If you’ve ever knit something flat, whether a washcloth, scarf or blanket, chances are you are really familiar with the concept of turning your work at the end of each row. It’s second nature! But have you ever encountered a pattern that asks you to turn your work at the end of some rows and to slide your work at the end of others? Our Turn + Slide Tutorial shows you exactly what to do when you face this instruction!

Turn + Slide is used for working stripes or multi-color patterns while knitting flat (most often one-row stripes, but two-color linen stitch is also common). Here’s why you need a technique for these situations: Imagine you work a row in Color A and now you want to knit the next row in Color B, but when you turn your work to do that, the Color B yarn isn’t there; it’s back at the beginning of your needles. The simple way around this obstacle is to use circular needles and the Turn + Slide technique.

Watch our Turn + Slide video Tutorial below, which is particularly helpful if you’re knitting our Color Wash Blanket, or follow along with the instructions at the bottom of the page!

Click To See Video Transcript

Hi, this is Whitney from Purl Soho. I’m going to demonstrate how to work a Turn + Slide. This technique is for working one-row stripes or any odd number row of stripes, but most commonly one-row stripes. Here’s why you need a technique for this situation. So imagine that you work a row in Color A, you’ve brought the Color A yarn to the end of your needles, and now you want to knit the next row in Color B. But when you turn your work to do that, Color B isn’t there. It’s back at the other end of your needles. The simple way around this quandary is to use a set of circular needles and the Turn +Slide technique.

Here I’m demonstrating with a little swatch of our Color Wash Blanket, which uses turn and slide for the two color garter stitch section of the pattern. For this project, we’re going to alternate stripes of the old colors from the previous section with new colors for the next section. We start with a setup row, which is simply knitting a row with the old colors, then cutting a super long tail and winding it into a ball. This is really specific to the Color Wash Blanket, and unless this is the pattern you’re working on, you’ll simply knit a row with your first color.

Okay, so we have our little ball of old colors here. And now at the end of the setup row, the pattern says to slide work. All this means is to keep the same side of the work facing you and to simply slide your stitches to the right end of your circular needles like so. Now without turning the work at all, and with the same side facing you, you start the next row by joining the new colors for the Color Wash Blanket row, one of the two color garter stitch pattern instructs you to use the new colors to purl to the end of the row.

Aha. So normally when you work garter stitch flat, you’d knit every row, but because we slid the last row, instead of turning, you now have knit stitches facing you. And so in order to maintain garter stitch, you have to purl this row. So you purl across this row with the new colors.

Okay, we’re reaching the end of this row, and the next instruction is to turn work. Good. This means to do what you would normally do when you’re knitting rows. You transfer the needle from your left hand to your right and the needle from your right hand to your left, flipping the work around so that the other side is facing you. Now I’m ready to work row two, and the old colors are right here ready for me. And because I’m looking at knit stitches, I’m going to have to purl this row in order to stay in garter stitch. So I’m going to purl to the end of this row.

Okay, so I’m purling to the end of this row, and when I get here, I realize that I need the new colors next and that they’re at the other end of the needles. So keeping the same side facing me, I’m going to slide my work to the right end of my needles, and there is the yarn waiting for me. And so for row three, because I’m looking at a previous row of purl stitches, I’ll use these new colors to knit to the end of the row.

Okay, I’ve reached the end of my row, and now I’m going to turn my work just as instructed for row four of the two-color garter stitch pattern. Just like the setup row, I’m going to pick up my old color and knit to the end of this row. So even though you have three things going on at once, you’re alternating colors, you are purling a row, knitting a row, you’re turning and sliding. It’s actually hard to go wrong. Just follow your pattern, keep your stripes in order, and your stitch pattern intact, and you’ll be good to go. And that’s how you Turn + Slide. It’s a wonderful little technique for one-row stripes.


TURN WORK

“Turn work” means to do what you would normally do when knitting rows: Transfer the needle from your left hand into your right hand and the needle from your right hand into your left, flipping the work around so the other side is facing you. 

SLIDE WORK

“Slide work” means to keep the same side of the work facing you and to push all the stitches to the right end of the circular needles. Without turning the work, just start the new row as you normally would. You will know you’re doing this technique correctly when the yarn you need to complete the next row is right there waiting for you!

That’s all there is to Turn + Slide. Give it a try with our Colorfield Hand Towels, Sunday Dinner Dishtowels, Nature’s Palette Wrap or Blanket, or our Color Wash Blanket!

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