The Makeup of the Stockinette Stitch Pertaining to Simplifying Two Stitches

There are tons of videos and tutorials on the internet but I still like to post some helpful hints and shortcuts related to any patterns I post. Or even just share something I've learned somewhere else but with my spin to it, such as a critical detail I couldn't find elsewhere, etc.

So, that said, I did some photos to show where to insert the tip of the knitting needle for English Brioche and welting.

When looking at the front side of the Stockinette stitch there are Vs and on the back side it’s a series of n and u bumps. It’s good to understand the correlation between the v and the n and u. I made a swatch of super-sized stitches, using size 50 knitting needles and bulky yarn, hoping to get a clear visual of the construct of the stockinette stitch but it was still tough to get in there. Knowing where those v and n bumps are in relation to the right side V helps with working the English Brioche stitch as well as a method of welting that allows working from the front side instead of trying to pick up stitches in a straight line on the back of the work.

With the arrows I hope it works to see what I am talking about. The black arrows are pointing to the middle of the stockinette stitch directly below the stitch still on the needle.

For English Brioche the stitch is made into the stitch below the needles. Just insert tip of knitting needle here, grab yarn and complete stitch. It takes a leap of faith to push the finished stitch off the needle the first few times, which is why I highly recommend making a few practice swatches to gain confidence in doing this stitch if you’ve never done it before. It’s worth it. I can do the Brioche as fast as the stockinette, and it’s done all in one row.

For welting, the casing style, bring your needle from behind the stitch and flip knitting needle up to catch the bump that would be the n on the wrong side.

So, from the back, insert the knitting needle up through the yellow circle, the center of the stockinette stitch. Tilt the needle up a bit and pull back. This grabs the n bump which is circled in orange. Now you have your loop to bring up to the left needle and knit with corresponding stitch in that column. Once you do this a few times you will be amazed at how easy it is. It doesn't even require more thought than inserting needle into the stitch on the correct row and pulling back and you have your captured loop.