How to Short Row on Knitting Machine
Knitting machines are incredible time savers by giving you the ability to knit a row in a matter of seconds. Learning to use hand knitting techniques on a machine presents the knitter with particular challenges. Short row works the same in principal but can be difficult to learn to execute when using a carriage instead of knitting needles. For this project, knit a practice piece out of yarn you're not particularly fond of and don't mind parting with. Practicing the technique on a piece that won't matter will give you the confidence you need to apply when making your next pattern that calls for short rows.
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Instructions
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Cast on 40 stitches and start knitting. Place your weights on your knitting and go until you have about 20 rows.
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Slide out the last ten stitches on the right side of your row as far out as they will go. This will prevent the carriage from knitting with these keys. Pass your carriage over the bed and knit the remaining 30 stitches.
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Leave your carriage on the right side of your work. Take the yarn and slide it under the first stitch key that is extended. This creates your short row loop that you would normally do by hand by wrapping the yarn in between the last two stitches on the row. Leave the remaining yarn in place on top. Push the carriage back to the left.
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Push out two more keys on the right. Push the carriage to the right and take the yarn and place it under the bottom of the first extended key again creating a short row loop in between two unused stitches. Push the carriage back to the left, and pull out two more keys on the right. Repeat this process until you have about ten stitches left and your carriage is on the left-handed side of the work.
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Push the extended keys back until the yarn just touches the latch gate -- about three-quarters of the way in. Push the carriage across and back again. You have just completed the short rows. You will notice that the knitting is much shorter on the right than on the left.
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Tips & Warnings
If your carriage is advanced and has a "holding" setting, you can use this to help you short row by setting it to "H" for holding the stitches that you want to short row instead of knitting them. Consult your user's manual for more complete instructions.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit knitted texture image by Nataliya Galkina from Fotolia.com
