A Knitting Dictionary—The Letter J is part of a series of posts that will eventually make up the Complete Knitting Dictionary a comprehensive knitter’s resource!
Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off
A variation on the yarn over bind off (developed by Jeny Staiman) where yarn overs are worked in between bind off stitches and are passed over the next stitch. It differs from a regular yarn over bind off in that you do a regular bind off before a purl stitch and a reverse bind off before a knit stitch.
This very stretchy bind off does tend to flare the edges of the project. It is perfect for shawls and other projects that are blocked open. It is also fabulous for toe up socks, though the edge will likely flare when not on the leg.
Jacquard Knitting
Jacquard knitting refers to a technique where one yarn is worked either to the front or to the back of another yarn. Term was borrowed from weaving and incorporated into machine knitting and then migrated to hand knitting.
Jacquard knitting can refer to any of several types of knitting in which one yarn lays in front of or behind another. I have seen it applied to mosaic knitting, other slip stitch knitting, double knitting, stranded knitting and to a combination of intarsia and stranded knitting where long floats at the back are caught up in occasional double knit stitches (see ladderback jacquard)
Jog
A visible “seam” on a project worked in the round when working stripes or some patterns. Because working in the round is actually working in a continuous spiral, the last stitch of any round is a stitch higher than the first stitch. This means that as you change colours or work the first stitch for the next round the last stitch of one round is immediately beside the first stitch of the next round and this creates that visible jog.
Jogs are not an issue in many fabrics (such as stockinette, ribbing, and so on) as long the pattern is not interrupted.
There are several ways to address these jogs, one is to not worry about them, but there are several ways of disguising the jogs.
Jogless
Jogless refers to various ways to disguise the jog that naturally occurs when knitting in the round.
There are many ways of compensating for this jog .
Join in the round
When starting an in the round project, you cast on all your stitches (as you would for a flat project) and then join them to start working. You are connecting the last stitch on the needle to the first stitch that you worked (cast on).
It is essential that you ensure that your stitches don’t twist around the needle (unless instructed to do so) when joining in the round. If after the first round of knitting, you discover a twist, simply untwist it before continuing. After that first round, if you discover this issue, you will need to rip back.
When you join there will be a gap between the last stitch and the first stitch (because knit ”rounds” actually create a spiral and are not separate rounds stacked on top of each other). You can disguise this jog after knitting or use one of several methods to disguise the jog right from the start.
Join new yarn.
Adding a new ball of yarn to a project, either when changing colours or when the previous ball runs out.
Jumper
British terminology for a sweater.
Jumbo
A fairly new yarn weight on the Craft Yarn Council with recommended needle sizes of 12.75 mm (US17) or larger and a recommended gauge of 6 sts per 10 cm (4”) or fewer.
Jute
A bast fibre from the Corchorus genus, producing a strong coarse yarn (cord). It is used to make burlap and hessian.
Other than footwear, jute is almost exclusively used for non-wearable projects, especially bags and baskets.
