Grafting a Lace Edging Is as Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4

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Grafting is a joining method used when a visible, bulky seam would detract from the appearance (or comfort) of a knitted garment. When grafting stitches, we use a tapestry needle to draw a strand of yarn through the live stitches on two separate pieces in such a way to maintain the stitch pattern between the pieces and create a completely invisible join. Grafting is often the method of choice for joining the toes of socks, joining the two halves of a lace stole in the center, or joining the beginning and end of a cowl or a lace edging on a blanket. Grafting can also be used to repair areas on completed garments where several stitches have come undone and created a hole.

Above: The Genealogy Shawl by Fiona Munro.

The Challenge of Grafting Lace Edging

Lace grafting can be a challenging technique to master because the steps must be tailored to the particular stitch pattern of the pieces that are being joined. Simple patterns, such as stockinette and garter stitch, are fairly straightforward to graft because all the stitches are the same across the row and the grafting steps consist of short, repeated sequences that are easy to memorize.

But lace grafting is a little more complicated if the goal is for the join to be completely invisible. For one thing, lace patterns are quite varied, with no set sequence from one pattern to the next. Moreover, lace patterns contain yarnovers and decreases (and possibly even twisted stitches and slipped-stitch selvedges) that may also need to be incorporated into the grafting along with the knit and purl stitches. It isn’t difficult to create any of these stitches when grafting, but some may require different grafting maneuvers than you are used to if you’ve only grafted stockinette stitch.

Hammer hitting a screw — When it comes to grafting a lace edging, Kitchener stitch isn’t the best tool for the job.

Another complicating factor when grafting lace edgings is that two pattern rows are created simultaneously—one each when the grafted row intersects with the live stitches above and below it. (This is true even when grafting stockinette stitch, but it may not be that apparent because the stitches—and the grafting steps—are so uniform.) If the lace pattern has “rest” rows that alternate with lace rows, the unfamiliar grafting maneuvers (for the yarnovers and decreases) will only occur on one row, while the more standard grafting steps (for the knit and/or purl stitches) will fall on the rest row.

Two-sided lace patterns, however, don’t contain rest rows because you work the lace patterning on every row. Therefore, yarnovers and decreases (plus any other type of stitch that is included in the pattern) must be created on two rows simultaneously during the grafting process. Although it is fairly easy to create stitches using a tapestry needle—even for two-sided lace—it can be tricky to work the grafted stitches in the correct order. There are no memorizable formulas for grafting lace.

Fortunately, the pattern chart can be a great help in this case. A chart provides a detailed map of a stitch pattern, so knitters can use it as a guide when grafting lace top to bottom (grafting live stitches to a provisional cast-on row) because the end result is the same whether you use knitting needles or a tapestry needle to create the stitch pattern. (Note, however, that the entire chart must reflect the lace pattern as it appears when viewed from the right side of the work, including the symbols on the wrong-side rows.)

In this blog, we’ll use this Edging chart to practice grafting lace top to bottom. The lace pattern is fairly simple, with wrong-side rows that are all-knit, except for one yarnover/decrease pair (enough to practice grafting a small bit of two-sided lace).

But first, we’ll practice grafting lace stitches on a stockinette stitch swatch. This will make it easier to focus on how each stitch is created, without worrying yet about how the stitches fit into the lace edging pattern.

Stockinette stitch swatches — Two halves of the Stockinette stitch swatch.

Practice Lace Grafting with Stockinette

For our stockinette practice swatch, we’ll work two separate halves and graft the stitches at the top of one half to the stitches at the bottom of the other half. In addition to the working yarn, you’ll also need some smooth cotton waste yarn in a contrasting color. The waste yarn will hold the stitches securely in place as the stitches are being grafted. That way, if you make a mistake, you can easily undo the stitches and graft them again without worrying about losing any stitches. (Additionally, leaving the stitches on waste yarn will make it possible, when grafting the lace edging later, to lay the two pieces out flat so that you can see the grafted stitches in context and ensure that you are staying on track.)

Because the stitches won’t be placed on knitting needles for the grafting, we can’t identify the stitches by their location on either the front needle or back one. Therefore, we’ll refer to the piece with the provisional cast-on (with the cast-on stitches held on waste yarn) as the “upper piece” and the piece with the last row of working-yarn stitches held on waste yarn as the “lower piece.”

Similarly, the term “knitwise” will indicate that the point of the tapestry needle should be pointing upward (facing away from you), while the term “purlwise” will indicate that the point of the tapestry needle should be pointing downward (facing toward you).

Inserting tapestry needle knitwise into a stitch on the lower piece.

Inserting tapestry needle knitwise into a stitch on the upper piece.

Inserting tapestry needle purlwise into a stitch on the lower piece.

Inserting tapestry needle purlwise into a stitch on the upper piece.

Using a Chart for Grafting Top to Bottom

1. Select Two Chart Rows For the Grafting Rows

Even before you start knitting the lace edging, you must first decide which two consecutive chart rows you want to use for the grafting. The choice of rows will determine not only how you work the provisional cast-on (the first row of working-yarn stitches above the waste yarn), but also how you will begin the Edging chart after the cast-on row and how you will end the chart before grafting. Because the lace edging will be joined seamlessly and because it will be impossible to detect where the edging begins or ends, you have a certain amount of latitude when it comes to selecting the two chart rows. But to simplify the grafting as much as possible, it’s a good idea to use the two rows with the fewest stitches and/or the simplest pattern. With edgings, the shortest rows are often the first two and last two rows of the chart. For our practice swatches, we’ll use Rows 1 and 2 of the Edging chart for the grafting.

2. Realign the Symbols on the Two Chart Rows

Realign the symbols on both rows so they are more consistent with how the stitches will be aligned in the edging itself.

Realigned edging chart — Realign the symbols on Rows 1 and 2.

The yarnovers and decreases in a lace chart sometimes cause the symbols to shift, which doesn’t necessarily matter when you’re following each row independently—although “no stitch” symbols are sometimes added if the misalignment is too severe. But when using the chart as a guide for grafting and following two rows simultaneously, the rows need to be aligned so they more closely resemble how they will actually appear in the knitting.

The symbols can then be divided into grafting sequences, consisting of two rows apiece. Each sequence will create a stitch (or stitches) on the upper and lower pieces. For easy identification, the sequences can be designated with a letter.

Our practice swatches will consist of four grafting sequences (A, B, C, and D). Notice that the yarnover on Row 2 of the realigned chart doesn’t have a letter. That’s because this yarnover is worked on the provisional cast-on row (the first row of working yarn above the waste yarn) and will be skipped during grafting. It is included in the chart to serve as a landmark.

The yarnover on Row 2 is worked on the provisional cast-on row.

Grafting a yarnover — During grafting, the yarnover will be skipped.

The realigned chart can be followed just as it is once you know how to work each sequence individually. But we’ll look at each sequence in detail and then put them all together to graft the practice swatch. But before we dive into the specifics of how to work the grafting sequences, let’s take a closer look at the basic order of steps when grafting stitches top to bottom.

The Basic Order of Grafting Steps for Top-to-Bottom Grafting

When stitches are grafted top to bottom, a stitch from the last row of the lower piece (LP) is joined to two half stitches on the bottom row of the upper piece (UP). This can be represented in chart form.

Basic order grafting — Basic order of grafting steps.

The dotted line on the upper row of the chart represents the space between two stitches on the upper piece. The numbers and arrows show the path that the grafting yarn takes through the stitches on the upper and lower pieces for each grafting sequence. A basic sequence consists of four steps: Steps 1 and 4 will create a stitch on the lower piece, and Steps 2 and 3 will create a stitch on the upper piece. For our practice swatches, the stitches created on the lower piece will correspond to Row 1 of the Edging chart, and the stitches created on the upper piece will correspond to Row 2. Both rows are created simultaneously with the right-side of the work facing (even though Row 2 was originally a wrong-side row).

The same basic four-step sequence applies to both knit and purl stitches. The differences are determined by whether the tapestry needle is inserted knitwise or purlwise into a stitch on any given step. (The knitwise/purlwise grafting steps for purl stitches are the exact reverse of those for knit stitches.) Minor adjustments can be made to the basic four-step sequence to create many other types of stitches. Steps 1 and 4 are skipped for yarnovers (or worked into multiple stitches for decreases) on the lower piece. And two sequences are overlapped for decreases on the upper piece. In our practice swatches, we’ll be creating yarnovers, k2tog decreases, and knit stitches on the lower piece, while at the same time creating purl stitches and a p2tog decrease on the upper piece.

Before proceeding to the practice swatches, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the grafting sequences A–D.

Sequence A: Creating a knit stitch on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2

Insert tapestry needle pwise into st on lower piece.
Insert tapestry needle kwise into st on upper piece.
Insert tapestry needle pwise into next st on upper piece.
Insert tapestry needle kwise into st on lower piece.

Grafting sequence A — Sequence A will create a knit stitch on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2.

Grafting sequence B — Sequence B will create a yarnover on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2.

Sequence B: Creating a yarnover on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2

To create a yarnover, you will skip the first step of creating a knit stitch.
Insert tapestry needle kwise into st on upper piece.
Insert tapestry needle pwise into next st on upper piece.
As for the first step, skip this step.

Sequence C: Creating a k2tog decrease on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2

Insert tapestry needle pwise into 2 sts on lower piece.
Insert tapestry needle kwise into st on upper piece.
Insert tapestry needle pwise into next st on upper piece.
Insert tapestry needle kwise into 2 sts on lower piece. (Turn the lower piece toward you so you can see the back of the work and have easier access to both stitches.)

Grafting sequence C — Sequence C will create a k2tog decrease on Row 1 and a purl stitch on Row 2.

Grafting sequence D — Sequence D will create two knit stitches on Row 1 and a p2tog decrease on Row 2 (by working two overlapping Sequence As).

Sequence D: Creating two knit stitches on Row 1 and a p2tog decrease on Row 2

Steps 1-4: Work as for Sequence A
5. Insert tapestry needle pwise into next st on lower piece.
Steps 6 and 7: Rep Steps 2 and 3 of Sequence A, working into same sts.
8: Insert tapestry needle kwise into st on lower piece.

A chart symbol can be created for each sequence that shows the path the grafting yarn takes through the stitches on the upper and lower pieces. The shaded areas indicate purl stitches (as viewed from the right side of the work).

A chart symbol can be created for each grafting sequence that shows the path of the grafting yarn.

Then the symbols can be arranged in order according to Rows 1 and 2 of the Edging chart, and this chart can be used as a guide for grafting. When grafting, read the chart from right to left.

Grafting sequence for lace — The sequence symbols can be arranged in order according to chart Rows 1 and 2.

Practice Swatch

You will need:

Working yarn
Cotton waste yarn in a contrasting color (and the same weight as the working yarn)
Tapestry needle

Stockinette Stitch Swatch

Upper Piece

With waste yarn, CO 28 sts. Work in St st for 1″, ending with a RS row. Break yarn.
Next row (provisional CO row) (WS) With working yarn, k3, yo, k25—29 sts.
Next row (RS) Knit.
Next row (WS) K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.

Rep last 2 rows until working-yarn section measures about 2 1/2″, ending with a RS row. Knit 2 rows. BO all sts kwise on a WS row.

Lower Piece

With working yarn and using the long-tail method, CO 28 sts. Knit 3 rows.
Next row (WS) K2, purl to last 2 sts, k2.
Next row (RS) Knit.

Rep last 2 rows until piece measures about 2 1/2″, ending with a WS row.

Break yarn, leaving a 15″ tail for grafting. Join waste yarn.
Next row (RS) Purl.

Beg with a WS purl row, work in St st for 1″. BO all sts.

Grafting the Swatch

Work Steps 1–4 of Sequence A. Step 2 of this first Sequence A uses a half loop at the very edge. This loop can sometimes hide at the back of the work and may also be a little higher than the other stitches.

grafting stockinette swatch — Work Step 1 of Sequence A.

Grafting sequence 2 — Work Step 2 of Sequence A into stitch at edge of upper piece.

Grafting sequence 3 — Work Step 3 of Sequence A.

Grafting sequence 4 — Work Step 4 of Sequence A.

Work Steps 1–4 of Sequence A once more.

Grafting sequence 1 lower piece — Work Step 1 of Sequence A into next stitch on lower piece.

Grafting sequence 2 upper piece — Work Step 2 of Sequence A into same stitch on upper piece as Step 3 of last sequence.

Work Steps 2 and 3 of Sequence B. This first Sequence B will increase a stitch on the lower piece from 28 to 29 stitches. The other times Sequence B is worked, it will be paired with Sequence C so the stitch count will remain the same.

grafting step 2 sequence b — Work Step 2 of Sequence B into same stitch on upper piece as Step 3 of last sequence.

Step 3 sequence b — Work Step 3 of Sequence B.

*Work Steps 1–4 of Sequence C.

step 1 sequence c — Work Step 1 of Sequence C.

steps 2 and 3 sequence c — Work Steps 2 and 3 of Sequence C.

step 4 sequence c — Work Step 4 of Sequence C.

complete four sequences — First four sequences completed.

Work Sequence B.

Work Sequence A. Make sure not to pull the yarn too tightly. You don’t want to close the yarnover hole.

sequence a completed — Next Sequence A completed.

Work Sequence A again.

End of repeat — Next Sequence A completed. This is the end of the repeat.

Rep from * 4 more times.

two repeats completed — Two repeats completed.

last grafting repeat — Last repeat completed.

After the last repeat has been worked, there should be 2 contrasting purl bumps on the upper piece before the yarnover on the upper piece.

Work Sequence C once. Work Sequence B once, ending just before the yarnover on the upper piece.

grafting sequences c and b — Sequences C and B completed before yarnover on upper piece.

Work Sequence D to left of yarnover on the upper piece. Start by working Sequence A, with Steps 2 and 3 to the left of the yarnover on the upper piece.

completed sequence a — Sequence A completed after yarnover on upper piece.

Then work another Sequence A, but this time work Steps 2 and 3 over the same stitches as for the first Sequence A so that the second stitch overlaps the first stitch.

sequence a to sequence d — Second Sequence A overlapping first Sequence A to complete Sequence D.

End with two Sequence As. For the last sequence, work Step 3 by bringing grafting yarn behind cast-on tail.

last two sequence a — Work last two Sequence As to complete grafted row.

Remove the waste yarn.

finished grafting swatch — Remove waste yarn.

Lace Edging Swatch

Upper Piece

With waste yarn, CO 16 sts. Work in St st for 1″, ending with a RS row. Break yarn.
Next row (WS) With working yarn, k3, yo, k13—17 sts.
Work Rows 3–20 of Edging chart, then work Rows 1–10 of chart once more. BO all sts.

The first row of working-yarn stitches is a completed Row 2, which means the row should contain the stitches that will appear on the right needle after the row has been worked. For example, the decrease that is worked on Row 2 will result in one stitch on the right needle, so only one stitch will be worked over the waste yarn. The yarnover is located three stitches in from the left edge and there are thirteen stitches after the yarnover.

lace edging grafting upper piece — The yarnover on the upper piece is located three stitches from the left edge.

Lower Piece

With working yarn, CO 16 sts. Work Rows 1–20 of Edging chart. Break yarn, leaving a 15″ tail for grafting. Join waste yarn.
Next row (RS) P16.
Beg with a WS purl row, work in St st for 1″. BO all sts.

The first row of waste yarn stitches is purled to make it easier to access the tops of the stitches when grafting.

Arrange pieces on a flat surface, with the upper piece above the lower piece.