Here's a picture of one of the armhole steeks with the center stitch outlined for clarification:
A crocheted steek involves using a small hook (size 3 steel hook in my case) to make two parallel rows of single crochet, working through the adjoining stitch and the center stitch. The hairiness of shetland style fibers helps hold this all together.The hook enters the middle of one flanking stitch of the center stitch and emerges in the center stitch. A loop is drawn up and the single crochet stitch is completed enclosing the two halves of the two steek stitches. All the pictures except the first one get bigger if you click 'em.
Work crochet on one side of the steek and tie off the yarn. Then start on the other side to complete two tight parallel rows.
Time to cut! Use sharp scissors and cut up between the two rows of crochet.
You end up with something like this. The bound edges naturally roll to the inside of the work. After you pick up and knit bands, sleeves, or facings, tack these edges to the inside with your yarn. This will help strengthen the cut area.
Here is the knitting up of stitches for the front band:
9 comments:
Okay, so I've done the whole steek thing before, though never so eloquently using nice crochet stitches. What a great lesson! Thank you! I have to say, however, that viewing the photos in which you were cutting made me extremely nervous.....I kept thinking you might be cutting through both layers of the fabric, and I think I'll sit down now so that my blood pressure has a chance to get back to normal.
Wow! You made this look easy. Thanks for the sage advice.
Ruinwen
:)
I do believe I actually learned something today. I may actually need to knit up a swatch or two and try this for myself. Seeing that very clear, detailed and not too over-the-top explanation suddenly put it all totally into place for me.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Elizabeth, for taking the time to do that! (Well, I mean, I know you were going to do the vest anyway, but… oh heck, you know what I mean…)
If I smoked, I'd be smoking right now. Very satisfying steektorial there. I've never steeked myself, so I've only ever seen the sewn version. I much prefer the crocheted version you did there!
Dangit, now you're giving me all these crazy ideas again. Now you don't have to use this technique *only* on Fair Isle right?
Bezzie, you can absolutely use a steek and cut any knitting, not just Fair Isle. People tend to use it on Fair Isle the most because they really want to work in the round to avoid purling back in two colors, and there's just more need. But you can make a solid color cardigan in the round and cut open the front, neckline, or armholes.
eeep... cutting my knitting always makes me nervous!!! Thanks for the great step by step pics!
Great pics! Thanks for the lesson!
oh, you did a crochet steek - yeah and thank you. Must go study it.
Wow, very impressive! I wonder if the word steek is really a combination of "stop" and "eek!" That might have been my reaction the first time I saw it.
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