A while ago, I wrote about turned hems.

This technique is one of those I always return to because it gives such a nice finish. I’ve started using a version of the turned hem where increases are made at the same time as the hem is closed. Now, everything in knitting is probably already invented by somebody somewhere, but I haven’t seen this particular version anywhere. So here you have it:

Here, I’ve made a swatch beginning with a provisional cast on (lefties can use this one), which is the white yarn at the bottom. In the middle, there’s a purl row to give a natural bend in the fabric.

Now, the provisional cast on is removed, and the live stitches put on a needle:

Then, the edge is folded along the purl row in order to close it by knitting two together across. And yes, I have blue nails because I ice dyed with Japanese indigo the other day.

Now I’ve closed 3 stitches by working a knit 2 together on one stitch from the front and one from the back:

So it’s time for an increase. First, work knit 2 together but do not let the stitches fall off the left needles:

Then, insert the right needle into the back one of the two stitches that were just knit together:

Knit the stitch, and let both stitches fall off the left needles. That completes the increase:

And this is what it looks like after working the next knit 2 together:

This increase, made at the same time as the hem is closed, is quite invisible in the finished piece. I am calling it k2tog-fb, since it is a combination of knitting two together and knitting front and back into the same stitch.