How to make a neat join in the round
A jog often appears when the cast on stitches is joined for knitting in the round. If the cast on edge is visible that jog can be a bit irritating.
Let’s take a look at how we can make a neater join in the round, one that’s almost invisible.
See the difference?
The image shows two sock legs. The one on the left is knit before I learned this little trick and the one on the left is knit using the trick. Do you see the difference?
The left one has a very visible join. When knitting in the round we create a spiral of stitches rather than closed rows. The jog appears at the beginning of the spiral.
On the right sock leg, the jog is smoother. This is done by moving the last stitch over to the left needle, and then passing the first stitch over the last stitch.
It may sound a little strange, but it works. Watch the video below to see how it’s done!
Video: Neat join in the round
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How to make a neat join in the round
I use the long tail cast on, if you’re not familiar with this cast on I have a text and video tutorial for you in this post!
- Start the cast on with a loop
If you usually start your cast on with a slip knot this will be a little different.
Use the long tail cast on, but make a loop of yarn around your needle tip instead of a slip knot.
Hold the yarn the same way you usually do for the long tail cast on. Wrap the yarn around the needle by inserting the needle under the yarn from the left and turn the needle back to the original position.
Then add your preferred number of stitches. (Do not count the loop as a stitch) - Check your stitches
Check the cast on to make sure it isn’t twisted.
The cast on edge should be lined up inside of the needle, if it’s twisted: untwist it before joining. - Make the join
Hold the needle tips parallel and grab a spare needle or a wool needle. Use the extra needle to lift the last stitch (the loop you did before casting on the stitches) over to the other needle. The last stitch now sits in front of the first stitch.
Pass the first stitch over the last stitch. - Start your first round
Pull your yarn and tail if you need to tighten the stitches a bit.
Start working the first round.
Your next read:
––> How to knit neat edges
––> Easy color work: Marled knitting
––> Join yarn: Russian Join