theraineysisters knitting and so much more

No.  I am NOT obsessed with the garter-in-the-round line in the Rikke Hat!  I swear I’m not!  It’s just that I keep thinking of ways to get rid of it.  My first iteration was the “spoke.”

In the above version, the line is behind the slipped sts (the center spoke above), and is therefore camouflaged.  But, it is still there.  In my NEW iteration, the line is gone entirely!  Yay!!

I figured this out when I made the little Garter Earflap Hat for my daughter’s friend.  I noticed that there was a line where I used a single color, but no line when I purled with a different color.

I wondered what would happen if you used the same color for knitting and purling, but with two different balls of yarn.  I didn’t bother experimenting at the time, but decided to try it when I started a new Rikke Hat…and it works!

The top image shows the hat — the beginning of the round is in the middle.  NO TRANSITION LINE!!!  The bottom picture is identical, but it shows where the BOR is so you can compare the two images.  I am not very good at joining LTCO in the round, so I can tell where the hat starts, but I doubt many other people can!

So, how do you do it??  First, wind your skein into two equal balls:

Then leave one end to the front and one to the back (it will be obvious which ball belongs where).  Knit Round 1 using the yarn at the back.  At end of round, leave yarn at back…do not bring the yarn forward.  Instead, use the yarn hanging to the front and purl Round 2.  Continue in this manner, alternating knit and purl rounds with the yarn that is already in the correct position.

That’s it!  I’m sure others have probably figured this out already.  I know that “Fleagle” does something similar, but knits all rounds: one in the usual way and the other inside out and in the reverse direction.  The positive to her method is that you knit all rounds.  The benefit to my method is that you are knitting the item as written and can follow other instructions per the pattern.

What if I don’t start garter right away?  What if I start with ribbing and then switch to garter in the round?  You do not have to start at the center of two attached balls.  Cast on with one ball and work the ribbing as normal.  Then attach the second ball when you need to start the purl row in garter in the round.  Just always keep it to the front and the original ball to the back.  When finished, use a tapestry needle to pull the tail to the inside.  That’s what I did with my baby hat.

Knitting in the round is actually a spiral, so you will still have a purl “tail” at the start of the round.  There are ways to minimize this, but the whole process looks so much better than the line…at least this obsessed knitter thinks so!!

ETA
NOTE about the cast on: I did a German Twisted Cast On, as called for in the Rikke Pattern.  I joined with the working yarns coming off the righthand needle, in the position for knitting.  I mention using a longtail cast on (LTCO) in my description above, which will have a different look than the German Twisted.  LTCO is not my go-to cast on — I typically use a cable cast on.  I am not very good at joining the LTCO to work in the round, so I just did some practicing.  Not that successful!  I am sure that those of you who use LTCO frequently can figure out my technique and get it to work well for you!!

PS to Pam: I don’t think these techniques are the same, though the helix plays into each.  In my garter method, the start of the round never changes, no sts get slipped.

PS2 to KDS: The way this works is helix knitting.  Apparently, I discovered it, but did not invent it!!  The Fleagle method gets rid of the “seam” by knitting round one normally, and then knitting round two from the inside (WS), in the opposite direction.  I would get confused and not know where to do the decreases!!