Ultimate guide to steeking

Many Fair Isle knitting patterns use steeking, a technique which can strike fear into the hearts of knitters who have never used it before. Steeking involves cutting your knitting open – which, when I first heard of the concept, seemed utterly ridiculous and terrifying at the same time!

However, steeking is a fantastically useful skill to have in your knitting repertoire, particularly if you want to knit stranded colourwork projects in the round. Here at The Knitter, we regularly feature patterns which are steeked, and we want to show you that this technique is not something to shy away from!

So, what is a steek? Essentially, a steek is a ‘bridge’ or a column of stitches which has been added to projects knitted in the round, and which are cut open once the knitting is finished. You might want to do this to separate two fronts of a Fair Isle cardigan which you’ve knitted in the round, or to create openings for the arms and neck of a colourwork tank top.

The steek stitches are typically knitted at the end of the round, alternating the two yarn colours already used for that round (if you’re doing a colourwork pattern). You want to be able to distinguish the steek section from the rest of the knitted fabric, so usually knitters alternate the two colours to create vertical ‘tram lines’ of light and dark stitches. These help to make cutting a straight line easier later on. 

Although steeks are most commonly used on stranded colourwork projects, they can be used for any project that you want to work in the round and cut open later. In this case, if you are working with a single colour of yarn, place markers on either side of the steek section, or use a different stitch pattern to distinguish the area from the main fabric. 

Once this column of steek stitches is cut open, you’re left with a selvedge at either side of the cut, which prevents your ‘real’ knitting from unravelling. If you then want to add button bands, armhole edgings or a neckband to the cut area, you would pick up stitches along the length of this selvedge. The selvedge is then finished by turning to the inside of your project; they can then be stitched in place, or covered with decorative ribbon, or with a knitted facing (sometimes known as a ‘steek sandwich’). 

How to reinforce the steek

Before you start cutting through your steek, it’s important to reinforce your knitted fabric so that it doesn’t unravel while you cut. We’re going to concentrate on the crochet reinforcement method, as that’s the technique we most commonly use and which is recommended in many of our patterns. However, it’s perfectly fine to use a sewn reinforcement instead, using either hand-sewn back stitches or using a sewing machine – we’ll look at these two methods, too. Whichever method you use, and especially if you’re new to the technique, we strongly recommend that you practise with a swatch first before you cut into your project!

One point to make is that projects knitted in non-superwash wool don’t necessarily need reinforcing at all. Shetland wool in particular is known for being rather ‘sticky’ and the stitches are unlikely to unravel when you cut the steek. 

Steeks that are to be reinforced using the crochet method work best when they have an odd number of stitches in them, as it’s easier to identify the central stitch which you’ll be crocheting alongside. A sewn reinforcement (or no reinforcement) will work with an even number of stitches.

Crochet reinforcement: step-by-step instructions

This method involves working a column of double crochet (US single crochet) along either side of the central steek stitch. It can be helpful to baste a line of stitches up through the centre steek first, so you can easily follow the line and not lose your place! To work the crochet stitches, choose a crochet hook smaller than your project needles, and a non-superwash wool yarn in a contrast colour to your main fabric. Note that our example has a seven-stitch steek.

Step 1

Starting at the bottom left side of the steek section, insert your crochet hook through the cast-on edge right below the 3rd steek stitch (the one to the left of the centre stitch), coming from back to front.

Step 2

Pull a loop of yarn through, leaving a long tail for weaving in later.

Step 3

Pull another loop of yarn through the loop already on your hook. One crochet stitch complete.

Step 4

Insert your hook through the right leg of the 3rd stitch, and the left leg of the central stitch. 

Step 5

Pull a loop of yarn through both legs, so you have two loops on your crochet hook.

Step 6

Pull another loop of yarn through both loops on your hook, so you are left with one loop on your hook.

Step 7

Continue moving up the steek in this manner, working a line of double crochet along the ladder of legs between the central stitch and the stitch to its left. 

Step 8

When you reach the top of the steek, fasten off your yarn. Rejoin the yarn and work down the stitch to the right of the centre stitch. 

Keep an eye on your crochet tension while you’re working – you don’t want your tension to be too tight so that the crochet stitches pucker along the edge, or too loose so that they are baggy.

Cutting the steek

Step 9

Now that you have a line of double crochet either side of the central steek stitch, you can cut the knitted fabric without any danger of it unravelling. Using sharp embroidery scissors, carefully cut the stitch between the two lines of crochet. 

Step 10

Your steek has now been cut, and your fabric has been opened up!

Sewn reinforcement

If you’d rather not use the crochet reinforcement technique, you can instead firmly hand-sew a line of back stitches, working two stitches in from the edge of the steek on either side. You can also do this on a sewing machine – in this case, use a swatch to test sew first and adjust the stitch length on your machine as needed. 

Finishing steek edges

Once your steek is cut, you’ll be left with raw cut edges. These are typically hidden on the inside of the project – for example, if you’ve picked up stitches along the cut edge of a cardigan to attach buttonbands – but many knitters don’t like the untidiness of an unfinished steek edge, even if no one else will ever see it! 

Tidying up these raw edges not only gives a well finished look to a garment – particularly where these raw edges might be visible – but also helps to protect the cut edges against unnecessary wear. The three most popular methods to finish off a steek are by covering it with a ribbon, sewing down the cut edges, or knitting a facing to completely encase it.

Adding ribbon

Using a length of ribbon is a decorative way to cover raw steek edges, and also helps to stabilise a garment’s opening. This method is well suited to cardigan projects, where the inside edges of the front sections may be visible from time to time; even if they’re not on view, though, it’s a pretty touch which will bring a smile to the wearer’s face when they see it! Choose a ribbon in a complementary colour, or go wild with a contrasting pattern.

Before starting to sew the ribbon in place, pick up and knit any buttonbands or front bands as required in your knitting pattern, then block the garment properly. Trim the raw yarn fringe at
the outer edge of the steek, if it seems particularly long and messy, or if you want to use a narrow ribbon. 

Next, lay your knitting on a flat surface, and carefully measure the length of the edge you want to cover – watch out for bulges in the fabric, which could give you an inaccurate measurement. Cut the ribbon to the length you’ve measured, adding on a little extra to enable you to fold over the cut ends of the ribbon at the top and bottom. 

Now carefully pin the ribbon in place over the steek edge. Rather than pinning from top to bottom in one go, it can be easier and neater to add a pin first at the centre, and then a pin at each end (e.g. at the neckline and bottom edge), and then adding pins halfway between these pins until you have secured the entire length of ribbon. Ease the ribbon round any curves if your project has them, and make sure you haven’t covered any buttonholes!  

Hand-stitch the ribbon in place, sewing through the top layer of your knitted fabric so that your stitches don’t show on the right side of your garment.

Sewing down

A straightforward way to finish the raw steek edge is by sewing it down. If your project yarn is relatively thin, the tidiest way to do this is to fold the cut edge under, press it flat, and then whipstitch it in place. Sew carefully through the top layer of fabric so that your stitches don’t show on the right side of your garment. (We’ve used a contrasting yarn to show up the stitches.)

If your steek edge is too thick to do this, however, you can use whipstitch to encase the raw edges without folding them. Some knitters like to use a decorative stitch for this process – Elizabeth Zimmermann, for example, recommended herringbone stitch, while others prefer blanket stitch.

Enclosed facing: step-by-step instructions

To completely hide the steek edge, you can knit a facing, sometimes known as a ‘steek sandwich’. This is often used in Faroese knitting, for example, to strengthen raw edges around armholes, and to tidy up
the front edges of cardigans. It’s usually used where no additional button bands are knitted onto the project, such as on cardigans designed to be worn open without buttons, or at necklines. It’s a method that’s best reserved for projects which have been knitted in thinner yarns, because it creates a border that is three layers thick – the outer layer of the border, the original cut edge of the fabric, and the inner layer of the border.

Step 1

To begin, hold the fabric flat, with the right side facing up. Insert your knitting needle from the RS to the WS, between the last two stitches of the fabric next to the steek. On the WS, wrap the yarn around the knitting needle and pull through to form a stitch. Aim to pick up three stitches for every four rows along the side of the steek. (Our sample includes a row of crochet stitches in blue, which was used to reinforce the steek before it was cut open.)

Step 2

Now, knit a border twice as deep as will be need to fold over and cover your steek edge. We’ve used stocking stitch in our photographs, and we have also included a purl foldline for a crisper edge – working one row of purl stitches on the right side, at the middle point of the facing.

Step 3

When the facing is complete, trim the steeked edge to reduce bulk, then fold the facing over and pin down on the wrong side, encasing the steeked edge within the facing. Sew in place. Alternatively, you can leave the stitches on your knitting needle once the facing is the desired length, and graft the stitches in place on the wrong side of the fabric. 

Create super-stretchy edges with the Italian cast-off method

Now you’ve mastered this technique, you can use it on all sorts of stranded colourwork projects – or any project that you want to work in the round and cut open later.

Boost your knitting skills with Simply Yarn!

Inspired to learn more knitting techniques and get great results? Explore our expert guides on Simply Yarn! Useful tutorials include how to knit brioche stitch and making reversible fabric with double knitting.

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