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Jogless Joins by Mary E. Jacobs
Learn Something New! Fall 2024
At some point in every knitter’s journey, it is almost assured that stripes worked in the round will enter the picture. Wide stripes with many rounds of a single color, thin stripes with as few as one round per color, or merely working the next round of a stranded motif will all introduce a knitter to what happens when a new round is begun with a different-colored yarn…a jog.
Visually, when colors change at the beginning of a round, there is a disruption where a stitch is one color and its direct neighbor is a different color. Usually, this jog is unwanted. Much like a broken sidewalk that has been pushed up by a tree root, the jog stands out, appearing disjointed and disrupted when it should look smooth.
What is a Jogless Join?
A jogless join is basically where a new color has been joined in, or a new motif round for a stranded pattern has been started, but measures have been taken to visually remove or soften the jog, thus making it “jogless.” Essentially, the chosen strategy visually smooths what would otherwise be a sharp visual disruption, allowing it to blend in and be imperceptible. Thus, it doesn’t look like a cliff with two different-colored stitches side by side.
This article will explore five different options for creating a jogless join, offering options for personal projects, as well as for professional submissions. Figure 1 below gives a visual overview of the methods. None is perfect, but all seek to soften the abrupt jog. At first glance, several may appear to have similar results; however, due to construction differences, some of the methods have implications that limit the situations in which they may be utilized.
Stitch Anatomy
Understanding what causes a jog when working in the round requires understanding the stitch anatomy of knitting in the round. Essentially, knitting in the round is knitting in a spiral. It is easy to see this at the very beginning when casting on, with the statement, “taking care not to twist, join in the round.” To join in the round, the first stitch of the first round is placed squarely on top of the first cast-on stitch, thus attaching the cast-on end to the next round’s beginning and setting up the spiral.
Figure 2 illustrates the spiral construction. The cast-on edge follows the yellow arrow, and the first full round of knitted stitches follows the green arrow. The dashed line shows the end of the round. The last stitch of the cast on—to the right of the dashed line—and the first stitch of the next round—to the left of the dashed line—is stacked upon the cast on.
For every consecutive round at this point where the end and beginning of each round meet, as each new round is begun, the first stitch of the round will have one more stitch stacked above it than its neighbor to the left, causing the knitting to spiral.
It might seem obvious, but in a field of stockinette stitch, the eye loses track of this spiral construction. The knitting looks like one continuous, smooth field until something, like a color change, draws attention to it. The nature of the spiral, in which the beginning and ending of rounds neighbor directly, creates a visual jog, or offset, that must be overcome.
Helix
One method not covered in this article in depth but only briefly described is a helix. In a nutshell, a helix requires a series of single-color, uninterrupted spirals stacked upon each other. Knitting a helix does not attempt to fight, remove, or smooth the jog but works with the anatomy of the spiral construction by simply stacking spirals upon each other. Visually, the spiral is lost and instead looks like uninterrupted single-round stripes. The helix is not necessarily a silver bullet as it can be cumbersome with multiple yarn sources, and it is primarily limited to single-color rounds.
Option 1: Darn in Ends to Eliminate the Jog
One option for overcoming jogs is to simply knit the stripes, leaving about 6” yarn tails. As the work is created, it will have fully manifested jogs. In finishing, however, the yarn tails are duplicate stitched with the wrong side facing so that (a) the yarn tail of the first stitch of the new color is woven in to the left and a row up, and (b) the last stitch of the old color is woven in to the right and a row down.
For (a), with the wrong side facing, weaving the first stitch of the new color to the left ensures that the yarn travels to the stitch in the correct direction to avoid a hole. Weaving a row up pulls the first stitch of the new color up so it is closer to stitches of its own color, softening its interaction with the neighboring stitch (see Figure 3).
For (b), with the wrong side facing, weaving the last stitch of the old color to the right ensures that the yarn travels from the stitch in the correct direction to avoid a hole. Weaving a row down pulls the last stitch of the old color down so it is closer to stitches of its own color, reducing the spiral ending and softening its interaction with the first stitch of the new color (see Figure 4).
These two weaving actions help to soften that meeting place of the last and first stitches of the round, but the jog is still noticeable. It takes a bit of time and practice, but once the objective and direction for the weaving becomes intuitively understood, weaving in this manner will speed up. On its own, weaving produces mild results (see Figure 1, Option 1), and it will often yield better results when worked in conjunction with another method. Also, when poorly done, weaving missteps can visually undo or lessen the effects of another properly made technique.
One suggestion is to weave in tails as soon as possible, particularly for yarns with large, easily felted halos. All the techniques necessarily have yarn tails that are adjacent to each other, and if they felt together, it can be impossible to properly separate them for clean weaving. Work a few rounds above the yarn tails and then weave in to avoid any issues.
Option 2: Slip First Stitch of the Round
In this method, a new color is joined in at the beginning of the round and worked to the end of the round. At the start of the second round of the new color, the first stitch is slipped purlwise with the yarn in back (see Figure 5). Then the beginning of the round marker is removed and replaced after the slipped stitch. What had been the first stitch of the first round of the new color, now becomes the last stitch of that first round.
Slipping the first stitch with the yarn in back pulls the first stitch of the new color up a round, thus smoothing the appearance of it next to the old color (see Figure 1, Option 2). Slipping the stitch does, however, elongate the stitch that was slipped, causing some distortion. Also, this method moves the beginning of the round each round to avoid continually stacking one column with slipped stitches. If the beginning of the round is not moved, that particular column will eventually be severely short on row count and would introduce distortion and puckering. Option 2 would not mesh well with stranded knitting due to the traveling beginning of the round. Also, to the discerning eye, the elongated slipped stitch is detectable.
Purls? Use Option 2!
Jogs are not limited to color, but they can also extend to stitch patterning. Specifically, in a situation where a purl round is made in a fabric that was stockinette, there will be a jog where the purl round begins. In this situation, simply begin purling for the new round as normal. At the beginning of the second round, to overcome the jog, slip the first purl stitch with the yarn in back.
Option 3: Knit First Stitch with the Stitch Below
Here, a new color is joined at the beginning of the round and worked to the end of the round. At the start of the second round, the beginning of the round marker is slipped and the stitch in the old color below is caught and brought up onto the left-hand needle (see Figure 6). Then the first stitch of the new color is knit together with the stitch of the old color that had been below it. This results in the old color being pulled up, softening the point where the new and old colors interact (see Figure 1, Option 3).
Option 3 produces great results, but it should not be used in two consecutive rounds. Knitting into the stitch below physically pulls the row up, and stacking this in close proximity would result in puckering. Unlike the slipped stitch in Option 2—where the stitch is not knit—in Option 3, the stitch actually is knit. Therefore, as long as there are a few rounds between this maneuver, distortion is negligible.
Option 4: Knit Last Stitch of Round Twice, then Knit the Stitch with the Stitch Below
This method is much like Option 3 except it overcomes the issue of puckering when used in consecutive rounds so it can be used every round. This method begins with the last stitch of the old color, before a new color is joined.
Here, the final round of the old color is worked. Knit the last stitch of the round in the current, soon-to-be-old color, then slip the just-worked stitch back to the left needle. Join in the new color, and knit the just-worked stitch again, using the new color. This last stitch will now have been knit two times: one stitch made with the old color and a second stitch made with the new color (see Figure 7).
Slip the marker and knit the round with the new color until one stitch from the end of the round, stopping before the last stitch that had been knit two times in the prior round. For the last stitch, pick up the stitch below (see Figure 8), place it onto the left-hand needle, and knit it together with the stitch above. If referencing Figure 7, the stitch marked “1” and the stitch marked “2” are knit together.
This option yields the same type of result as Option 3, but because the last stitch was knit two times, it does not change the number of stitches stacked within that column. Therefore, it overcomes the puckering issue and can be worked every round without any puckering (see Figure 1, Option 4).
Option 5: A “Maybe” Option: Employ a Yarn Over
This method involves making a yarn over with an already-attached color. As in Option 4, this method begins with the last stitch of the old color.
The final round of the old color is worked to the end of the round. The just-worked last stitch in the old color is slipped back to the left-hand needle. Next, the already-anchored-in new color is brought up the back of the work and placed under the right-hand needle to the front (see Figure 9).
The last stitch of the old color is slipped back to the right-hand needle and the old-color working yarn is dropped. The new yarn color is picked up and put over the needle as for a yarn over (see Figure 10). Work the round with the new color until the last stitch. The last stitch will look much like a brioche stitch, where there is the underlying knit stitch with the old color and a new-color yarn over draped on top of it. Knit both the stitch and the yarn over together as one stitch.
This method was labeled as “maybe” because it will work in instances where the “new” color is already joined into the knitted work, either by stranding, or in a personal project where the choice was made to carry the new color up the back. The method relies on the tension of the already-anchored yarn to smooth out the jog, but it may distort the wrong side of the work (See Figure 11). If a new yarn is being joined in, this method will likely be unsuccessful unless the new yarn is darned in at a round below the join, which would introduce its own set of potential issues and concerns and likely make a different method preferable.
Another concern that makes this a “maybe” option is that when the yarn is carried up the back of the work, the stitch leg at the point where the yarn is carried up is not properly anchored. Without anchoring that leg—either via weaving or an intarsia-like interlock—a small hole will be created, which will be visible if tension is put on the fabric.
For a professional project, where carrying yarn up the back and a small hole would be frowned upon, this method would not be acceptable. For a personal project, this method will accomplish the objective of smoothing a jog; and if the other points of concern can be overlooked, it may be an option for some in those instances (see Figure 1, Option 5).
Summary
The spiral construction of knitting in the round can produce some unwanted visual effects. The above are a few ways to soften the architecture of the knitting at this point and visually camouflage any jogs. I would encourage you to pull out your needles and try some of these options. As always, experiment as to what works for your project, your skillset, and your hands.
References
Bird, Marley. “The Perfect and Easy Knit Jogless Stripes – no jog stripe color work knitting.”
Holladay, Arenda. “Jogless Join.” Cast On, May–July 2012, pp. 50–51.
Holladay, Arenda. “On Your Way to the Masters: Those Pesky Yarn Tails.” Cast On, Spring 2003, pp. 13–15.
Lyons, Patty. “Ask Patty: Jogless Join.” Modern Daily Knitting, 23 Apr. 2021.
Magnússon, Hélène. “Knitting Tips: Jogless Join.” Hélène Magnússon, 3 Feb. 2015,
Swansen, Meg. Meg Swansen’s Knitting. Interweave Press, 1999.
Pattern Associated with Article—Line Drive
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