How to Knit I-Cord

An i-cord is a tube of knitted fabric that’s created by working a small number of stitches on double-pointed needles or a short circular needle. In this video, knitting expert Corrina Ferguson demonstrates how easy it is to create this fun knitting detail.

In general, three stitches are cast on to create the i-cord, which is what Corrina demonstrates. Once the three stitches are cast on, Corrina knits the three stitches. Once those stitches are complete, she slides them back to the other end of the double-pointed needle and knits them again. This process is repeated until the desired length of i-cord is achieved.

By sliding the stitches to the other end of the needle to knit them again, you’re essentially knitting in the round on a very small number of stitches. The yarn is at the left side of the cord and it is being brought around to the right side of the cord to begin working the stitches again. Because of this, i-cord can only be created on a small number of stitches. Depending on the yarn and gauge, the cord can be created with more stitches, but more than 6 stitches or so and the cord begins to become distorted.

Corrina mentions that when knitting a long length of i-cord, an i-cord machine can be purchased. These can be found at big box craft stores and online.