Amizu Japan

Kitchener Stitch, the Japanese Way: How Meriyasu-hagi (メリヤスはぎ) Compares to the English Method

Meriyasu-hagi (メリヤスはぎ) is the Japanese name for Kitchener stitch. See how Japanese lessons name, sort and draw it, compared with English tutorials.

By Naruhiko (Naru) ·

Drafted in English with AI, from the sources listed at the end. How these guides are made.

On this page
  1. What the name tells you
  2. The Japanese family of joins
  3. How the motion is described
  4. The English sequence, in plain words
  5. Why this matters when you read a Japanese pattern
  6. Where Kitchener stitch shows up
  7. FAQ
  8. Sources

Short answer: Kitchener stitch has a Japanese name, メリヤスはぎ (meriyasu-hagi, “stockinette join”), and it does the job known in English as grafting: sewing two sets of live stitches together so the join looks like a row of stockinette. Both make a join that looks like knitting: Nihon Vogue’s basics page describes メリヤスはぎ as a join made “while forming knit stitches” (表目をつくりながら), and Wikipedia says the Kitchener stitch creates a join “that looks like the rest of the knit fabric.” What differs is how Japanese lessons such as Gosyo’s and Nihon Vogue’s sort the technique, and how they lay out and describe each pass.

Checked against Gosyo’s and Nihon Vogue’s lesson pages and the English guides below on 2026-10-18.

What the name tells you

Japanese lessons such as Nihon Vogue’s and Gosyo’s file joins under two words, and they define them outright. Nihon Vogue’s basics page says 編み地の目と目をつなぎ合わせることを、「はぎ」といいます, “joining stitches to stitches is called hagi,” and 編み地の段と段をつなぎ合わせることを「とじ」といいます, “joining rows to rows is called toji.” Gosyo’s lessons open each page with the same definitions. Both add that a はぎ can also join stitches to rows (目と段の場合もあります).

メリヤス is the Japanese word used for stockinette (メリヤス編み, meriyasu-ami). So メリヤスはぎ reads as “stockinette join.” In English the same technique is called both grafting and Kitchener stitch; Wikipedia says it is named after Horatio Herbert Kitchener, “though the technique was practiced long before.”

The Japanese family of joins

Gosyo (ごしょう産業), a Japanese yarn company, publishes a series of basic knitting lessons. Its はぎ section lists these joins:

JapaneseRomajiWhat it’s for (per Gosyo’s lesson pages)
メリヤスはぎ＜両方の目が棒針にある場合＞meriyasu-hagi (both sets still on needles)both edges still live on the needles
メリヤスはぎ＜片方の目を伏せ止めにした場合＞one side bound offone live edge, one bound-off edge
メリヤスはぎ＜両目の目を伏せ止めした場合＞both sides bound offboth edges bound off
裏メリヤスはぎura-meriyasu-hagithe reverse-stockinette (purl-side) version
ガーターはぎgātā-hagigarter-stitch grafting: one piece has knit stitches on the needle, the other purl stitches
目と段のはぎme to dan no hagijoining stitches to rows
引き抜きはぎhikinuki-hagia join worked with a crochet hook, for when the join must not stretch or a pattern rules out メリヤスはぎ

The thing to notice is that the Japanese lesson sorts メリヤスはぎ by the state of the two edges (live on a needle, or bound off), with a page for each. If you have a Japanese pattern that says メリヤスはぎ and your edges are bound off, that is a different page in the Japanese lesson, not a mistake.

The English tutorials cited here split things up too, but differently. Nimble Needles notes that its Kitchener tutorial “only works for stockinette stitch,” with separate tutorials for the purl side and for garter stitch, and Wikipedia says grafting can join “two sets of live stitches, or one set of live stitches to an edge or hem.”

How the motion is described

This is where the two kinds of lesson differ most.

English tutorials such as Nimble Needles’ hold the two needles parallel, with the wrong sides of the pieces facing each other, and describe each pass as knitwise or purlwise, saying whether to slip the stitch off or leave it on. Winwick Mum’s sock tutorial uses the same terms. Nimble Needles condenses the repeat into two lines: “Front: Knit & slip, purl & keep” and “Back: Purl & slip, knit & keep.”

Gosyo’s and Nihon Vogue’s lessons lay the two pieces flat. Nihon Vogue’s first step begins 2枚の編み地を表を上にして, “with both pieces right side up,” and Gosyo’s diagram shows the same thing: two pieces with the right side (表面) facing you, one above the other, the stitches still on two needles, and numbered points (①②, ❶❷) along each edge. The instructions then say which side of the fabric the needle goes in from. Gosyo’s repeat reads:

一度糸を入れた目を表から、隣の目には裏から針を入れることを繰り返します (“Repeat: enter the stitch you have already sewn through from the front, and the neighboring stitch from the back.”)

Nihon Vogue adds that the needle goes into each stitch twice (1つの目に2回ずつ入れます). So these Japanese lessons teach which side of the fabric the needle enters from, with a diagram, rather than naming each pass knitwise or purlwise. MOORIT’s lesson works the same way: 下の編み地の一番最初の目に裏側から針を入れて, “insert the needle into the first stitch of the lower piece from the back.”

Both traditions agree on two practical points:

  • Tail length: about three times the width of the piece. Nimble Needles says “at least 3 times as long as the edge you want to join is wide”; Nihon Vogue says 編み地の幅の約3倍 and MOORIT 編地の幅の3倍くらい, both “about three times the width.”
  • Tension: match the size of the surrounding stitches. Gosyo: 糸を引くときは編み目の大きさに合わせ、はぎ目を目立たせないようにします (“pull to the size of the stitches so the join doesn’t stand out”). Nimble Needles says to tighten the stitches lightly after each step, then go back over the join so it will “meet the gauge of the rest of your project.”

Both Japanese lessons also point out what happens at the end of the join: the two pieces end up half a stitch out of line. Nihon Vogue says 編み地の左右は半目ずれます (“the left and right of the fabric shift by half a stitch”). Gosyo gives the reason: 編み終わりの目の方向が違うので、はいだとき端の目が半目ずれます (“because the last stitches face different directions, the edge stitch shifts by half a stitch when grafted”).

The English sequence, in plain words

Here is the sequence Nimble Needles and Winwick Mum use, written out so you can compare it with the Japanese description of which side the needle enters from. It assumes two needles held parallel, wrong sides of the knitting facing each other, and a tail threaded on a blunt tapestry needle.

Setup (once):

  1. Front needle, first stitch: go through it purlwise and leave it on.
  2. Back needle, first stitch: go through it knitwise and leave it on.

Repeat:

  1. Front: knitwise through the first stitch, slip it off.
  2. Front: purlwise through the next stitch, leave it on.
  3. Back: purlwise through the first stitch, slip it off.
  4. Back: knitwise through the next stitch, leave it on.

Repeat steps 3–6 until one stitch is left on each needle. Winwick Mum’s sock tutorial, which uses the same six steps, notes that at that point the yarn has already gone through the front stitch, so after taking it through the back stitch you can slip both stitches off.

Why this matters when you read a Japanese pattern

  • If the pattern says メリヤスはぎ, look at the finishing diagram or notes to see what the edges are (on a needle or bound off). That tells you which version you need.
  • If it says 裏メリヤスはぎ, you are grafting reverse stockinette (the purl-side version).
  • If it says ガーターはぎ, you are grafting garter stitch.
  • If it says 目と段のはぎ, you are joining stitches to rows. Gosyo’s page notes that two pieces of the same size have more rows than stitches, so you spread out the extra rows by picking up two horizontal threads at a time where needed.

There is no chart symbol for these joins. JIS L 0201, the Japanese standard for knitting stitch symbols, covers the stitches themselves and has no symbol for はぎ or とじ (see how to read a Japanese knitting chart). Patterns name the join in words instead, on the schematic or in the finishing notes (仕上げ方). For row-to-row seams, see mattress stitch, sukui-toji.

Where Kitchener stitch shows up

Wikipedia says Kitchener grafting “is often done when closing off a knitted sock at the toe,” and Nimble Needles mentions both finishing sock toes and joining a scarf into a loop. Gosyo’s page gives the reason to use メリヤスはぎ: the join doesn’t stand out and doesn’t spoil the stretch of the fabric (はぎ目が目立たず編み地の伸縮性をそこないません).

FAQ

Is meriyasu-hagi the same as Kitchener stitch? It does the same job: both join two sets of live stitches so the join looks like knitting. Nihon Vogue describes メリヤスはぎ as joining “while forming knit stitches,” and Wikipedia says the Kitchener stitch creates a join “that looks like the rest of the knit fabric” and that its yarn “follows the route of a row of ordinary knitting.” Gosyo’s and Nihon Vogue’s lessons lay the pieces flat and say which side the needle enters from; Nimble Needles and Winwick Mum hold the needles parallel and say knitwise or purlwise.

Which version do I need if my pattern is Japanese? Check whether each edge is still on a needle or has been bound off. Gosyo’s lessons have a separate page for each case.

Why does my join look half a stitch off at the end? Nihon Vogue and Gosyo both say the two sides end up half a stitch apart, and Gosyo says it happens because the last stitches face different directions. It is part of the method, not a mistake.

How much yarn do I need for the tail? Nimble Needles says at least three times the width of the edge you are joining; Nihon Vogue and MOORIT say about three times.

Can I use this on reverse stockinette or garter? Not with the plain stockinette sequence. Gosyo has separate lessons (裏メリヤスはぎ, ガーターはぎ); Nimble Needles also points to separate tutorials.

Sources

All pages below were opened on 2026-10-18.