The Long and Short Of It...

One thing that I've learned through blogging is that I know some knitting stuff that I just figure everyone knows.  I've also learned that other people know lots of knitting stuff that after I read it on their blog I feel like I should've known.  So... after writing yesterday about making my Hopeful a little longer after the fact, I got a few emails asking, "How'd you do dat?!"  I've done this on a couple of store bought sweaters to shorten them for Dan.  Of course, as with the Hopeful, it can also be used to make an item longer.  Once you're finished you can not tell where you snipped and added as long as you make sure that your stitches aren't twisted on your needle.  Look at the stitch as if it's just a loop.  The right side of the loop (as you're looking at it) should be on the front of the needle.  I don't even want to admit to you how many years I'd been knitting before that light bulb went off in my head.

So my little sweater is too short... okay, so it has other problems too.  Forget those.  All that matters is it's too short.  Or too long for you Hootchie Mamas.  Either way... here's what you do.

Look at your knitting.  If you turn it upside down it looks the same doesn't it?  That's the magic of knitting and that's why this works.  Now turn it back the right way and pick a spot where you want to put it back on the needles.  Carefully... OH so carefully... snip one side of a stitch.  I usually do this in the vertical center of the sweater.  It doesn't really matter and honestly, now that I think about it, it'd probably be easier to start near an end.  At any rate after you snip that little stitch you will carefully pick the stitch out and you'll see a little loop just sitting there ready for you to pick up.  So go ahead... save it.  Put it on a smaller needle than what you knit with.  This makes it easier and you can just transfer to the right sized needle once you get all the stitches on.  I started at the center and worked my way across.

After you pick out a couple of stitches it'll look like this:

And then like this after I worked my way across the first half:

I pulled the needle through so that I could work the end through the other half of the stitches and here it is all ready to go:

Now you just knit down to the desired length.  Cool, huh?  You can not tell the difference once you are done.  Hope that helps.

I went to visit the pups today!  Two weeks old today. I can't believe how much they've changed in only ten days.  Incredible.  Fat and happy.  Meet Aggie:

She was squirmy.  I interrupted her breakfast for this photo because I had to leave for a meeting.  I think you get the idea of how cute she is though.  Her eyes just opened yesterday so they're still a little cloudy.  We're going back with the boys on Sunday after church.  You can bet you'll be seeing plenty more of her.  I'm remembering what it's like to have a baby in the house again before she even gets here.  We'd had plans to go to Belgium for Thanksgiving with friends, but it's just too far to take her at ten weeks.  Ahh... the sacrifices we make for our kids.  ;-)

Comments

[Michaela]

Jean, That is exactly what I need to do to a sweater and yours is the first explanation that sounded good enough to try. Thanks for explaining it so well, and with pictures. Just one snip? Cute pups, what kind, Cocker Spaniels?

[Jennifer]

What a great tutorial. I've done grafting before and I'm very comfortable with it. Just the same, the extreme close-up of those sharp scissors gave me the willies. Whew! I'm glad it all turned out. Happy knitting.

[Lynne]

Genious! Well Done, and well done on the puppy photos, too! Have a good day, Jean!

[Jen]

Thanks Jean for the tutorial! I really appreciate the visual. Pictures seem to work so much better. Oh and the puppies, nothing better than fat and happy puppies!

[Nilda]

Yay you're back ! Cute pup. So. How do you knit downwards without the stitches move over by half a stitch?

[Gracie]

Great tutorial! Aggie is precious, precious!!

[Li_B]

I've been waiting for those baby photos! Adorable. Li

[Kathleen]

Very cool tutorial! I love your little sweater swatch! :) Precious puppy! She is goregous.

[Erica]

Great tutorial! Although I "knew" what to do, seeing it really helps out.

[Kathy]

Thanks for the tip! I still think that I'd be scared to snip, though.

[Tracy]

That's a handy tip which I've never dared use before. You made it look easy, thank you! Aggie is going to be so spoilt in your house. I love the way pups race round in a whirlwind of activity and then suddenly flop for a snooze. Mind you Disney still does it now and she's 11!

[wool winder]

I'm still learning how to put stitches back on the needle correctly. I had that light bulb moment just a little while back. Glad to know I'm not the only one. Thanks for all the great instruction in your post.

[Kim]

You know, I have never dared to try that snip....thanks for the tutorial :-) Aggie is a cutie......they get extra cute right around 4-6 weeks. I just love that age.

[Jean]

Just to clarify....It's not snipped stitch by stitch. You just have to cut once stitch and then you unweave the end through the loops. I do occasionally cut the yarn shorter so you don't have to unweave so much, but you don't have to.

[yvette]

She is soooo cute, bet your boys love her!

[LisaB]

Ooh thanks for the tutorial! I didn't realize that you snip it stitch by stitch. What a cute, cute puppy!! What kind of dog is it?