Totally Tubular, plus a review of grafting

I just learned the absolute best technique for casting on and binding off 1x1 ribbing: tubular cast-on and tubular bind-off. When complete, they look almost exactly the same, and they give the ribbed edges of the knit piece a smooth, rounded finish. Here are some brief instructions:

Tubular Cast-On

Picking up stitches for a tubular cast-on. Lighter color
is waste yarn; darker color is working yarn.

Using contrasting waste yarn, cast on 1/2 the number of stitches you will want for your ribbing. Knit 1 row or round. Cut the waste yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. 
 
Join pattern yarn and work 2 rows or rounds of Reverse Stockinette Stitch. On next rnd, *purl 1, then slip purl bump from first row or round of pattern yarn onto needle and knit this st. * Repeat from * to * until all stitches and purl bumps have been worked. (See diagram.) The number of stitches is now double the cast-on. From this point, work P1, K1 ribbing to desired length. After a few rows are complete, carefully remove waste yarn.

Tubular Bind-Off

You will need two empty needles for this step. Circular are best; it doesn't matter if they are slightly different sizes, as long as they are close to the size of the working needle.

Beginning with a purl stitch, work P1, K1 ribbing to desired length. When final row or round of ribbing is complete, divide stitches as follows: Hold both needles together in your right hand with tips facing left. *Slip first stitch (purl) onto one needle and hold in back; slip next st (knit) onto other needle and hold in front.* Rep from * to * until all stitches are divided. All purl stitches should be on the back needle; all knit stitches should be on the front needle. Break yarn, leaving a tail at least 3 times the length of your bind-off row / round. If you used straight needles, slip stitches onto a new needle so the yarn tail is at the working tip; if you used circular needles, slide stitches so tail is at the right tip. Graft stitches using Kitchener stitch, exactly as you would for a sock. Don't worry about the ribbing - it doesn't affect the way the stitches are grafted.

Grafting: a Quick Review

Here are the steps for grafting (aka Kitchener Stitch). When you're grafting stockinette or 1x1 ribbing, it helps to remember that on the side facing you (the front needle) you see the knit side of the stitches. On the side facing away (the back needle), you see the purl side of the stitches. So when you're completing a stitch, you'll be doing so knitwise on the front needle and purlwise on the back needle.

Begin by cutting your yarn, leaving a tail at least three times as long as your bind-off row. Thread it through a yarn needle and repeat the following 4 steps until all the stitches are gone off your needles:

1. Back needle: Draw yarn through first stitch purlwise, slip off needle.
2. Back needle: Draw yarn through second stitch knitwise, leave on needle.
3. Front needle: Draw yarn through first stitch knitwise, slip off needle.
4. Front needle: Draw yarn through second stitch purlwise, leave on needle.

Periodically use your needle or a crochet hook to adjust the completed stitches, making sure they are even.
This is the memory aid I repeat as I graft:

Back: Purl 1 off, knit 1 on; Front: Knit 1 off, purl 1 on.

Handling long floats in stranded colorwork

Stranded colorwork: unless you're twisting every stitch, you will end up with yarn floats. I’m not a big fan of long floats. It's tempting to say just leave them, and many do. It's a matter of taste, I suppose. But though the knitter may be the only one to see the inside of a piece, it’s important to me that I be as happy with the inside as with the outside. I had a great-aunt who was a fantastic artist and needlewoman, and whether I’m painting, embroidering, or knitting, I always look at it afterward and ask myself how it would measure up to Auntie’s standards. Here’s what I do, anytime a float is too long for my taste. Hope it is of help to you, too.

Many instructions I’ve seen say that you should “catch” the yarn if you must cross behind more than 5 stitches; I like to do this anytime the gap is more than 4 stitches.

When you’re stranding colorwork, the strands as you hold them should stay in the same positions relative to each other - one closer to the work, one further away. I knit Continental style (with the yarn held in my left hand), so I carry one yarn over the top of my index finger, and the other yarn under it, with the yarn held under the finger being closer to the work. The yarn held closer shows a little more prominently in the design. See how the multicolor stripes look thicker in the light mitten than in the dark one? The cream was held further away, and the brown was held closer.

To catch the yarn float when there is a long stretch of another color, the relative positions of the yarn must change. So I knit to 1 stitch before the halfway point, then move the carried yarn between the working yarn and the fabric. If it’s the yarn you normally held above, move it down. If it’s the yarn normally held below, move it up. Knit the stitch, then move the carried yarn between the working yarn and the fabric back to its original position.

See the little dark lines in the large areas of blue and the little blue lines in the large areas of black close to the center circle? That’s what it looks like from the inside.

This may or may not be how others do it, but it works for me. I hope it is helpful to you, too

The patterns shown above, in case you were wondering, are Alesund (the mittens) and Harmonic Curves Tam (the hat).