Knitting braids and harness on knitting needles

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Knitting a braid or plait on knitting needles is technically not a very difficult thing. Only care is needed, because the loops can be thrown from left to right or right to left, if mixed up, the pattern will go astray.

In principle, a braid and a tourniquet are almost the same thing. Only braids are usually called a three-piece pattern that looks like a braid braided from three strands of hair, and a tourniquet is knitted in two parts and looks like a rope.

Knitting a braid (tow) is performed using an auxiliary knitting needle or pin. First you need to knit a few preparatory rows with facial and purl loops. As you can see, the braids are worked on the purl side because they look more prominent. The simplest is a two-part braid or tourniquet, and all other patterns are built on their basis and knitted according to the same principle.

Option 1. Pulling loops back

Go to the edge of the knit braid. Slip the required number (usually half) of the loops on the auxiliary knitting needle, take back, for knitting, and knit the remaining face loops. Now take an auxiliary knitting needle and knit loops on it. Continueknitting.

Option 2. Leading loops forward

Performed similarly to the first method, only the auxiliary knitting needle remains in front of the workers.

In both cases, you will get crossed loops. Knitting a braid consists in crossing the loops from right to left or from left to right. If you need the loops to be crossed from right to left, you take the auxiliary knitting needle forward, and when left to right - back. (This is correct if you knit with your right hand. If you can knit with both hands and do not turn the fabric over to finish the next row, then for the left hand everything will be exactly the opposite.)

The next crossing of loops for knitting a braid is done through several rows. Usually everything is indicated on the diagram or in the description of the model.

When you master the simplest braid knitting, the patterns will become clearer. In the place where you need to cross the loops, a special designation is made. Now we will analyze how to knit a beautiful scarf with braids.

Scarf with plaits and braids pattern

The slanted lines in the diagram show which way to cross the loops. In different sources, the designations will be different, but over time you will learn to intuitively understand how the braid is knitted according to one pattern or another. You will need to check only to count the rows.

We have:

1	Slip 4 sts and pull forward, knit the next 4. Then 4 removed.
2	Slip 5 sts and pull back, knit the next 5. Then 5 slips.
3	Slip the first stitch onto the working needle without knitting. Knit the next two loops and loop the slipped loop around them. Yarn over next row.

Cross stitches do not start from the first row of knitting and usually do not end in the last row either. Therefore, the edges of the scarf will be a little fake. Gather them with a needle or make a fringe.

It takes a lot of time to create a braid. Knitting with openwork patterns or front / back loops is much faster. But the plaits and braids look very beautiful, especially since there are many options. We have now analyzed only the simplest patterns with crossed loops.