Grafting I-Cord Edges

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One of the easiest ways to add I-cord to the side edges of a piece is to work the I-cord simultaneously with the main body. There are a couple of ways to do this, but my favorite method is to knit the 2 or 3 I-cord stitches at the beginning of every row and slip them purlwise with the yarn in front at the end of every row.

The Peppermint Cowl in Interweave Knits Gifts 2020 employs this method of working I-cord edges.

The Peppermint Cowl starts with a provisional cast-on, and the short ends are grafted together.

The cowl is worked mostly in stockinette stitch, but I-cord edges can be added to pretty much any stitch pattern. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to graft I-cord edges that have been added to garter stitch.

Knitters who are working “built-in” I-cord edges for the first time often wonder why one of the edges is worked with the knit side facing while the other edge is worked with the purl side facing. These knitters sometimes assume that there is a mistake in the instructions or that they are doing something wrong. However, it’s important to remember that an I-cord is just a small piece of circular knitting, so no matter how it’s worked, the knit side will always end up on the outside of the work.

It may take a few rows for the I-cord edges to start curling because the stitches closest to the needle and to the cast-on row will tend to flatten out.

In the photo below, the last 3 purl stitches on the needle are (from right to left) stitches 1, 2, and 3 of the I-cord. But if you look a few rows below these 3 stitches, you can see that stitch 3 is rolling to the front and the knit side of the I-cord is visible.

The illustration below shows what the I-cord stitches at each side would look like if they were laid out flat. The stitches in the center are worked in garter stitch.

If you were able to see the knitting on the other side of the swatch, it would look exactly the same as the side that is visible. Since both sides are exactly the same (with no right or wrong side), we will label the side shown in the illustration Side A and the other side Side B. The I-cord at the right-hand side is created by knitting 3 stitches on Side A and slipping 3 stitches with the yarn in front on Side B. The I-cord at the left-hand side is created by slipping 3 stitches with the yarn in front on Side A and knitting 3 stitches on Side B (resulting in purl stitches on Side A).

The 3 I-cord stitches on the right-hand side with the knit side facing will roll to the back of the work, and the 3 I-cord stitches on the left-hand side with the purl side facing will roll to the front of the work.

The two pieces that will be grafted together should be positioned so that the provisional cast-on row is above the live stitches on the last row worked. On the right-hand side, the I-cord stitches will be grafted in the order in which they were worked (1, 2, 3), but the I-cord stitches on the left-hand side need to be grafted in reverse order, starting with stitch #3. If they were also grafted in the order in which they were worked, the I-cord would flatten out and the purl side of those stitches would be visible. It will be necessary to rearrange these 3 stitches before grafting so that the knit side of the I-cord is facing out, and this can be done very easily when the live stitches are placed on waste yarn, which we’ll see later.

Tip: When grafting I-cord edges, keep the stitches on waste yarn so the I-cords can roll naturally. The waste yarn chain will also hold the I-cord stitches at the left-hand side (with the cast-on tail) firmly in place when grafting.

I’ve provided instructions for a practice swatch so that you can try the grafting out before you attempt it on a project.  

Practice Swatch

Stitch Guide

Garter Stitch with I-Cord Edges:

Row 1 Knit to last 3 stitches, slip 3 stitches purlwise with yarn in front.

Repeat Row 1 for pattern.

Notes

• The stitches remain on the waste yarn during grafting. Because the stitches don’t sit on the knitting needle, “knitwise” means to insert the tapestry needle up through the stitch (with the tip of the needle facing away from you), and “purlwise” means to insert the tapestry needle down through the stitch (with the tip of the needle facing you).
• There is no wrong or right side when working I-cord edges on garter stitch, so the sides are labeled Side A and Side B. On Side A, the cast-on tail will be at the right-hand side; on Side B, the cast-on tail will be at the left-hand side.
• Make sure to end with Side A before grafting so the cast-on tail will be at the left-hand side when the stitches are grafted.
• Because the stitches are being grafted from top to bottom, there won’t be a half-stitch jog in the pattern.

Upper Half

Using the crochet chain provisional method, cast on 22 stitches (this is Side A, with the cast-on tail at the right-hand side of the row).

Work in garter stitch with I-cord edges (see Stitch Guide) to desired length. Bind off all stitches.

Lower Half

Using any method, cast on 22 stitches. Work in garter stitch with I-cord edges to desired length, ending with a Side A row (cast-on tail is at right-hand side) so that a Side B row is ready to be worked. Break yarn, leaving a tail for grafting about 5 times the width of the swatch. Turn work.

With Side B facing and a strand of waste yarn threaded onto a tapestry needle, run waste yarn through first 19 stitches—3 stitches remain on needle.

Insert tapestry needle from left to right through 3 stitches on needle.

Pull yarn through—22 stitches on waste yarn, with last 3 I-cord stitches rearranged.

Grafting the Swatch

Leave waste yarn from provisional cast-on in place while grafting (remove waste yarn from live stitches on lower piece as stitches are grafted). Lay pieces on a flat surface with cast-on row above live stitches and with Side B of both pieces facing up (cast-on tail is on left side of upper piece and grafting yarn is on right side of lower piece).

With grafting yarn threaded onto a tapestry needle, graft stitches in 3 different sections: Graft first I-cord in stockinette stitch, graft 16 center stitches in garter stitch, and graft last I-cord in stockinette stitch.

Graft First I-cord in Stockinette Stitch

Graft first I-cord stitch in 4 steps as follows:

Step 1: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into stitch on lower piece.

Step 2: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into first stitch at edge of upper piece (roll I-cord over so you can see this stitch at back of piece).

Step 3: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into next stitch on upper piece.

Step 4: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece. First I-cord stitch is grafted.

Graft second I-cord stitch in 4 steps as follows:

Step 5: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into next stitch on lower piece.

Step 6: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into same stitch on upper piece as for Step 3 of previous grafted stitch.

Step 7: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into next stitch on upper piece.

Step 8: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece.

Graft third I-cord stitch in 4 steps as follows:

Step 9: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into next stitch on lower piece.

Step 10: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into same stitch on upper piece as for Step 6 of previous grafted stitch.

Step 11: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into next stitch on upper piece.

Step 12: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece.

The first I-cord is grafted.

Graft 16 Center Stitches in Garter Stitch

Graft first stitch in 4 steps as follows:

Step 1: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into stitch on lower piece.

Step 2: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on upper piece.

Step 3: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into next stitch on upper piece.

Step 4: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece.

Repeat Steps 1–4 until all center stitches are grafted and 3 I-cord stitches remain.

Graft Second I-Cord in Stockinette Stitch

Graft first I-cord stitch in 3 steps as follows:

Step 1: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into stitch on lower piece.

Step 2: Insert tapestry needle under both legs of stitch above waste yarn on upper piece, making sure not to catch cast-on tail.

Step 3: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece.

The first I-cord stitch is grafted.

Graft second I-cord stitch in 3 steps as follows:

Step 1: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into next stitch on lower piece.

Step 2: Insert tapestry needle under both legs of stitch above waste yarn on upper piece.

Step 3: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into stitch on lower piece.

The second I-cord stitch is grafted.

Repeat Steps 1–3 once more for last I-cord stitch, working into stitches at back of work.

The third I-cord stitch is grafted.

Remove waste yarn chain.

Weave the ends inside the grafted I-cords for a seamless finish on both sides.

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