As a knitter the very first sweater or cardigan that you knit in your life becomes something very special. You want it to be pretty, come out perfect, and we understand! And that’s why it’s so important to know how to correctly finish your knitted projects: sew all the pieces together, how to hide remaining threads… and also how to pick up stitches around the neck to knit the final edge of your garment, the most important. And that is precisely what we are going to show you how to do in this post.
Once you have knitted all of the pieces for your cardigan, it’s time to pick up stitches from the front and back pieces to finish the neck. It doesn’t matter which pattern you choose, as the process is the same for all of the kits. Follow the instructions in the pattern and watch our video tutorials to learn how to do it correctly:
PICK UP STITCHES AROUND THE NECK AND SIDES OF A CARDIGAN
For the example we’ve chosen the Simone Cardigan in the color aquamarine.
1. Thread the tapestry needle with the same yarn that you used for your project and find the center point of the neck of the cardigan.
2. Start picking up stitches from the center out to one side of your cardigan using one of the wooden needles, first along the neck and then down one of the front pieces.
3. Work as many rows of 1 x 1 rib stitch as indicated in the pattern.
4. Cast off the stitches in the 1 x 1 rib stitch pattern.
5.Repeat the same for the other side of the cardigan. You will have two edges in 1 x 1 rib stitch separated into two halves.
6. Using the tapestry needle, sew the two halves together in a zigzag stitch.
Using this guide on how to pick up stitches around the neck of a garment you won’t have any problems finishing your WAK garments. And don’t forget to share your projects using the hashtag #weareknitters on social networks.
2 comments
On the vertical portion, do you pick up a stitch every row, or skip rows (e.g. 3 of every 4 rows)?
Hi Mandy!
You have to skip some rows, it depends on the pattern or the stitches convinations, for example is you are using for the border garter stitch you will probably pick up more rows than if you make the border in 1×1 rib stitch. But if you are unsure how many rows you have to skip you can pick up 5 rows and skip 1 this is the standar sugestion when you pick up rows.
Happy knitting!