I-Cord
The I-cord is a tube knitted in the round with two double-pointed needles. Elizabeth Zimmermann named it the Idiot Cord in honor of her accidental discovery of the simple technique. The I-cord is a perfect example of her attitude toward knitting: let it be fun, free of needless complications, and full of discovery. In this picture from The Opinionated Knitter, a wonderful collection of her newsletters, Elizabeth wears an I-cord attached to her glasses. Once you learn to make one with our I-Cord Tutorial, you’ll be searching around for anything that might be improved with an I-cord: drawstrings, ties, laces, handles, lanyards… and of course, eyeglass straps!
Cast On and Knit
To begin, cast on 3 (or more!) stitches onto one of your double-pointed needles. Knit these 3 stitches normally, from the left needle to the right.
The Slide
Now all 3 stitches are on the right hand needle and the yarn is attached to the left stitch. Without turning your work, slide the stitches from one end of the needle to the other like this:
The Trick of The I-Cord
Without turning the needle, place the needle in your left hand. The yarn is coming from the far left stitch. Pulling the yarn across the back of the work, knit the 3 stitches. Everything is normal EXCEPT the yarn is coming from the last stitch in the row instead of the first when you begin knitting this row.
When you have knit all 3 stitches onto the right needle, slide the stitches from one end of the double-pointed needle to the other. Repeat these steps, pulling the yarn snug at the beginning of each row to insure even stitches. Bind off normally.
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Thank you for such a clear tutorial on how to make I cord.
I thought it was so great I have created a link from my blog http://kate-ward-design.blogspot.com/2010/05/neck-lace.html.
I hope thats ok with you
Cheers
I've made a nice cord by using a wooden spool with 4 nails atop, and this is similar in result. I like that this is smaller, thinner. It would make a nice necklace, as Kate I am going to try it out…….thanks!
Nice tutorial, thank you!
I perfect my i cord thanks.
Exciting and fun to learn of new designs, clearly presented, thank you.
I am working with a mary maxim pattern for rainbow entrelac blanket. It now calls for I-cord border. At this point my brain and eyes are crossed up. Do you know what I-cord border may be?
Hi Jaque
I think it probably means an attached i-cord around the edge like this:
https://www.purlsoho.com/create/knitting-tutorials-advanced-te/2008/1/23/attached-i-cord-tutorial.html
Hope that helps!
Molly
I soul like to know mãe an I-cord. It is not difficult! Thanks.
Any chance you can explain and show a leftie to do this? Pretty please? I’m knitting a hat for my baby-to-come and want to do the icord top!
Hello Susan,
When you’re referring to knitting “leftie” do you mean knitting while holding the yarn in your left hand? If so, that’s usually referred to as Continental style knitting and you can simply follow the same instructions in our tutorial but keep in mind that your yarn in just held in a different hand. If you knit mirrored, then you may want to hold a mirror up to the photos to help you visualize. Either way, I-cord is just knitting a tube with a very small circumference by never turning the work. Please contact us on the phone if you’d like to talk it through some more!
Thanks! -Alyson
I love knitting the i-cord. It makes GREAT arms & legs for my dolls! 🙂
¡¡Fantastico¡¡
I used to knit these cords when I was young but then I started to crochet and just quickly did cords by crocheting it. I am so glad you reminded me of this. Going to do it next time.
How do I knit a double I cord?
Hi Constance,
Thank you for the comment. I don’t have any experience with a double I-cord. Are you trying to attach a second i-cord border or making a free standing double i-cord by itself? If you are doing another attached i-cord I would pick up stitches from the first i-cord and simply follow the same instructions but attaching it to the first i-cord. If you are trying to make a double i-cord on it’s own I found these instructions; http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43969
I hope this helps and feel free to write back if you have anymore questions!
Good Luck!
Jake
This is such a great tutorial. The directions along with the photos are so easy to follow. Great for hat ties, legs/arms of dolls, edging… etc. Thank you! Keep posting.
Gracias por tu tutorial, es claro y conciso.
Thank you for your tutorial is clear and concise.
Oh my gosh im definately going to try this! I want to make a rug out of it by folding it over and joining it to itself in an oval and spiraling to its full rug shape! If that makes sense. Haha I’m so excited for this project thank you!
Hi Brandee,
Thanks for commenting! Sounds like a really fun project I’d love to hear how it comes out!
Jake
I ?? Purlbee
Thank you so much! Great tutorial. Now I have a jaunty topknot for a tea cozy.
How do you purl an I cord ?
Hi Linda,
Thanks for writing in. I tried a few methods and came up with this: Cast on the amount of stitches you desire and then slide the stitches to the other end of the needle. For a normal i-cord you would strand the yarn across the back and start knitting. For a purl i-cord you will strand across the back and bring the yarn around the front facing side. Next, purl all stitches. Repeat until you have your desired length.
This technique is a bit awkward, but it does the job. You could also try tying a piece of string to your cast on stitches for a knit i-cord and placing it in the middle of the i-cord every round. Before binding off at the end you could essentially pull your i-cord inside out so the purl side shows. You would probably need to put your live stitches on scrap yarn. Happy experimenting!
Best,
Adam
Muchas gracias.
thank you for pattern this is much easier.
I am enjoying all the feed back. thank you .
Thank you so much, I didn’t realise it was so easy!… 🙂 your directions were perfect!
I always get clarification and learn something new by reading your comments. Thanks for doing them.
Hi Vickie,
Thanks for writing in! We really appreciate your kinds words!
Best,
Cassy
Great tutorial! Thank you.
Hello, I an I cord user for many thing ! I use it a lot for borders, for my gnomes legs…for attaching a shall….
But I have a problem.
I knit I cord as you show, with 2 dpn needles and I cannot find a clear instruction for adding a colour. For example, if I want to stripe 2 colours in a 3 Sts I cord, I am not sure how to pass the first colour thread along …I make mistake.
I cannot find a good instruction…Can you help me ?
Hi Marie,
Thanks for writing in! While we do not have a tutorial for how to add in an additional color, what I have done in the past is to begin knitting with the new color, holding the tail on the outside. I also make sure to hold the original color so that it will travel up the inside. Once the I cord is done, I will use a tapestry needle to bring the tail of the new color inside of the i-cord. This can sometimes get a bit tricky as you should make sure to bring the tail into the center a bit up from where is hangs out to avoid unraveling the work.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I am going to start knittng a temperature blanket which can change colors in as little as two rows , thus can create literally 100’s of tails. Is there a way to use i-cord edge technique as I go to knit tails into its center?
Or would I knit an i-cord after reaching last row and pick up stitches as I create the i-cord all the way around blanket, and if so, how get tails inside?
Would this idea work?
Would I need a type of provisional cast on so can later add i-cord? thanks for advice.
Hi Suzy,
What a great idea! I think that an i-cord could certainly work here. It might be a touch fiddely at first to figure out how to best work the i-cord around the ends but it is certainly doable (I have done it myself!). To do this, you will be working an attached i-cord. When you slide the yarn to the end of your DPN to knit the next row, you would ensure that you are wrapping around the loose ends. For the attached i-cord, you will not need to do a provisional cast on on your blanket as you can easily pick up along the edges. I find that working the attached i-cord takes minute to get used to but once you do, you can zoom along!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Very useful thing to learn in just a short time use up all bits of wool . The cord looks nice when tieing presants up.
So theoretically if you make a very long icord using thread weight yarn you could use that as an alternative to knitted tape yarn? Would take double the time to knit the yarn and then knit with the yarn but knitted tape yarn is prohibitively expensive for me so this option is intriguing. What do you think Purl Soho?
Hello,
Thank you for reaching out! Knitted tape yarn is typically a flat knit rather than a tube. Using an I-cord would create more of a chainette yarn which is also lovely. If you are willing to put the time in, there is no reason why you couldn’t do this, though I would do some research into an I-Cord machine to speed up the process.
Good Luck and happy I-Cording!
-Marilla
Thanks for the tutorial and the pictures!
I’m having a bit of trouble getting the i-cord to be tight. Any advice?
Hello Asvin,
Thank you for reaching out! The best way to get a tighter stitch is to go down in needle size.
I hope this helps happy knitting!
-Marilla
Very good description of a handy cord. Thank you
Thank you for this very easy and short tutorial and for adding the end instructions “bind off normally”. For some bizarre reason every blogger knitter teaches how to knit a 3 stitch i-cord but no one explains how to finish one.
Is there a way to do this with circular needles or straight needles? I don’t have DPN (and as a beginner am a bit overwhelmed by everything I now have). Maybe I can do this on circular and then sew onto the edge? I am making a knitted bowl and want the edge to look like the one in the photo. Thank you!
Hi Mim!
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, it is possible to make I-cord with a circular needle! The technique would be the same as we show in our tutorial, but instead of sliding across a double pointed needle, you’d slide it on the circular needle. This would probably work best with a shorter circular needle (there would be less sliding required). Hope this helps – please let us know if you have any more questions!
Happy Knitting!
Cassandra
Ok. I’ve made I-cords using the 3 stitches and they are great thanks to your tutorial. However, now that I’m using 5 stitches, I can’t seem to achieve that “tube/cord look.” What am I doing wrong? Thanks.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for reaching out! I would recommend trying the I-cord using 4 stitches to see if that helps you get a more uniform tube/cord look!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Gianna
Hi, thank you for making i-chords so much easier to work, I love all of your easy to do videos and step by step photos. I have stayed away from beautiful patterns because they use i-chords and mine have always been horrible using the crochet hook methods
I loved your definition of what an I-cord is. I didn’t realize how easy it is! I’m making pumpkin stems. Thanks!
Hello, these instructions are very easy thank you! can you please let me know how to attach a second color? I am trying your earflap pattern.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jaime,
Thanks for writing in. Here’s how you can join in a new color: First, begin knitting with the new color, holding the tail on the outside. Make sure to also hold the original color so that it will travel up the inside. Once the i-cord is done, use a tapestry needle to bring the tail of the new color inside of the i-cord. This can sometimes get a bit tricky as you should make sure to bring the tail into the center a bit up from where it hangs out to avoid unraveling the work. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Is there a way to knit an i order with single pointed needles?
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for writing in! If you are working an i-cord like this you will need to use a double pointed needle since it is necessary to slide the stitches and use both ends of the needle. Alternatively, you could possibly use a short circular needle, so you could still slide the stitches to use both tips, but it would be a bit more cumbersome to deal with the cable in between. If you were to do that I would recommend using no longer than a 16″.
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Is there a formula for calculating how much yarn is needed for a finished length of cord. I’m not sure I have enough yarn to make a 48 “ cord ?
Hi Nancy!
Thank you for your question! A rule of thumb I’ve seen is that an I-cord edge requires 13 times the amount of yarn as your project is wide. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a good way to estimate if you have enough yarn! Additionally, this will vary based on your gauge, project, and yarn. I-Cords use a lot of yarn, so perhaps an alternative edge or bind off would work for your project if you do not have enough yarn for an I-cord.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hello can you explain the section BEGIN CUFF for Merry ear flat hat, tks
Hi Ginette,
Thanks for reaching out. For the BEGIN CUFF section of the Merry Ear Flap Hat, you will start by casting on 9 (11, 13, 15) stitches, depending on what size you’re making. Then, you will position your first i-cord with the right side facing you and knit across those three stitches. Next you will cast on 17 (21, 25, 29) more stitches, and repeat the process with the second i-cord. Finally, just ast on 8 (10, 12, 14) more stitches, and you’re ready to begin the Set-Up Round!
Overall, the BEGIN CUFF section sets up the live stitches so that they include the 3 stitches from each i-cord, and so that the i-cords are positioned at the bottom of where each ear flap will eventually be created. Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
How to thank you for your prompt reply, I should be ok…I think, your explainations are clear, have a nice day
I was stuck. I was thinking that the i cord was too difficult for me. The i was in reference to me. This tutorial was the redemption I was looking for!