Raising
It is helpful and saves much counting, if, when you raise or decrease, you knit along with the wool, on that stitch only, a piece of fine white wool or thread. It is easily withdrawn afterwards, but it enables you to see at a glance which is your back needle, and the last time you raised or decreased.
You raise, by putting your needle before knitting next stitch through the loop below, in reality the stitch of the last round, and drawing the wool through it. You must be very careful not to make a hole, a slight twist as you take up the stitch prevents this.
Tops in Fingering
When you knit with two wools, carrying them on at the back, the knitting is much more even if one colour, say the dark, is knitted with wool from right hand in the usual English way, but keep the lighter coloured wool over finger on left hand, and take it up as the Germans always knit. This sounds troublesome, but is really quite easy with a little practice.
Another simple but useful direction in knitting with wool carried on at the back I must give.
When you knit 6 or more stitches with one colour, to avoid too long a loop at the back, which is apt to get pulled, at the 3rd or 4th stitch lay the wool you are not using level with your needle so as to come above or rather between the needle and the wool you are going to knit with. When the stitch is knitted, you will find the wool caught lightly through at the back.
KNICKERBOCKER STOCKING WITH FANCY TOP. NO. 1.
Required.—4 needles No. 12, tested by Walker's Bell Gauge, 3 cuts of Alloa yarn (heather mixture), ½ cut of red to correspond.