Grafting Resource Roundup

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You may have noticed that here at Interweave, we publish a lot both in print and on the web on the topic of grafting. We like to graft the toes of our socks, the centers of our stoles, and the edgings on our hats and shawls, and we’re passionate about bringing you along.

This is mostly because we think grafting is a really important skill that every knitter should learn in the course of their journey; sometimes you really do want a seamless join. It can elevate the hard work of creating something special, like a lace cowl or wrap, and give it a professional finish.

We are able to publish so much great information about grafting because we are very lucky here at Interweave to have Joni Coniglio as our Senior Project Editor, and Joni has an incredibly deep understanding of grafting. So we pick her brain as often as possible!

When you’re new to grafting, a bounty of resources can be super overwhelming. You may not be exactly sure which type of grafting your project calls for, or maybe you’re designing or modifying something where you know a graft would be helpful, but you aren’t sure how to get started. We’re here to help!

We’ve broken down the most popular grafting resources on our site below so that you can easily find the type of graft you’re looking for, as well as where to get more information.

The Basics: What is Grafting?

Grafting is a way of joining two edges of knitting together without a seam. As when seaming, you’ll use a tapestry needle threaded with your working yarn and use it to bring the two pieces together. Those edges can be from two separate pieces or the top and bottom of the same piece, which means you might be grafting two tops together, or grafting a top to a bottom.

Unlike when seaming, you’ll be working with live loops on two needles rather than two finished edges. Another difference is, while you typically pull tight when seaming in order to make it invisible, when grafting, you’re actually creating a visible row of stitches to join the two pieces. These key differences can both make the technique feel more intimidating than seaming, but if you practice, work slowly, and leave yourself a lifeline in case of catastrophic failure, grafting is within your grasp.

Types of Grafting

You’ll always either be grafting top to bottom or top to top.

Top to bottom, as the name suggests, involves grafting the top of a piece of knitting to the bottom — a cast-on edge, worked with a provisional cast-on to leave live loops. Usually, it’s the cast-on from the same piece of fabric, and you’re joining top to bottom to make a tube or to join a lace edging.

In top-to-top grafting, you’re joining the tops of two pieces of knitted fabric together. Usually, they’re two pieces you’ve worked separately.

We’ll talk much more about what the difference is below. Once you know whether you’re grafting top to bottom or top to top, you need to look at the stitch pattern. Grafting stockinette follows a fairly basic formula in most cases. But if you’d like to graft garter stitch, ribbing, cables, or lace, you’ll need more advanced techniques.

Below are the most popular resources we have on interweave.com about the different types of grafting!

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Top-to-Bottom Grafting

In top-to-bottom grafting, you are grafting the top of a piece of fabric to the bottom. Usually this is one piece of fabric, which begins with a provisional cast-on, and you are joining the top to the bottom. You might be making a tube-shaped cowl, working a hatband side-to-side, or joining the beginning of a lace edging to the end.

Grafting top to bottom gives the appearance that the first row’s stitches flow smoothly out of the last row’s stitches. There is no visible jog where the two pieces meet. In reality, you are creating a pair of bridging rows between the two, with the same tension on the yarn as in normal knitting.

Projects with Top-to-Bottom Grafts

Here are a few of the most common types of projects where you are likely to use a top-to-bottom graft:

• Cowls, infinity scarves, and other tubes
• Seamless headbands
• Hatbands worked sideways
• Lace edgings
• Garment elements worked side-to-side

Top-to-Bottom Stitches to Graft

Because you don’t have to worry about a half-stitch jog (see below on top-to-top grafting if you aren’t sure what we mean) when grafting top to bottom, you can graft just about any stitch pattern seamlessly. You just have to map out your steps for the different types of stitch patterns! We’ll walk you through just that in each of the articles below.

Grafting Stockinette and Reverse Stockinette Top to Bottom

These grafts are the most straightforward in your repertoire, as you’re creating a join between stitches that all appear the same on the right side, and you have no half-stitch jog to worry about. There’s a grafting myth out there that it’s more difficult to graft a purl stitch than a knit stitch. This isn’t the case; you’ll just need to follow slightly different steps to create a purl rather than a knit using your tapestry needle.

A great beginner project is to make one of a variety of styles of tube cowls, which we walk through here. Pictured above is a cowl knit all in Stockinette then turned inside out, with a reverse-Stockinette graft to join the tube top-to-bottom.

Grafting Garter Stitch Top to Bottom

Remember, when you graft, you’re actually creating two rows of a pattern, not one. When you’re grafting garter stitch, you should use a garter stitch graft, instead of Kitchener stitch, or you’ll end up with an extra row of Stockinette stitch between the garter ridges.

Grafting Ribbing Top to Bottom

Many people think you can’t graft a ribbing pattern without getting a half-stitch jog, but that’s actually a myth!

It all depends on the direction of the knitting. If you graft ribbing top to bottom, there won’t be a visible jog!

Grafting Twisted Stitches Top to Bottom

It’s simple to graft a twisted stitch; just work two steps in reverse! Here’s how to work twisted ribbing into a seamless graft.

This stitch pattern is great for headbands and hat bands!

Grafting Cables Top to Bottom

Want to make a cute cabled headband that’s truly seamless? It’s so satisfying to create cables that flow seamlessly in a circle.

Starting small with a hat band or headband will work you up to sweaters with continuous cable yokes.

Grafting Lace Top to Bottom

Grafting lace in pattern is an art form in itself. While the basics are as simple as incorporating yarnovers and decreases into your grafting formula, things can get intricate very quickly.

Learning to graft lace in pattern is one of the biggest skills that will take you leaps forward in your knitting. By getting to understand the structure of stitches that well, you become a much more skilled and confident lace-knitter.

Learn to Graft in Pattern

Joni did a blog series a few years ago to help you learn to graft lace in pattern. She starts from the very beginning, works you through a ton of practice swatches, and you’ll find that you can work out how to graft just about any lace pattern by the time you’re finished.

Learn to Graft Lace Edgings

Joni also took a deep dive into grafting lace edgings. Edgings are a great way to practice grafting lace because you are only working over a few stitches.

Grafting Brioche Top to Bottom

If you knit brioche, you know that to work each row, you actually need to make two “passes” with the yarn. That applies to grafting too — you’ll need to graft in two passes with two separate strands to seamlessly join brioche. Whether you’re working one- or two-color brioche, it’s not as tricky as you think!

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Top-to-Top Grafting

In top-to-top grafting, you are joining the tops of two pieces of fabric to each other. The two pieces might be joined, as in the case of grafting the toe of a sock, or separate, as in the two halves of a lace stole.

Grafting top to top results in a half-stitch jog where the two stitch pattern meet. However, if you choose your graft point with care and follow your steps carefully, you can greatly minimize the appearance of the jog. Just like in top-to-bottom grafting, you are creating a pair of bridging rows between the two tops, with the same tension on the yarn as in normal knitting.

Projects with Top-to-Top Grafts

Here are a few of the most common types of projects where you are most likely to use a top-to-top graft:

• Sock toes
• Lace stoles grafted at the center
• Garment elements like shoulder straps and hoods

Top-to-Top Stitches to Graft

The direction of knitting makes a big difference when grafting. Top-to-top grafting and top-to-bottom grafting require different approaches.

Grafting Stockinette Stitch Top to Top

When Stockinette stitch is grafted top to top, the half-stitch jog inherent to top-to-top grafting won’t show. Grafting sock toes with Kitchener stitch is a great example; you really can’t tell that there’s a jog once you’re looking at a finished toe.

From there, however, things get more complicated. Grafting a pattern such as ribbing or lace top to top will have a jog that is unavaoidable. But sometimes, the jog can be hidden.

Grafting Ribbing Top to Top

If you are grafting ribbing top-to-top, a visible half-stitch jog is unavoidable. But the jog will only be visible if the ribbing is stretched. The half-stitch jog will be much less visible with textured stitches like seed stitch.

Grafting Lace Top to Top

Many knitted stoles are worked in two halves, with a graft to join them at the center. This is perhaps the most complicated type of pattern to graft top-to-top, as you’ll be reckoning with a half-stitch jog and a non-continuous lace pattern.

Joni will walk you through the techniques to get a great result, using the Lucy Westenra’s Wrap from Interweave Knits Winter 2021 as an example.

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Grafting Myths: Busted

There’s a lot of misinformation out there on the subject of grafting. Joni’s here to clear up the most pervasive myths about grafting, and provide you with some good information instead.

Myth 1: It’s Easier to Graft a Knit Stitch Than a Purl

It’s not; it’s the same steps in a different order. Nothing too tricky here!

Myth 2: Grafted Ribbing will ALWAYS Have a Half-Stitch Jog

We’ve already covered this above, so you know it’s not true! To avoid that jog, you will need to graft top to bottom, however.

Myth 3 (Parts 1 + 2): A Grafted Row is the Equivalent of One Pattern Row

This is really important for a truly seamless look! Start by understanding how this impacts patterns like stockinette and garter. Then move on to lace patterns, where an extra row created by using Kitchener stitch instead of a true graft in-pattern can distort your lovely patterning.

Myth 4 (Parts 1 + 2): There is a Universal Formula to Graft Any Pattern

Grafting formulas can be very helpful, but they need to be used at the right times. Always be sure to check that the instructions you’re following apply to the stitch pattern and stitch directions (top to bottom or top to top) you are working.

Myth 5: The Grafting Yarn Must Come From the Back Needle

This myth is a holdover from using Kitchener stitch to graft sock toes, but there’s really no reason the grafting yarn has to start on the back needle.

Bonus Myth: Grafting is For Knitting Only, Not Crochet

Joni and former Crochet Project Editor Susanna Tobias put this myth to the test and came up with a technique for seamlessly grafting Tunisian crochet.

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We hope you’re feeling more confident to try grafting, or at least more confident in finding a grafting resource to help you muddle through. Once you create your first seamless graft, you’ll be addicted to the look and to everything you learned in the process. If you’d like to take a deep dive into the subject, we’ve got tons of online workshops that allow you to tap into the mind of Joni Coniglio, Interweave’s resident grafting expert.

Happy Grafting!

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