Hitch – Knitting a Perfectly Symmetrical Single Increase
For many of my knitting pattern designs I like to add side increases a few stitches away from either side marker. It’s a great method of gradually adding width where it is least noticed. When there is one increase before and one increase after the side marker, I can choose an increase method that has a left and right option so they mirror each other. However, sometimes I don’t want them to lean left or right. I really want a symmetrical increase! The Hitch increase is the perfect solution where one knit stitch splits into two equal stitches symmetrically. Let’s take a closer look at how to do the Hitch increase.
Where did the Hitch Increase get it’s name?
It’s all about the ropes! Sailors, farmers, construction workers all learn to tie a variety of rope knots to use in their professions. Take a look around and you will find there are a surprisingly wide variety of methods for tying knots in ropes.
The Hitch is a whole group of knots which attach a rope to something else. A good way to remember this is to think of a Hitching Post outside the Saloon in those old cowboy movies. The Hitching post lays horizontally between two vertical poles which might hold up a verandah on the front of a building. The riders would “hitch” their horse, tying the horse bridle in a knot to the post. (Interesting we don’t often have something similar for dogs these days…) A hitch can also be used to connect a rope to vertical poles, to lift a beam, tie around a knob, a clip, a cleat on the side of a boat or a toggle. Some Hitch knots are designed to give equal tension on each end of the rope such as the Distel Hitch.
One of the most basic is the Cow Hitch which can be tied when both ends of the rope are free or when just one end is free. Let me get my cowgirl hat on and show you what I mean.
Practice doing a Cow Hitch
When both ends are free:
- Make a loop with both ends of the rope pointing down. Lie the sides of the loop over the top of a horizontal pole from back to front. (top of the loop facing the front, 2 ends at the back.)
- Fold the loop over the top of the pole big enough so you can see through the slack of the loop underneath the pole. Thread the each end of the rope through the slack of the loop bringing them both to the front.
- Pull both ends to tighten.
Or when only one end of the rope is free:
- Wrap the end over the top of the pole from back to front and off to the right.
- Wrap under the pole and behind the rope end attached to your cow (come on, use your imagination).
- Wrap over the pole from front to back leaving some slack in the rope.
- Thread the end from behind the pole through to the front of the slack, then pull to tighten.
This is roughly what your knitting increase will look like except up the other way. Two stitches emerging from the middle of the stitch. Pretty exciting? Let’s give it a try.
How do you do a Hitch Increase in knitting?
The goal is to draw the yarn through from front to back on the right side of the stitch and then front to back on the left side of the stitch. To wrangle this switch from one leg to the other, you’re going to need to juggle a little.
There are a few ways to get your needles around the Hitch single increase in knitting.
This is the easiest, in my opinion.
- Slip the stitch purlwise from left to right needle. Insert left needle behind BOTH legs and stretch the stitch a little taller so you have some room to move (ie. just like the rope, give it some slack).
- Draw the yarn up from the back left side, knit by wrapping around the right needle tip.
- Draw it through under the stitch slowly.
- Drop the right leg away from the left needle tip so the left leg is now sitting on the left needle. This is a reverse mount.
- Knit through the front of the loop as normal. This may be a little tight so feel free to wriggle the needles until the tension feels good.
- There it is! A symmetrical single increase. This is the hitch.
Here’s another method…
- On a regular mounted stitch with right leg forward, knit through the back loop letting the stitch slip to the right needle. The legs are now crossed with the leg on the left side (from your point of view) crossed over the leg on the right side.
- With left needle pick up the back (currently right) leg. Do this by reaching behind and scooping through in front of the leg (ie. knit wise). This twists the stitch back to where it was before and uncrosses the legs again. Now you have the left leg in front on the left needle. Open the stitch wide for some slack.
- Knit through the front loop.
When would you use a knitted symmetrical single increase?
The Hitch symmetrical increase is perfect when you need to make an increase spread across a width of fabric like working down to a hem or an increasing circular cone, like a shawl, skirt or top down yoke.
I just happen to be working on a simple sweater as a gift right now. In the top down pattern, rib is worked for the collar and upper yolk, then there are 3 sections of English Rib stitch. (English Rib is like Brioche worked with just one colour.) The first section is worked for about 4cm (1 ¼ inches). After that, a stocking stitch round adds increases evenly spread. There’s one more round of stocking, before I start the next English Rib section with more stitches.
The first time I made this pattern I was disappointed with the increases. I was new to knitting and only knew how to do kfb at that stage. (That is: Knit front back – knit through the front loop leaving the stitch on the left needle, then knit through the back loop and transfer to the right needle) Kfb has its uses. First of all, it’s incredibly fast to do. Secondly, if you are working a tighter stitch like stocking, it hides fairly well amongst the rest. However, the increase appears to have what almost looks like a little purl bump on the front and sits to the left side of the original stitch. When you look at it on the needle it sticks out like the top of a capital “T”. So, you have to rely on the the surrounding stitches to hide it.
Hiding increases in Brioche
English Rib or Brioche is a much wider stitch compared to stocking so the new increases did not hide very well. It features alternating columns of knit and purl.
The pattern asks for roughly 50% more stitches in the increase. Using the Hitch increase, I knit the original knit stitch, then used the Hitch increase on the purl stitch. It looked beautiful! Brioche and English rib are quite a deep, textured stitch pattern with the knit stitch pushed forward and the purl stitch sitting well back into the background. By adding the increases to the purl stitch draws attention away from it. Then, as the next stocking round draws all stitches together equally, the symmetrical increase looks so great.
I have a summer top design I will be working top down in cotton for the next collection. Cotton is quite hard and crisp so, any increases and decreases show up like crazy. With cotton, there is no fluff to hide behind! The Hitch will be a perfect way to get a symmetrical increase around the yolk as I work from neck to armhole.
Watch this space! We’ll see how it goes.
Do you have any knitting technique that is annoying where you’d like to find a more tidy method? Contact me about it and we’ll see if we can find a better way to knit it.