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Eastside Knitalong 2: Welts!

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Welt (noun):
1:  a strip between a shoe sole and upper through which they are stitched or stapled together
2:  a doubled edge, strip, insert, or seam (as on a garment) for ornament or reinforcement
3: a ridge or lump raised on the body (as by a blow or allergic reaction)
The topic of this post is definition 2, and these welts are for ornament. The first section of Eastside is welts, and they also will appear in a later section. Here are some tips for what to expect.
To create a welt, you [knit 1, slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front] all the way around. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Knit 1


Step 2: Bring yarn to front of work
Step 2: Bring yarn to front of work
Step 3: Insert R needle into next st on L needle as if to purl that st. This is what "purlwise" (abbreviated pwise) means.
Step 3: Insert R needle into next st on L needle as if to purl that st. This is what “purlwise” (abbreviated pwise) means.
Step 4: Transfer stitch from L needle to R needle. Notice that this does not twist the st.
Step 4: Transfer stitch from L needle to R needle. Notice that this does not twist the st.
Step 5: Return yarn to back of work and knit the next st.
Step 5: Return yarn to back of work and knit the next st.

That’s how your first welt will look. When you change colors, you’ll be knitting 1 stitch in the new color, then slipping the next stitch purlwise with yarn in front. This means that every second stitch will appear in the first color for all but the last round of the welt, because you won’t be knitting these stitches.

First welt round using the second color
First welt round using the second color
After working rounds 1 through 5 of the welt pattern in the second color
After working rounds 1 through 5 of the welt pattern in the second color

Because you’re carrying the original color (in this case, blue) behind the new color (yellow), you’ll see the original color poking through the new color. In the third welt, in which you use the original color, you’ll see the second color poking through (in this case, yellow). You can see this in my sample.

Check out the yellow showing through the blue in the welt section.
Check out the yellow showing through the blue in the welt section (particularly in the third welt).

Here’s what the inside of your cowl will look like after you work Welt Section 1.

The yellow and blue part is the reverse of Welt Section 1.
The yellow and blue part at the top is the reverse of Welt Section 1.

That’s it for welts! Next week: the Twisted Loop Pattern.