Adding the finishing touches to a knitting project can sometimes be the most daunting and time-consuming. Especially if you're not quite sure how to do the final assembly to pull it all together! We get a lot of questions about how to graft, especially about how to graft together an infinity cowl correctly. That's why we made this step-by-step guide with written AND photo instructions that tell you all you need to know about this step in the Doodle Infinity Cowl!

For more detailed instructions about the process of grafting in general, see our full tutorial on Grafting Live Stitches. 

INSTRUCTIONS

For a quick video reel, see How to Graft an Infinity Cowl.

MATERIALS

Your (almost) finished cowl + a spare cable/needle, a tapestry needle and a nice, long length of yarn

SET UP

The first thing you need to do is get yourself, and your knitting, situated. 

If you haven't already, remove the provisional cast-on from the start of your cowl and put it back on a spare needle. The needles on the provisional cast-on end do not need to be the exact same size as your project needles, but they shouldn't be bigger. 

Note: For more detailed instructions and photos for removing the provisional cast-on, see our full tutorial on Provisional Cast-Ons. 

The location of the ends of your needles will determine which stitches from each end of the cowl end up grafted together. By default, the ends of your needles should already be at the beginning-of-round on both ends - which is exactly where you want them if you are not adding a twist to the cowl. 

If you would like to add a twist to your cowl before grafting, you will need to make one small adjustment before the next part: For a simple 180 degree twist, simply slip half your stitches on the cast-on end from the left to the right needle. This will allow you to start grafting the beginning of one round to the middle of the other, creating the 180 degree twist. 

The tail of yarn that you left at the end of your last row of knitting will be the yarn you use for grafting. It also marks which end is the 'working end' compared to the 'cast-on end'. 

ASSEMBLY

Start by laying your cowl out flat on a table. It might be easier to go ahead and thread your yarn tail onto your tapestry needle now, so that it is ready to go.

Fold both ends of the cowl towards the middle, so that both sets of needles are on on top. 

Pick up the left needle from the working end and the parallel needle from the cast-on end. These are your 'grafting needles'. (If you want, you can either pull the other two needles out so they are a bit loose, or you can put an end-cap on them to ensure you don't drop any stitches). 

Keeping the 'grafting needles' together, hold them both in your left hand, with the ends of the needles facing to the right. Hold them up so that the wrong sides of the work are facing each other.

Now you are all set up ready to start doing the actual grafting!

GRAFTING

Starting with the first live stitch on each of your 'grafting needles', begin grafting the stitches together. As long as you have set yourself up correctly, and start at the right place on both ends of the cowl, your project will look how it's supposed to! 

For detailed instructions on how to graft, see our full tutorial on Grafting Live Stitches.

Happy Doodling!

Blog co-written by Jamie Lomax and Grey Lundy. Yarn used is from Green Letter Day, and the pattern shown is the Basic Doodle Infinity Cowl.