Short Rows tend to strike fear into the hearts of the uninitiated, but, like all knitting, there’s really nothing so mysterious about it.
Short Rows are used to create triangles or wedges within your knitting. They shape everything from bust darts to ear flaps. Basically, a Short Row is just that: a row that you don’t knit to the end of the needle. There are lots of ways to turn your work partway through a row, but our favorite is called a Wrap + Turn (wrp-t). This simple method prevents holes along the Short Rows and works well with many different stitch patterns.
Note that there are a few stitch patterns, including Garter Stitch, that don’t require any sort of special technique when it’s time to work back the other way. For these stitch patterns, you just turn the piece and work back the other way. Easy!
For a demonstration of the Wrap + Turn, watch our new Short Rows: Wrap + Turn video…
Wrap and Turn on the Knit Side
Keeping the yarn in back, slip the next stitch purlwise from the left needle to the right needle.
Bring the yarn forward as if to purl.
Slip the stitch from the right needle back to the left needle.
Bring the yarn to the back of the work as if to knit.
Turn the work so the purl side is facing you, ready to purl.
Wrap and Turn on the Purl Side
Keeping the yarn in front, slip the next stitch purlwise from the left needle to the right needle.
Bring the yarn back as if to knit.
Slip the stitch from the right needle back to the left needle.
Bring the yarn to the front of the work as if to purl.
Turn the work so the knit side is facing you, ready to knit.
Once you’ve completed your Short Rows, you’ll notice gaps in the knitting where you wrapped the stitches. To rectify this, you work across the entire row, closing the gaps by “picking up the wrapped stitches”.
Picking up the Wrapped Stitch on the Knit Side
Pick up the wrap with the right needle from front to back.
Then insert the right needle into the stitch that is wrapped.
Knit the wrap and the stitch together.
Picking up the Wrapped Stitch on the Purl Side
Pick up the wrap with the right needle from back to front
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Place the wrap onto the left needle, over and behind the stitch it was wrapping.
Purl together the wrap and the stitch that is wrapped.
That’s Short Rows! Not so scary!
Bonus: How To Pick Up A Purl Wrap On The Knit Side
NOTE: See this particular situation in action at minute 4:33 of the video tutorial , above.
When working in the round, you may encounter a stitch that was wrapped on the purl (or wrong) side and needs to be picked up on the knit (or right) side. Here’s how to pick up a purl wrap on the knit side…
Work up to the wrapped stitch.
Use the tip of the right needle to pick up the wrap, inserting the needle from front to back. Place the wrap onto the left needle. Note: If necessary, nudge the wrap so it is after the next stitch on the needle.
Next, slip the first sitch knitwise, then slip the wrap purlwise. Insert the tip of the left needle into the front legs of those two slipped stitches. Wrap your working yarn around the right needle to knit the two together.
The wrap will fall to the wrong side of your fabric… Nice!
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I am knitting Jemima Puddle Duck on the short rows to shape the base of the neck it says K32, bring the working yarn to the front of work, slip next st purl-wise, slip the slipped stich backon to left needle, turn the knitting, take working yarn to the back ready for knitting = W+Tk (wrap and turn). This leaves the yarn at the back of knitting and you would need to bring yarn over the needle to do the purl side short row. I’m sorry if it’s me been stupid but I cannot find W + Tk any where. Thanks if you can help me
Hi Sue,
Thats a great question! This pattern is describing a wrap and turn, but just slightly different than our video tutorial. Some patterns describe techniques with another abbreviation or a small change to the way its performed. After slipping the stitch back to the left needle and turning your work, the working yarn is in the back. To purl, bring the yarn between the needles ready to purl the next stitch. For an even easier option, I think you could substitute our tutorial for wrap and turns instead in this pattern without an issue! Hope this helps!
Jessica