- [Kristen] Let's knit an i-cord.
We're gonna be working on an i-cord
whether you're working with straight needles
or circular or double pointed needles, it's easy to do,
you can use whatever yarn and needles you like,
so let's begin.
- [Narrator] Welcome to GoodKnit Kisses.
We're all about helping you stitch your love
and love your stitches.
- [Kristen] For more information on i-cords,
visit our blog down
at the link in the video description down below.
You're gonna wanna start
with your favorite needles and appropriate weight yarn.
You can work on any one of the needles shown here,
doesn't matter the brand.
I'm going to show you how to use straight needles first
but I'm also going to show you how to use the DPNs over here
or you can use your circulars or interchangeable needles.
The circulars and DPNs are really great
because we're going to have to stay on the right side
of the fabric or the i-cord all the rows.
So if you're working on the straights,
you actually have to slip your stitches over
but I'm gonna show you how to do it
and then you'll appreciate the use of these.
So stay tuned and we'll work on this together.
Let's begin with a slip knot, however you're comfortable.
I like to have a nice long tail.
We just need enough for three stitches.
We're gonna wrap it around our finger twice,
take the back loop over the front slightly
and do it one more time up and over the tip of our finger
and that forms our slip knot.
I do have tutorials on how to cast on on my channel
if you wanna click down in the video link below
if you need help on that.
Go ahead and place that on your needle.
I like to put the tail part toward me
and the ball part away.
We're gonna grab our yarn here
and split it with our finger and our thumb.
Pull back, we're going to scoop up at the thumb,
down at the finger, down at the thumb and let it go.
Tighten it up a little bit.
I'm gonna put our finger on here for nice distance.
We're gonna scoop up at the thumb,
go around and down at the finger
and down with the thumb and let it go, tighten that up,
and now you are ready with your first three stitches.
All right, first thing you need to know is we need
to stay on the right side.
So this is the right side.
We want our yarn coming from this last stitch here
and then we're gonna work on the first stitch over here.
So instead of turning it around, okay?
We're actually going to pick up our needles
and slip it over to the other needle.
So just put it down to the tip, slip it over
and then we'll begin.
So we're just gonna grab the working yarn,
be sure and don't grab your tail.
I like to slide it down to the very end of the tip.
That's always the best way to knit,
but especially on this one, we don't want this first row
to be super loose.
We want to insert into the first stitch.
The yarn is coming from this last stitch over here,
so be aware of that.
We are working into the first stitch and knitting it
and then we're going to knit the next stitch
and knit the last stitch, and now our yarn
is at the back again and on this last stitch here.
We wanna slide it over again.
So we put it at the end and we just slip it over
to our other needle and we continue.
So your yarn is constantly gonna be over here
on this side and you're going
to be working this first stitch over here,
then the second and the third just as normal, okay?
But you can see how if you wanna make a nice long cord,
you're just going to have to keep slipping these stitches
back and forth all the time and that's not really fun
but I wanna show you what it looks like on the DPN
and then I'll show you how to continue this length on.
First I do wanna show you that you can pull on this
and tug it to elongate it
and it will actually start cinching
in this back part that looks like a little flat panel.
It'll actually kind of go in
and become this tubular shape here.
So let's look at the DPNs.
Here are the DPNs, my double pointed needles,
and you can see I have knit a nice, long length here.
And the nice part about this is when we have come to the end
of knitting a row, let's go ahead and we'll knit a row here.
When we come to the end, all you have to do is slide it
to the other point and then switch over
and get the free needle on this side and begin again.
So you use the DPNs to your benefit
with those double points at both sides.
There you go, and then you just slide it down and knit.
Pretty cool, right?
So let's look at the interchangeable needle
and you'll see the benefit on that.
So if you don't like DPNs, the circular
or interchangeable needle is going to be a good one for you.
So here is my circular needle
and you can see it's not a fixed one,
it's this interchangeable one, I can change its cord out.
I'm actually working with a shorter needle here,
but it really doesn't matter the size because again,
we only have three stitches.
Now you can cast on four or five or even six stitches
for an i-cord for something bigger.
But of course, we're working on just three here today.
You go ahead and knit across.
And when it goes to your other needle here,
you're simply just going to pinch and hold here
and slide your needle all the way around using that cord
and then start knitting your row again,
just like that.
And that's it, pretty simple, right?
Then when you're ready and you're finished
with your i-cord, you can bind off,
you can simply just knit over these stitches here
and then pull through, tighten up and you are done
with your i-cord.
That's pretty great, right?
Then you just weave in your tails or connect it
in the round or whatever you'd like to do with it.
I hope you enjoyed your knitted tutorial
on how to make an i-cord.
If it's a little bit fiddly for you,
we do have a loom knit version.
You can use any loom,
there are just three pegs needed.
You can also do wider if you like,
just like on the needle version.
And this is actually really, really fast to do,
it holds onto your stitches.
And so if you have a hard time holding onto them,
this is a great way to do it
whether using a thin or a thick yarn.
Also, if you also crochet, you might enjoy this one.
And even if you just knit,
if you know how to do the thumb cast on,
the long tail cast on you are going to enjoy this one.
This is a fast version of a crochet i-cord,
see how it's a little thinner than this one?
It's really sturdy, it's nice
and it doesn't even have that beginning tail on it.
So if you're curious and you wanna see
how to do those tutorials, be sure and click down
in the video description link below to see those tutorials.
Hope you have a great day and happy knitting.
Please smash that like button for more videos.
See you soon.
- [Kristen] Thanks for joining us today
where we help you stitch your love and love your stitches.
See you again soon.
(bright piano music)