Grafting, or Kitchener Stitch, is a way to join the live stitches of two pieces of knit fabric so that there’s no visible seam. It can be employed instead of sewing or the 3-needle bind off, in all sorts of helpful situations such as shoulder or underarm seams, or an infinity scarf. You’ll need the live stitches divided equally on on two separate needles, a yarn needle, and a length of yarn at least 2 times the length of the finished seam – either a separate piece of yarn, or even better, the yarn tail from the last row.
Hold the needles parallel, with WS facing together; doublecheck to make sure both have the same number of stitches:
Setup 1 – insert yarn needle into the first stitch on the front needle purlwise, leaving the stitch on the needle:
Setup 2 – insert yarn needle into the first stitch on the back needle knitwise, leaving the stitch on the needle:
The two setup steps are worked only once. Pull the yarn gently through the stitches, making sure it travels underneath the needle tips, never over them.
1. Insert yarn needle into the first stitch on the front needle knitwise, and slip the stitch off the needle:
2. Insert yarn needle into next stitch on the front needle purlwise, leaving the stitch on the needle:
3. Insert yarn needle into the first stitch on the back needle purlwise, and slip the stitch off the needle:
4. Insert yarn needle into next stitch on the back needle knitwise, leaving the stitch on the needle:
Repeat steps 1-4 until only 1 stitch remains on each front and back needle, then repeat steps 1 and 3. As you work, pull the yarn gently through the stitches, stopping every so often to adjust the graft by pulling on the grafting yarn. A loose tension can be tightened up stitch by stitch at the end, but pulling too tightly will cause the fabric to distort. Graft all the stitches, adjust the tension as needed and then block to enjoy your seamless join.
If you need to graft garter stitch, it’s even simpler; my Grafting Garter Tutorial takes you through the steps.