Whether you’re new to knitting or a seasoned crafter, German Short Rows will surprise you! Like Wrap + Turn Short Rows, this method creates wedges in your knitting, shaping everything from curved hemlines to ear flaps. However, German Short Rows are even simpler than the Wrap + Turn technique, and since you can use German Short Rows in place of any Wrap + Turn instructions, you’ll probably return to them time and time again.
In this tutorial we break down German Short Rows into a few easy steps and also show you how to adapt them for Wrap + Turn instructions.
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I loved the german short row tutorial. I will try it next fir sure and can see why it could become the preference!! Linda x
Will have to do it actually, to see whether it is easier than wrap and turn
It’s a great, clear tutorial, and would be even better if you just showed the result after you picked up each one.
Hi Debra,
Thanks for reaching out! One of the best parts of German Short Rows is that they are nearly invisible after they are picked up – if you look at the swatch shown in the very beginning of the video, the curved hem of the swatch is formed completely with German Short Rows, and they look almost the same as the rest of the stockinette in the swatch. You can see another example in the fourth image of our Lovely Lightweight Tee, which shows a closeup of the neckline that is shaped with German Short Rows.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
I only know the continental knitting style. Will this work with my knitting?
Hi Mary,
Great question! Yes, German Short Rows work equally well whether you knit continental or not – just make sure to move your yarn to the front of the left hand needle before slipping the stitch for the short row.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Now I need a German short rows in the round tutorial.
Hi Rita,
Thanks for reaching out! Working German Short Rows in the round is actually exactly the same as you see in our video above! Since short rows are always worked back and forth, regardless of whether the piece you are working on is otherwise knit in the round or flat, the technique is worked the same for any project.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Great tutorial! Thank you!
I love the German short rows! Thank you for adding this video. I hope we see more German short rows in Purl Soho patterns in the future.
It would be so helpful if you could also produce alternate instructions for your current patterns that have W&T short rows. Sometimes when I am converting them to German short rows, it can get confusing, especially in the midst of other pattern notes. (When multiple things are happening in one row.)
Perhaps the conversion for German short rows could be listed in the Errata for printed patterns, and simply added to the online patterns as an option?
Hi Christine,
Thank you for writing in and for the kind words! I find it helpful to convert patterns to German Short Rows by thinking of the German Short Row as a whole step that includes knitting or purling one more stitch before turning, rather than trying to remember to knit or purl an extra stitch – for instance, if a pattern says to knit to 4 stitches from the end or previous wrap and turn and then work a wrap and turn, I find it much less confusing to knit to four stitches from the end and then work a German Short Row starting with knitting the turning stitch, rather than trying to remember to knit to 3 stitches from the end. However, I’ll be sure to pass your request along to the design team!
Best,
Julianna
I’ve watched both videos( German short row and wrap and turn). Both are new to me. I am not clear why German Short row is preferable.
Hoping to try out this sweater but want to get clearer first before trying something new on real piece
Thanks for clarifying
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for writing in! Many people prefer German Short Rows and find them easier to work and pick up, but it mostly comes down to personal preference! I would suggest knitting a swatch and experimenting with both German Short Rows and traditional Wrap and Turns to find out which method you prefer.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Thank you so much for this video! The normal short row W&T method stresses me out, so this was a welcome learning experience. It was beautifully done and easy to understand. This is now going to be my short row method of choice.
Thanks so much for the clear and concise GSR tutorial! One question; are there any situations where you cannot substitute GSRs for wrap & turn? I’m hoping never to wrap another stitch!
Susan
Hi Susan,
Great question! Fortunately, you can almost always substitute the German Short Row technique, with just a few exceptions! The first would be in most garter stitch projects, because it’s often unnecessary to pick up the wraps anyways as they are well hidden in garter stitch. You can see this in action in our Garter Ear Flap Hat. If your pattern directs you to pick up the wraps, however, you can still substitute GSRs. The second situation that would not work well with a GSR would be a pattern that requires you to work stacked wrap and turns, or in other words, work a wrap and turn on the same stitch more than once. This isn’t too common, but does happen in some sock heels or items shaped in a spiral using short rows.
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
I am very interested in trying this for a pair of socks I am knitting currently. My pattern says, S1, p17 turn, then Sl k16 turn and so on. In the video, when adapting a pattern, it shows working an additional stitch prior to turning and then perform the German short row stitch on the “additional” stitch. For my pattern, do I slip the “additional” stitch and then perform the German short row? or ??
Thanks for some insight.
Hello Shari,
Thank you for reaching out! Does your pattern call for wrap and turn short rows? If so are the slipped stitches being wrapped for your short rows? In this case your slipped stitches can be substituted for your additional stitch for your German short rows.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
Great Tutorial. Clear, easy to understand visuals. So much easier than trying to read instructions.
I now feel confident to start my project that uses short rows.
Thank you for this clear, easy to follow tutorial. I like that you included the W+T at the end too.
Thanks for posting this! I am working on a pattern where it calls for the work to simply be turned (not wrap and turn). I would like to try German short rows as just turning the work is not looking so great. How would I adapt this into the pattern, do I need to create an extra stitch, create the double stitch as the 1st stitch in the short row section, or turn and create it the stitch before the short row section? . The pattern is Waiting for Rain by Softsweater knits and the short rows create lace panels.
Hi Sam,
Thanks for reaching out! I have knit this particular pattern, and I can say that the holes left from turning the work improve dramatically after blocking and look like part of the lace panel! However, if you would like to try a German Short Row instead, you would not want to adjust the number of stitches worked for each short row since that could throw off your lace pattern. Instead, you will simply work the double stitch immediately after turning your work.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
This doesn’t look like any of the short rows I’ve worked with, as they were all decreasing one stitch per row and this is not decreasing at all. So what’s the purpose of the “double stitch – knit together”? I’m going to assume it is shaping the piece, but in what way?
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like your previous experience with short rows may have been in socks or slippers, which are often shaped with a type of short row that is resolved with a decrease, but there are many versions of short rows that don’t require a decrease! In the case of a sweater, you may want to add short rows to raise the back neck for a more tailored fit or to create a curved hem, but you wouldn’t want to get rid of any stitches in the process as that would affect the fit of the sweater. However, if you simply turn around in the middle of the row without taking any special steps, you will end up with a hole in your knitting! The double stitch itself doesn’t create any shaping, but it will prevent any unintended holes when working short rows.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna