Tutorial Session 9
Short Row Tutorial 9
Cutout Knitting
Cutout Knitting is a term I have invented for a way of knitting that uses spaces between groups of knitted stitches for dramatic effects. This is a very powerful design feature because it is very flexible and does not have the many limitations of traditional lace knitting and unraveling techniques to achieve spacing in knitwear. Cutout knitting uses short rows in an entirely new way. Even if you have not yet completed the other lessons, I recommend trying this as soon as you can, because it can revolutionize your knitting and can be incorporated into any type of garment as a design element.
Here is an example project for you to knit that uses this technique.
Square Cutout Scarf
Step 1: Cast on 19 stitches.
Step 2: Make Square 1.
Row 1: *K3, turn; k1inc1, k2, turn; rep from * 2 more times—6 sts worked
Row 2: K3, bind off next 3 stitches—3 sts rem on right needle
Row 3: Bind off next 1 stitch (for 1-stitch space left between each square)
Step 3: Make Squares 2 to 4.
Row 1: K2, turn; k1inc1, k2, turn;*k3, turn; k1inc1, k2, turn; rep from * 1 more time—6 sts worked
Row 2: K3, bind off next 3 stitches—3 additional sts rem on right needle
Row 3: Bind of next 1 stitch (for 1-stitch space left between each square)
Step 4: Make Square 5.
Row 1: K2, turn; *k3, turn; rep from * 5 more times—15 sts total on needle
Step 5: Join Squares
Row 1: K3, *k1inc1, k2; rep from * to end—19 sts
Rows 2 and 3: K across all sts
Repeat Steps 2 to 5 until you have reached desired length.
Bind off.
Play with this design. The swatch I have photographed for this tutorial uses garter stitch for the 1st pattern repeat, stockinette for the 2nd pattern repeat, and reverse stockinette for the 3rd pattern repeat.
Iris Schreier