"Grafting" live to bound-off stitches - with some ribbing

One nice way to work a shoulder seam is to bind off the back shoulder stitches and then "graft" live stitches from the fronts onto them. This technique combines the seamless appearance of a graft with all the stability of a bind off.

I used this technique for Nancy's vest ...



... where the "graft" starts with a few ribbed stitches and then transitions to stockinette.

First, a few preliminaries:

To clarify what we mean by knitwise and purlwise ... when we insert the tapestry needle knitwise, it approaches the stitch from left to right ... pointing in the same direction as the knitting needle.

   

When we insert the tapestry needle purlwise, it enters the back of the stitch, approaching it from the right.




Before beginning to graft, make sure that all the stitches recently knitted are on the needle with right shoulders forward.


One quick tip before starting: make your graft stitches a little loose - it's much easier to tighten them later than it is to loosen them!

On to the tutorial:

We'll work the left shoulder first. The back shoulder stitches have been bound off; the front stitches are still on the needle, with a long tail threaded onto a tapestry needle ...




Front needle: Insert tapestry needle purlwise into the first stitch and draw through.




* Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind first (knit) stitch and draw through.




Front needle: Insert knitwise into first stitch removing stitch,




Front needle (cont): insert knitwise into next stitch; draw through.




Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind next (purl) stitch and draw through.




Front needle: Insert purlwise into first stitch removing stitch, insert purlwise into next stitch; draw through.

Repeat from * until next stitch on the back edge is the first stitch of the stockinette portion:






Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind the first leg only of next (knit) stitch and draw through.




Front needle: Insert knitwise into first stitch removing stitch,
insert purlwise into next stitch; draw through.




* Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind the next full stitch and draw through.
(Notice the V shape of the stitch being sewn.)




Front needle: Insert knitwise into first stitch removing stitch,
insert purlwise into next stitch; draw through.


Repeat from "*" until all left shoulder stitches have been joined.



The right shoulder is worked very similarly,




although here we've threaded the tail from the bound-off back stitches.




Front needle: Insert tapestry needle knitwise into the first stitch and draw through.




* Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind first (knit) stitch and draw through.




Front needle: Insert purlwise into first stitch removing stitch, insert purlwise into next stitch; draw through.




Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind next (purl) stitch and draw through.




Front needle: Insert knitwise into first stitch removing stitch,




Front needle (cont): insert knitwise into next stitch; draw through.


Repeat from * until next stitch on the back edge is the first stitch of the stockinette portion.


Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind the first leg only of next (knit) stitch and draw through.




* Front needle: Insert purlwise into first stitch removing stitch,



Front needle (cont): insert knitwise into next stitch; draw through.



Back edge: Run tapestry needle, from right to left, behind the next full stitch and draw through.



(Notice the upside-down V shape of the stitch being sewn.)



Repeat from *until all stitches have been joined.
Even out the stitches using the tip of the tapestry needle, and working from start to end.




Not bad.