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Increases add live stitches to your knitted rows. This is useful in shaping knitwear. Gloves and mittens, for example, use increases to shape around the base of the thumb. Adding increases along one edge of a knit tube creates a set of stitches that make room for the thumb; this is commonly referred to as a “gusset.”

The “make one” increases are often used to add stitches to rows. You can create a new live stitch by picking up the strand of yarn between two stitches and working into it. This will expand your work and make it wider.

Make One Left (M1L):

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to the “make one left” (M1L) increase.

Make One Right (M1R):

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to the “make one right” (M1R) increase.

Once you have shaped the thumb opening of a glove or mitten, you will usually be instructed to slip the thumb stitches onto a stitch holder. In the next lesson I will show you how.

At the beginning of your knit rounds, there will likely be a small jog near your slipknot. When you weave in the cast on tail on a round knit project, you can fix the jog and hide the slipknot. Use a darning needle to sew the loose end into the project, while doing your best to match the pattern you’ve knit. Then, tie in your loose ends to hide your ends and anchor your yarn in place.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 1:

Thread the loose end through the eye of a darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 2:

Turn the work so that the cast-on edge of the work is facing you and the top of the project is facing down. Near the jog on this edge, locate the slipknot, which was your first cast-on stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 3:

Insert the tip of the darning needle down through the stitch directly behind the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 4:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 5:

Insert the tip of the darning needle down and through the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 6:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 7:

Guide the tip of the darning needle under the edge of the work and toward the front of the work.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 8:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through to the outside of your work.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 9:

Locate the loop just behind your slipknot on the backside of your work and insert your darning needle tip down and through it.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 10:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the stitch. 

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 11:

Take the darning needle off the yarn tail.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 12:

Inspect your yarn tail by untwisting it a bit, near your work. Identify the individual yarn plies and count them. Use the tip of your darning needle to help you split the plies into two equal sections. With the four-ply yarn shown, the plies should be split so there are two on each side.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 13:

Gently separate the two halves of the yarn with your darning needle by sliding it out toward the end of the tail. Take care not to break the strands by pulling too quickly or roughly.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 14:

Once the tail is split in two, set one half aside and thread the other half through the eye of your darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 15:

With the darning needle, sew this half of the tail around the knit stitch that it is coming out from under. Do this by bringing your needle tip under and through the other side of the knit stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 16:

Pull the tail through, only tightly enough to match the pattern of your knitting. Do not pull too tightly.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 17:

Remove the tail from the darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 18:

Lay the halves of the yarn tail out in opposite directions. One side should point right, the other should point left.

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 19:

Tie two small interlocking knots. (See this link for more specific instructions.)  

Weave in Cast on Tail to Finish Round, Step 20:

Using the sharpest scissors you have available, clip off both halves of the yarn tail, one at a time, as closely as possible to the knot, without cutting the knot itself.

Next, let’s learn to make knitting increases. The “Make One” increases add stitches to your rows. Learning these stitches will allow you to shape the thumbs of gloves and more.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 1:

Thread the loose end through the eye of a darning needle.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 2:

Insert the tip of the darning needle into the middle of the hole at the top of your work.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 3:

While turning your work inside-out, pull the darning needle and yarn tail through to the back of the work.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 4:

Locate the stitches that form a ring around the hole at the top of your work. Thread the tip of the darning needle through three or four stitches in a counterclockwise direction.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 5:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the stitches.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 6:

Take the darning needle off the yarn tail.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 7:

Inspect your yarn tail by untwisting it a bit, near your work. Identify the individual yarn plies and count them. Use the tip of your darning needle to help you split the plies into two equal sections. With the four-ply yarn shown, the plies should be split so there are two on each side.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 8:

Gently separate the two halves of the yarn with your darning needle by sliding it out toward the end of the tail. Take care not to break the strands by pulling too quickly or roughly.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 9:

Once the tail is split in two, set one half aside and thread the other half through the eye of your darning needle.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 10:

With the darning needle, sew this half of the tail under and through several of the stitches that form a circle at the top of the work, continuing in a counterclockwise direction.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 11:

Pull the yarn through the stitches with the darning needle, then continue sewing it through all the stitches in a counterclockwise direction until you reach the other half of the yarn tail.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 12:

Remove the tail from the darning needle. Your end is now prepared so that when you tie your knot, you will be anchoring it inside the top ring of stitches.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 13:

Lay the halves of the yarn tail out in opposite directions. One side should point right, the other should point left.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 14:

Tie two small interlocking knots. (See this link for more specific instructions.)  

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 15:

Using the sharpest scissors you have available, clip off both halves of the yarn tail, one at a time, as closely as possible to the knot, without cutting the knot itself.

Weave in Hat Top Tail, Step 16:

Stretch the top of your work to help the knot settle into the project. It will hide itself amongst the other stitches.

Next, let’s learn to make knitting increases. The “Make One” increases add stitches to your rows. Learning these stitches will allow you to shape the thumbs of gloves and more.

When a pattern instructs you to “draw yarn through the remaining stitches,” it is asking you to weave the yarn tail through your final live stitches. This will remove your stitches from the needles and will also keeping them from running. Using a darning needle (or blunt tapestry needle) to slip the stitches onto the yarn tail makes this bind off easier to complete. Once you have threaded the live stitches onto the yarn tail, pulling on the end brings the stitches together and closes the hole at the top of your work.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 1:

Measure the working yarn coming from your knitting and find a point that is roughly eight to ten inches away from your needles (or the length your pattern instructs). With sharp scissors, cut the working yarn at that point.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 2:

Thread the loose end through the eye of a darning needle.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 3:

Locate the next live stitch that would have been worked if you had continued knitting your pattern. Starting with this first live stitch, insert the tip of the darning needle into the front leg of the stitch from front to back.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 4:

Slip the stitch onto the darning needle (slip the stitch purlwise).

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 5:

Continue slipping live stitches onto your darning needle until it fills up. Then, carefully pull the darning needle and yarn tail through the stitches.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 6:

In the same manner, slip all the remaining stitches onto the darning needle. 

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 7:

Thread the remaining stitches onto the yarn by pulling the darning needle through them.

Draw Tail Thru Remaining Stitches, Step 8:

Pull the yarn tail away from your work to secure the stitches; this will bring the stitches closer together and close the hole at the top of your work.

Next, let’s learn to make knitting increases. The “Make One” increases add stitches to your rows. Learning these stitches will allow you to shape the thumbs of gloves and more.

After knitting a hat in the round, you will want to take it off the needles, then weave in your loose ends. Instead of “bind off,” many knitting patterns worked in the round will use the instruction “draw yarn through the remaining stitches.” To do this, you will use a darning needle to anchor your final stitches with your loose end. After taking your hat off the needles, you can use your yarn tails to close gaps and smooth edges before you tie them off.

Draw Yarn Thru Remaining Stitches:

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to “drawing yarn through the remaining stitches” to bind off hat tops.

Weave in the Top Tail:

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to weave in the top tail on knit hats.

Weave in the Cast-on Tail:

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to weave in the cast on tail on knits worked in the round.

Next, let’s learn to make knitting increases. The “Make One” increases add stitches to your rows. Learning these stitches will allow you to shape the thumbs of gloves and more.

ssk, Step 1:

Slip two stitches knitwise with the yarn in back (sl2kwyib). To slip a stitch knitwise, hold the working yarn behind your stitches. Insert your needle into the live stitch as if to knit it (insert your right needle into the front leg of the stitch from the front to the back).

ssk, Step 2:

Do not work into a stitch that is being slipped. Instead, slide the stitch off the left needle and onto the right needle. Remember to slip two live stitches before moving on.

ssk, Step 3:

Insert your left-hand needle tip, from left to right, into the front legs of the two stitches you have just slipped onto your right-hand needle.

ssk, Step 4:

Bring the right-hand needle tip over the working yarn and begin to form a counterclockwise loop around it.

ssk, Step 5:

Pull the loop on your right-hand needle tip through the stitches on your left needle.

ssk, Step 6:

Slide the stitches you have just worked into off your left needle, allowing the new stitch to remain on your right needle. Because you have joined two stitches together, you will now have one less live stitch on your knitting needles.

After you learn to slip, slip, knit, you can learn to knit two together. Find the tutorial here.

k2tog, Step 1:

Insert the tip of your right-hand needle into the front legs of the first two live stitches on your left-hand needle from front to back.

k2tog, Step 2:

Bring the right needle tip over the working yarn and begin to form a counterclockwise loop around it.

k2tog, Step 3:

Pull the loop on your right needle tip through the stitches on your left needle.

k2tog, Step 4:

Slide the stitches you have just worked into off your left needle, allowing the new stitch to remain on your right needle. Because you have joined two stitches together, you will now have one less live stitch on your knitting needles.

Now that you can decrease, you can make a hat. If you want to work on shorter circular needles, you’ll need to know how to switch knitting methods so you can finish decreasing at the top. The next lesson will show you how to switch from circular needles to double point needles while knitting in the round.

When you knit two stitches together in evenly spaced intervals, you can create a gentle swirl effect when closing the tops of hats.

Slip, Slip, Knit Decrease (ssk):

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to the slip, slip, knit decrease (ssk).

Knit Two Together Decrease (k2tog):

Click here to be directed to the step-by-step written guide to the knit two together decrease (k2tog).

Now that you can decrease, you can make a hat. If you want to work on shorter circular needles, you’ll need to know how to switch knitting methods so you can finish decreasing at the top. The next lesson will show you how to switch from circular needles to double point needles while knitting in the round.