When you were knitting the Beading Hearts Friendship Bracelet, did you recognize the Chain Stitch Selvedge from some of last year’s projects like the Lace Cable Bookmark and the Three Eyelets Sachet?
The chain stitch selvedge mades a tidy smooth edge that is stretchy, too
The bracelet is worked sideways in garter stitch with a slipped stitch chain selvedge at each edge. The Chain Stitch Selvedge makes a tidy perpendicular straight line along each side edge of the garter stitch fabric. Do you see how the “chain” of the chain stitch selvedge lies sideways to the adjacent stitches?
The other advantage, besides the aesthetics of the chain stitch selvedge, is that the selvedge compliments the elasticity of garter stitch.
The chain stitch selvedge is not critical to beading. It is just a nice detail for an item like this bracelet.
To get maximum stretchiness yet a tidy appearance for garter stitch cuffs like the Friendship Bracelet, How you slip DOES matter. And the type stitch you slip matters.
As a reminder from How You Slip Does Matter – The Chain Stitch Selvedge, here is the formula to make a chain selvedge –
- Begin each row on which you want a stretchy chain selvedge with sl 1 pwise wyif
Tip: Keep your tension relatively loose, but not so loose as to get sloppy. - For the return row, end with k1.
The chain selvedge is also an often-used smooth-looking selvedge for lace articles that are going to be severely stretched during tension blocking. It’s a great technique to have in your knitting bag of skills.
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