Letters
Deep Thoughts on Applied I-Cord
Dear Ann,
We’re doing it again: we’re both doing the same thing at the same time, without having discussed it at all. We are getting closer and closer to total mind meld.
Needless to say, I love! luv! lurve! the i-cord edging of your sheep beauty pageant in blanket form. It is so satisfying, and elevating, to apply i-cord to something. I would apply it to my entire household if I could. It couldn’t hurt, you know? Tidy edges make for a happy life, especially if you are a blanket.
I, too, am embarking on an i-cord application journey, for my Trellis Top. Before digging in, though, I got waylaid by deep, soulful reflection on how I want to do it.
The pattern calls for picking up stitches all the way around the top—and making the buttonholes as you go. Although my Trellis Top is not as big as a blanket, it’s pretty big. Picking up stitches all the way around would require either a couple of long-cabled circular needles, or those gizmos that connect up interchangeable needle cords. News that will surprise no one: I can’t find my connector gizmos. They likely are embedded in large knitting projects that are not accessible to me at the present time.
It’s pretty big.
Here’s where my path diverges from the Trellis Top pattern instructions. When I’m applying i-cord edging to a blanket, I don’t pick up all the stitches first. Instead, I pick up the stitches one by one, and apply the i-cord as I go. This way I can do it with two short needles, be they dpns or straights. It’s just less of a pfaff, somehow. I can see how others might prefer to pick up all the stitches first, and then just i-cord away, without pausing to pick up each edge stitch. But both methods end up with the same result. It’s the knitter’s choice, and my inclination is to do it the way I’m already comfortable doing it.
I get to warm up My i-cord chops by first applying it all the way around the neck opening. FUN!
If you’d like to see a small-format example of this pick-up-as-you-go method, Jen Arnall-Culliford has made a very useful video demonstrating how to join the front and back of a toy mouse’s ears with applied i-cord:
I’m going to do it the way Jen demonstrates, with two differences: I’ll be picking up stitches through just one layer of fabric, and I prefer to work the final stitch as a knit 2 together through the back loops instead of a plain knit 2 together.
In the MDK Shop
If you’d like written-out instructions on how to apply i-cord while picking up stitches as you go, we provide them in MDK Field Guide Nos. 1, 4, and 13.
For ease of reference, here are links to Carol Feller’s two videos on working the applied i-cord and buttonholes for the Trellis Top.
I’ll be glued to Carol’s method for both the pick-up ratio for the i-cord, and for placement and method for the buttonholes. I’ll have to edge the inside of the buttonholes a little differently than the way Carol does it, since I won’t have picked-up stitches there to bind off, but I think I can do it easily by just picking up those few stitches and binding them off when I get there. This will create 2 new ends for each buttonhole, which can easily be whisked into the i-cord and hidden there for all time.
In knitting, there’s often more than one way to do a thing, and you get to do it the way you like best.
Love,
Kay
I’m a couple of days away from my applied i-cordon my Pickett Fences afghan and I’ve thinking about how to go about it. I’m with you, Kay, picking up one at a time is the way to go for me!
Like your method. Ques: are you knitting the last two stitches TBL each time, not just the final two before binding off? Thanks
Yes, for every “round” of i-cord, I knit the last 2 stitches through the back loops.
I did the applied I-cord another way. The largest circular I had in the needle size was 60”. I picked up as many stitches as I was comfortable on that and put a cap on the needle on the last one of the picked up side. Then went to the beginning of the pick ups and began the I-cord with a shorter needle. After a while, went to the capped end and picked up more stitches. This went on for a bit until all were picked up and then just completed. Worked ok.
Seems like this would also take care of the ratio issue, which might be harder to remember if you were picking up just one stitch at a time. “One, two, three, skip” or whatever…
I’m doing this also to alternate the repetitive hand movements and give my finger joints a rest!
This is genius! And it solves my issue about the bind-offs for the buttonholes!
That’s what I do too. I like that method because it lets me switch what I’m doing with my hands periodically, which my old battered fingers always appreciate!
I thought you were going to say that you could more easily make the buttonholes with an applied iCord since you can just skip picking up the edge stitches each time you want button hole.
Yes, that’s the basic method, but Carol adds the elegant touch of binding off the stitches on the edge that form the inside of the buttonhole. It’s not necessary, for sure, but I like the finesse of it.
There are times, and the Trellis Top may be one of them, where I like a loop of I-cord for a buttonhole. I knit 6 or 8 rows of plain I-cord and pick up applying from the same stitch as I left off. The number of rows depends on the size of the button I’ll be using. I, too, like the ssk join better. Thanks!
I do love an i-cord edging, with or without the buttonholes. There’s something magic about the way that lovely neat rounded edge appears.
So satisfying, every time.
My favorite part of knitting is that there’s always more than one right way to do anything. Sometimes I can even apply that to regular life, and then I’m much happier.
I pick up about 10 on a small dpn, then move on down. Seems much more manageable to me than all at once.
YES! I’m going to do it this way, so I can do Carol’s neat bind-off at the edge under each buttonhole. Thank you!
This is so timely! I just finished attaching the neckband to the “St. Brigid” sweater (you know why I had to knit this!) by Alice Starmore, and I want to put an i-cord edging on it. I’ve done it before, but I’ve forgotten the process.
I’ve only applied I-cord once and I did it the same way you’re describing, pickup & knit then k2tog tbl. I didn’t know there’s another way! And I agree, apply I-cord to EVERYTHING;)
Sorry, nothing to do with I-cord, — but have you moved the “button” to save articles to one’s account somewhere else? I can’t find it. Thanks
I had this problem too, so I logged into my account and the save button showed up. Maybe try that and see if it works.
I picked up all the stitches at once so I could finally use that cable connector gizmo. It’s a lot of stitches. I made a slight modification approximately 2-3 inches before and after the shoulders by picking up only 2 stitches (instead of 3), then skipping one. I think this helped to avoid the dreaded ‘Monkeys from the Wizard of Oz’ shoulders.
I am finally at the I-chord edging and appreciate all of these ideas. I couldn’t imagine picking up all the stitches at once. Thank you everyone!!!!