you'll be purling from right to left but reading the chart line from left to right. Instant headache! Fortunately, you can save your brilliant brain for more important things and continue in the round by using a steek.
3) What you see is what you get.
With all the strands in the back of Fair Isle and Nordic knitting, the outside can look significantly different than the inside. If you're working on some elaborate chart work, it can be very hard to keep track of your position on both your knitting and the chart when you're working from the unrecognizable inside. It's far easier to stay on the what you see is what you get outside. To do so, you'll need steeks!
4) Far less tedious weaving in at the end.
We often change colors every round/row or so with Fair Isle or Nordic knitting. That can leave a huge amount of loose ends that must be neatly tucked away once we're done knitting. Yawn! While it is possible to weave them in a bit as you knit along, there's a much faster and neater alternative: sew right over them and cut the darn things off as you cut open your steek.
5)Zooooooooooom!
Most people can knit faster than they can purl. Steeking allows you to use knit stitches exclusively on most every portion of your sweater sometimes, the entire sweater.
6) Decorative detail.
I've developed a new way to finish off a steek - the "covered steek". With a covered steek, you can achieve a very neat, raised edging that gives an interesting finish to any steeked opening. You can see more details on the covered steek below and in these designs:
http://kidsknits.com/newdirections.html ,
http://kidsknits.com/tigerlilyjacket.html .
7) The YIKES!!! Factor. I can still remember how shocked I was when I first heard someone mention that they intentionally cut their knitting. I can also remember how delighted I was when I tried it myself and saw how easily and beautifully it could be done. And now, of course, I still have a great time horrifying newbies with my scissors! ;-) So can you!
Next: How to steek! Previous: Steeks - Introduction Copyright ©2006 Mary Ann Stephens for SkiKnits.com & KidsKnits.com DO NOT DISTRIBUTE |
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