Increasing Stitches on Knitting Boards

Increasing in knitting is working new stitches into the row to make the knitted fabric larger. Some increases do not interrupt the pattern and others are meant to add a decorative touch. Decorative increases are usually worked two-to-three stitches from the edge of the knitted fabric. The other increases should be worked one or more stitches from the edge of the fabric whenever possible to make it easier to pick up stitches. They are also generally are worked in the odd rows (RS for needle knitters) for two reasons:

• To see the finished, sometimes decorative, look and placement of the increases
• To keep track of the increase rows when you work them in regular intervals

Knitting boards, unlike needles and round looms & rakes, use only two different methods of increasing: the lifted increase and the yarn over increase. Most of the time, you will be using a lifted increase unless your pattern specifically calls for a small hole in the fabric. Then you would use a yarn over increase. This makes it easy to pick out the increase you'd like to use since knitting patterns don't always indicate the type of increase you should use. Just remember that increases have a definite slant and should be placed to follow the slant of the increase. Your best bet is to learn both of the increases and their characteristics.

When working with increases on the knitting board, remember that you are knitting two fabrics so your increase on the left bottom rake will need to complement the increase on the left upper rake. So, if you work a right-slanting lifted increase on the left bottom rake, you will work a left-slanting lifted increase on the left top rake.

If you want to add one or two stitches, use one of the increase stitch. However, if you need to add a large number of increases, you should just cast them on near the side edge of the knitted fabric.

How to Evenly Space Shapings

Evenly spacing shapings is more complicated on the knitting board than on the round loom or rake because the stitch pattern wrapping method must be altered. The math of how to do this will be in this section which is coming soon.