Joining On The Machine
We will be joining two edges with live (un-bound off) stitches. This is frequently used on shoulder seams, and other places where stitches held by waste yarn are joined together and bound off in one step.
Step 1
Hold the first piece with purl side toward the machine, knit side facing you. Fold the waste yarn down towards you, on the knit side of the fabric. Pick up the stitches and rehang on the machine. Be sure to pick up the stitches, not the purl bumps between them. If you pick up the wrong strand of yarn, the stitch will not be bound off, and it will run when you remove the waste yarn.
Step 2
Hold the second piece with knit side toward the machine, purl side facing you. Fold the waste yarn down away from you, on the knit side of the fabric. Right sides of the fabric will be facing each other. Pick up the stitches and rehang on the machine, on top of the stitches already in the hooks. Again, be sure to pick up the stitches, not the purl bumps between them. There are now two stitches in each hook.
Step 3
Thread a tapestry needle and backstitch bind off across. When you reach the end, take the tapestry needle around the last working needle, and come up from back to front through the last doubled stitch. Remove the fabric from the machine. Remove the waist yarn and check to be sure there are no dropped stitches.
This tutorial was copyrighted and uploaded to the original Clearwater Knits website in 1997. It was updated in 2017.