Since I just finished making Martinique Beach for myself, I thought it would be a good idea to put together some notes and photos about the grafting required in this piece. This is the second cowl I've designed, where it is knit as a tube and then grafted together for a seamless finish. My first project like this was the Selsey Cowl for Pom Pom's blog.
So far, the cowl has been finished and all the ends have been woven in. Make sure to leave enough yarn in the particular colour required for grafting this piece together. I placed my live stitches onto waste yarn before washing it. I let it soak for about an hour and then reshaped it to the finished measurements before letting it dry. I didn't do a Provisional Cast On this time, since I was traveling and found myself without a crochet hook. Instead, I used a basic Cast On and will have to cut out my waste yarn in order to pick up the live stitches. You'll need two small circular needles, roughly the same size, a darning needle and scissors. Hopefully by the end of this you'll have a seamless finish, try to recreate roughly the same gauge as the knitted fabric as you graft the two ends together.
1: Start by placing your live stitches back onto a circular needle and remove waste yarn.
2: With your second circular needle, pick up the stitches just above your Provisional Cast On by sliding the needle into the right side of the stitch, moving right to left. Once all stitches are picked up, remove waste yarn.
The live stitches on the closest needle towards you will be your Bottom Needle (BN). The stitches picked up from the Provisional Cast On will be your Top Needle (TN).
4: Thread darning needle and slide it into the first stitch, as if to purl, on BN. Leave stitch on needle and pull thread through. You'll want to pull your thread snug but not too tight.
5. Now insert the darning needle as if to knit, into the first stitch on TN. Continue to gently pull your thread snug as you work across the stitches.
6. Insert the needle into the first stitch again, on BN, as if to knit. Slide this stitch off the circular needle.
7. Insert the needle into the next stitch on BN, as if to purl. Leave this stitch on needle.
8. Insert the needle into the first stitch again on TN, as if to purl. Slide this stitch off. Now Insert the needle into the next stitch on TN, as if to knit. Keep this stitch on.
Repeat Steps 6 to 8 as you work across the stitches. Once you are finished, carefully weave in your end on the inside of the cowl. Now your seam should be nearly impossible to spot, as long as you mimic the same gauge as the knitted fabric. I'll try to post more tutorials as I continue to knit my way through Take Heart. Hope this helps!
