Hiding the jog
Tricot / Knitting

When working in the round, you might see a jog, or a hitch in the color pattern, at the beginning of rounds, especially when the background color changes (below left).

If the beginning of a round coincides with a steek, the jog will never been seen. If, however, you are making an item such as a hat that won’t be cut and the jog appears unsightly, try one of these tricks for hiding the jog.

SLIP STITCHES:

The slip stitch technique is quick and may seem like an intuitive solution to many knitters.

To use slip stitches:

On the first round of each new color, knit around normally. On the second round, slip the first stitch of the new round purlwise without knitting it and then knit the rest of the pattern as normal.

The slipped stitch pulls up the beginning and the end of the round to the same height to disguise the shift in colors (below center).

ROW BELOW STITCHES:

Another option is to knit the first stitch of the second round in the row below (below right). This technique might feel slightly awkward at first, but it does a good job of hiding the jog.

To knit in the row below:

On the first round of each new pattern, knit around as usual, doing nothing out of the ordinary.

At the beginning of the second round, pick up the right leg of the first stitch from the row below (the old color) and put it on the left-hand needle.

Knit it together with the first stitch on the needle and continue to the end of the round.

Working the first stitch of the round this way blends the beginning and end of each round together, hiding the jog.

Note that each of these tricks requires that your pattern be at least two rounds high.

If your pattern is only one row, you can often wiggle the fabric as you deal with the yarn tails to even out the jog.

Left: Color knitting in the round produces a noticeable jog in the fabric.

Center: Slip stitches minimize the appearance of the jog.

Right: Working stitches in the row below also minimizes the visibility of the jog.