Back to Knitting How-To’s

How to Knit I-Cord

I-cord is just another name for knitted cord. It’s also known as knit cord or French cord. According to Knitter’s Handbook by Montse Stanley, the name I-cord is a polite abbreviation for “idiot cord.” It certainly is easy to knit.

I-cord can be used for a variety of purposes, including:

• decorative piping for borders;

• applied cables and other raised designs;

• drawstrings;

• bows;

• decorative closures like frogs and toggle loops.

It is used to make the stem on our Baby Fruit Hat pattern.

You can make knitted cord using a knitting machine, a spool with four nails hammered into one end, or a special gadget made for the purpose. But knitting I-cord with needles is simple. Here’s how:

Basic Stockinette-Stitch I-Cord

• Using two double-pointed needles, cast on a few stitches. Three to five stitches is a good number.

• Knit all the stitches.

• Without turning your work, switch the needles so the needle with the stitches is in your left hand.

• Slide the stitches to the right-hand side of the left needle. Pull the yarn to tighten it across the back of the stitches and knit the row again.

• Continue in this manner; bind off when the cord is the desired length.

• Pull on the cord a bit to make the yarn that carries across the back disappear.

You can get interesting effects by knitting cord in reverse stockinette, seed stitch, cables, or other patterns. A good resource to consult is Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Embellishments (Interweave Press). It has a whole chapter with instructions for knitting different types of cord and using them in finished items.

Back to Knitting How-To’s