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KNITTING.


It is almost impossible so to describe the way in which the knitting stitch is formed as to enable the worker to teach herself, and fortunately it is almost as needless as it is difficult. Everyone has a friend who, in a few minutes will teach the first steps in this fascinating occupation.

There are two ways of knitting, known respectively as German or English knitting. The difference lies merely in the manner of holding the thread. The German is by far the easier, and enables one to knit more quickly and evenly, while, at the same time, it is far less fatiguing than the English method.

To knit in the German way you must hold your yarn or thread as if for crochet, and form the stitch by putting your right hand needle through the first stitch on the needle, catch up the thread, which is held in place on the left fore finger and draw it through the stitch. In order to seam or purl, put the thread over the needle in the left hand; put the right hand needle back of the thread, and into the stitch from the outside; catch the thread on the right hand needle and draw through.

Decreasing is done by knitting two stitches together, or else by slipping a stitch, that is, taking it off the needle without knitting, and knitting a stitch, and slipping the unknitted stitch over the last knitted one. Sometimes two stitches are decreased at once, by slip-

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