There are several ways to do short rows and I’ve probably tried most of them—wrap and turn, Japanese, yarn over, make 1—and the one that I prefer has changed over the years. For the past several though, I’ve been a wrap and turn girl. Why? It just seems to be the simplest method for me and never produces a hole.
If you have a different preferred method by all means continue using it! If it looks good and it works for you then that’s all you need.
Wrap & Turn on a knit row
If your pattern says “knit 10, w&t” you would knit 10 sts and then perform the w&t on the 11th stitch as follows:
You’ve now wrapped your stitch (in our example it is stitch number 11) and the working yarn is in the correct place for you to begin working the next row.
Wrap & Turn on a purl row
If your pattern says “purl 10, w&t” you would purl 10 sts and then perform the w&t on the 11th stitch as follows:
You’ve now wrapped your stitch (in our example it is stitch number 11) and the working yarn is in the correct place for you to begin knitting the next row.
IMPORTANT: You DO NOT pick up wraps if you’re working in garter stitch.
Hi, I’m working a pattern that says purl to last 5 stitches, w&t, knit to end. Turn. Purl to last 10 stitches, w&t.continue in this matter, w&t on the WS every 5 stitches until you have 5 stitches remaining”
So I purl til 5 stitches, w&t, knit to end, turn, purl to 10 stitches, w&t. Then I am lost…every time I w&t do I knit to the end or count another 5 stitches and w&t again? And what does it mean by continue until 5 stitches remain?
Thank you I’m so lost! I’ve tried emailing the pattern maker but haven’t had a response.
Each time you’re on a WS row you purl 5 sts before the last time you w&t. So you’re creating a diagonal wedge. Since you’re moving closer to the edge, at some point you’ll be just a few sts from it.
Does that make sense?
This is probably a very ridiculous question but I’m making a hat that uses wrap and turn. After two sets of wrapping and turning I have two less stitches than when I cast on. (36 to 34). Does this method result in a decrease or have I messed up? I am wrapping and turning last stitch and then up to a total of 15 wrapped stitches. Next panel repeats with 13 wrapped stitches being picked up. I hope this is clear! Thanks!
Unfortunately, no, it doesn’t change the stitch count.
Do you want to explain what you did and maybe we can figure out where you’re going wrong?
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I kinda thought you might say that! I’m going to rip back to where I picked up the wrap and stitch to see if that is where I goofed. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try explaining what I’m doing!
I am knitting a child’ romper which is calling for short rows, I have never heard of this or done it before and am using a circular needle. My pattern says: Back shaping: working back and forth beg shaping back as follows, work 41 sts, turn, sl first st and tighten it slightly, work 81 sts, then turn. Cont working short-row shaping in this manner, with 8 fewer sts each time 4 times on each side. What does this mean?
Thank You!!!!!!!
The short rows are part of the Wooble part of the scarf I believe- lol- there are 3 sets of them around scarf.
I think there is an error on the count but I couldnt really get much info from designer- but she said it didnt really make any difference but she has stated on her pattern – 11 between short rows.
So I guess I will Knit to 50 Sl1 then knit 120 instead of 119. I will subtract 6,6,6 etc until I reach thr eleven short rows.
If you have anymore tips for me I would love to hear them!
If you don’t – I want to thank you so very much for helping me!
My only other comment is that you DON’T pick up the wrap when working short rows in garter stitch.
Good luck!
You’re right! And yes, I believe that’s what the pattern is asking you to do. Like I said, I’m not familiar with the pattern but I believe this is the case.
FYI, I did look at the pics on Ravelry but I couldn’t really tell what the cowl was and what the short rows were there for.
Okay I got that part but what I’m trying to figure out is how can I have 119 between !
If I’m knitting 50 turn work Sl1 knit 119 turn work SL1 then i don’t have 119 between Slipped- I have 118 between . Should I knit 120 ?
Hi- I’m working on the Weeble Wooble Cowl- I have follow pattern but it’s not coming out right. I contacted Designer on Raveley and she just said if it doesn’t match its not a big deal.
The pattern is worked in Garter Stitch- Knit 50, turn work, Sl1 then knit 119 , turn work, SL1 , then knit to 5 Stitches before end of row. Continue doing this until you have 11 stitches in between. Its not coming out to 11.
I’m confused on the the 5th stitch from EOR. I don,t know if that is 5 Stitches or 6 before the SL1 from last row!
I’m not familiar with the pattern.
But, I would think it’s 5 sts bef the Sl1. So you’d turn when you have this on your needles. SL-k-k-k-k. However, that doesn’t work out to have 11 between. It does if you have SL-k-k-k-k-k so I think that’s what you should do. So, knit until 5 sts bef the slipped st.
Does this help?
Hi there!
Yes that does help but when I draw this out on a piece of paper I’m get 9 stitches in between.
I’m knitting to 50 turn work – Sl1 then knit 119 turn work Sl1 then knit until 5 stitches before Slip Stitch turn work and SL1 continue till 11 stitches!
Ugh- apparently I’m skipping something very simple ! IDK.
Can you tell me how you got 11 Stitches Between
so, the important thing is Sl1, k119. so you have 119 sts between the slipped sts.
If you repeatedly subtract 6 (K5, Sl1) from 119 you’ll eventually get to 11. You’ll get 119, 113, 107…23, 17, 11)
Does that work for you?
So when I knit 50 turn sl1 and k119 – I’m counting that slip stitch ?
No. You start with 119 between the slipped sts.
Then you knit until there are 5 knit sts before the slipped st. So, on the left needle you’ll have SL – K – K – K – K – K. This is where you turn.
Hi! My patterns says : Next two rows : Knit 14, turn and knit to the end.
Do I follow this once or twice ? Two rows?
It’s a bit unclear to me what the pattern is asking you to do. Those instructions span 2 rows but I’m not positive what it wants you to do.
Can you email the designer?
Thinking about it some more, I think those are the two rows. Otherwise you’d have a stitch wrapped twice which is very unusual.
Thanks!! I’m going to contact Debbie Bliss but think you are right. Cheers 🙂
Hi, I’m confused about the pattern I’m working on. It’s in a chart form and the shirt row knitting is indicated like this “2-6-12” which translates: “every two rows, knit to the last 6 sts, wrap and turn; do this 12 times”. Does this mean that I should pick up and knit the wrapped stitch and then continue knitting the last 6 sts for 2 rows? Or should I leave the last 6 stitches unworked?
Here’s the pattern: I’m working on the left back chart.
https://gosyo.co.jp/english/pattern/eHTML/ePDF/1303/651cd_Silk_Rosa_Dolman_Cardigan.pdf
Since it’s wrap AND turn, you stop working the row at that point. While I don’t know the pattern itself, I think you’ll progressively work 6 fewer sts for each short row. So you’ll be 6 sts from the end, then 12, etc.
I just realized the actual pattern is in the link. Looking at the schematic, what I thought is correct. Every short row you work 6 less sts.
Thank you so much!