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How to Make Mirrored Increases in Knitting: M1R, M1L

Have you ever knit a pattern that says something like “increase one stitch” or Make 1, but doesn’t specify what technique to use? Here are tips on how to choose which increase to use in your knitting.

Generally, when a pattern says “M1,” it’s referring to the Make-One increase, which is a specific technique. That’s when you lift up the running stitch between stitches and knit into the back of it (to twist it so it doesn’t make a hole). Some patterns specify mirrored increases, which would be written as M1R (make one right) or M1L (make one left). When the direction of the increase isn’t given, it’s either because the direction it leans doesn’t matter, the designer or tech editor doesn’t think the difference is significant or even know there’s a difference, or the designer expects you to know the difference for yourself and choose accordingly.

Mirroring increases can be fun and add just a little extra professionalism to your knitting. I usually choose to mirror them, just because I can.

When do you mirror increases? In garments that have paired sets of increases. For example, on each side of a thumb gusset. On each side of a sock toe. On each side of a shoulder. On either side of a waist… and so on.

When does it not matter if you mirror increases? When they’re spaced evenly around a garment. Like when increasing around a hat evenly. When increasing around a waist evenly. When increasing around a top-down sweater yoke evenly. You get the idea.

If you choose to mirror increases, how do you know which direction to point them? Good question. I like to point them towards the new fabric that’s being built. If I’m increasing a thumb gusset, I point them in towards the growing thumb, not towards the hand that isn’t changing in size.

If I’m increasing a top-down sweater, usually there are multiple pairs of increases: the sleeve increases and the body increases. I point the sleeve increases towards the growing sleeve and the body increases towards the growing body. If I point them towards the ungrowing area of stitches between the body and each sleeve, I find they make an extra line in the knitting that seems out of place. (But that could be construed as a “design element” by some.)

When I point them towards the area of growth, I find they blend in better.

What this looks like in real life is usually that the increases are pointing away from the stitch markers. We generally put stitch markers in places where they won’t move every time we increase, right? We put them on the edge of the area that won’t grow and leave them there while we make increases to either side. Now, this could change, depending on the pattern, so you’ll have to use your thinking knitter’s brain to determine where the areas of growth are. Don’t just blindly follow the stitch markers, okay? That generalization will only help you most of the time, not all of the time.

M1R Increase

On the knit side:

Lift up the running stitch and place it on the left needle with its left leg in front (mounted twisted). Knit into the front of the stitch.

Tip: If you insert your left needle under the running stitch from back to front, it will be mounted twisted. It will be a little tight to knit into the front of it, so work near the tip of the needle, with your needles close together so you’re not pulling on the fabric. Keep the tension as relaxed as possible.

M1R on the purl side:

If you’re working this one as a purl, where its purl side will be its public face, it doesn’t matter which way you lean it because the lean won’t show. But, if you’re working it on the back side for some reason (say, as the increase on the purl side in double knitting), and it’s public side will be the knit side, this technique will have it lean right when you look at it from the knit side.

Lift up the running stitch and place it on the left needle with its left leg in front (mount twisted). Purl into the front leg.

M1L Increase

On the knit side:

Lift up the running stitch and place it on the left needle with its right leg in front. Knit into the back of the stitch. (Put your right needle behind the stitch and knit into the back strand from right to left.)

Tip: If you insert your left needle under the running stitch from front to back, it will be mounted properly.

M1L on the purl side:

Again, this technique will have it lean left when you look at it from the knit side.

Lift up the running stitch and place it on the left needle with its right leg in front. Purl through the back loop. (Put your right needle behind the stitch and insert it from left to right into the back leg. It will feel incredibly awkward and twisty, and you’ll have to work it near the needle tip to give it enough looseness for it to work. Once the right needle is inserted, purl it.)

Other increases

If the pattern doesn’t say M1, it will usually specify a different type of increase.

The Kfb increase (knit into the front and back, AKA the bar increase) is one that will be written into the pattern by name. Just follow the directions for it. Because it looks like a knit stitch followed by a purl stitch, it blends in perfectly with ribbing when worked in the last knit stitch before a purl section. It can also be used as a decorative increase when positioned by the designer to form a line of purl bumps in the midst of knit stitches.

The Lifted increase, or as Cat Bordhi calls it, the LRinc and LLinc, can be mirrored by you. However, this one will also be named in the pattern if the designer wants you to use it. Because it’s less common, it will also likely be described in detail in the instructions. Because the lifted increase uses the stitches in the row below as well, it isn’t always appropriate to use. It is best worked at least every 2nd row or more. When increasing every row, the M1 or Kfb would be better.

The Yarnover increase doesn’t need to be mirrored because… it’s just a hole. 🙂 They look pretty as lace increases and as substitutes for M1 increases on little girls’ raglan shoulders and elsewhere. I’ve even seen glove gussets made with yarnover increases.

Bonus Tip: Create a Missed Yarnover

Did you know that by picking up the running stitch and putting it on your needle, you’ve recreated a yarnover? So, if you miss a yarnover in the previous row, simply pick up the running stitch with its right leg in front to remake it, then work into it as the pattern calls for.

31 Days to Your Nicest Knitting series. www.aknitica.com #write31days #knittingtipsThis post is part of my 31 Days to Your Nicest Knitting series. Every day, I’ll post a new tip or trick to make your knitting nicer. You can follow along easily by subscribing. If you have any knitting problems you’d like me to fix, let me know and I’ll try to answer your question as part of the series. You can find all the posts in the series here.

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The Anatomy of a Knit Stitch and Why It Matters

Knowing your stitches and their characteristics can help you in so many ways. It makes it easier to spot or fix mistakes, easier to count stitches, easier to twist or untwist them, and easier to mirror them when it comes to increases and decreases.

So, grab your closest knitting project and examine it along with me:

From the front, a knit stitch looks like a V.

It has two public sides that make up the V, plus the top of the stitch, which hides behind the bottom of the V above it. From the back side, the tops of the stitches look like little frowns. If you’re picking up stitches to knit a collar, or to close a gap when knitting a thumb, these frowns are the parts to grab. Just reach in through the front and put the frown on the needle with its right leg in front and knit into it normally. It’ll look beautiful.

The bottoms of the V’s hide behind and between the bottoms of each stitch. They all link together in a row. If you’re looking at them from the back side, they look like little smiles.

Those little smiles on the back side are actually called running stitches. They’re the horizontal lines that link together all the stitches in one row. When a pattern calls for a M1 increase, that means you’ll lift up the running stitch and knit into the back of it. These running stitches between the columns are also the bits you work with when you’re sewing up using Mattress Stitch or when you’re picking up and knitting a button band.

When the knit stitches are in the completed fabric, they look like neat little V’s, all laying flat together in a grid. But when the stitches are still on the needle, they’re not flat, are they? One side of the V is in front of the needle, and one side is in back. The top of the stitch, of course, goes over the top of the needle.

Take a look at that stitch on your needle. Which side of the V is in front? The right one? Excellent. All is right with the world.

If the left side is in front, the stitch is mounted twisted. In some stitch patterns, that’s a good thing. For regular old knitting, it needs to be reoriented so the right leg is in front. (Yes, I tend to call them legs. I think I got that from a class with Lucy Neatby. Wherever it came from, it has stuck.)

Knowing about stitch mount helps in a couple ways:

~ When you’re picking up stitches, place them on the needles with right legs in front. (Or, if they’re dropped, just rescue them any which way, then switch them around before you knit them.)

~ If the stitch is mounted twisted, with the left leg in front, you now know what to do with it to untwist it: Either reorient it or knit into the back loop. Both methods will untwist the stitch.

~ If you want to twist your stitch on purpose, you have two choices: reorient the stitch before knitting it (the long option) or knit into the back of the stitch (the short option).

~ To make your stitches twist in different directions, like for M1R or M1L increases, knowing how your stitches twist can eventually make those maneuvers second nature. This also works for twisted-stitch patterns.

To twist a stitch to the left, whether it’s with an actual stitch or a running stitch: With the stitch mounted normally (right leg in front), reach behind the stitch from right to left and knit into the back (left leg) of the stitch from right to left.

To twist a stitch to the right, whether it’s a normal stitch or a running stitch: Mount the stitch backwards (left leg in front) and knit into the front (left leg) of it from left to right.

I like to tell my students that if it feels slightly awkward and tight, it’s twisting. 🙂 If it’s too easy, it’s probably a normal stitch. This is especially true when picking up the running stitch to make an increase.

So, how do you remember which leg belongs in front? Here’s a handy little mnemonic trick:

  • When it’s mounted RIGHT, the RIGHT leg is in front.
  • Leave the LEFT leg behind: LEFT BEHIND. “Oh no! I’ve been left behind! Oh wait, that’s a good thing.”

Silly, I know. But hey, silly tends to stick in our brains. 😉

Tomorrow, more on mirroring increases and what to do when the pattern doesn’t specify which type of increase to use.

31 Days to Your Nicest Knitting series. www.aknitica.com #write31days #knittingtipsThis post is part of my 31 Days to Your Nicest Knitting series. Every day, I’ll post a new tip or trick to make your knitting nicer. You can follow along easily by subscribing. If you have any knitting problems you’d like me to fix, let me know and I’ll try to answer your question as part of the series. You can find all the posts in the series here.