Mason Dixon KAL

There were some questions in the comments on my technique of keeping the live sts on circular needles. Enlarge the picture so you can see better. You can see that each center section on each side is on a separate circular needle with point protectors on them. Try to use a fairly long ones so the ends stay out of your way. I will be using longer ones as it gets larger. The red section on the right is just started and has one ridge done. You can see that I have picked up the pink and dk green sts on either side of the center sts.

The first ridge might be a bit fiddly but it settles down and you can push the ends of the other needles out of the way. So, when you start a new band, pick up the end sts from the previous band on each side of your live stitches and put them on the circular needle. For the right side, I use a double pointed needle so I can see what I'm doing and transfer them to the circular needle. With the left side you can just use the circ to pick them up. Just slide the circular needle through the "bumps' at the end of each row. If you have 9 ridges, you will have 9 sts to pick up. You will then start at the right side and knit all sts. You are not picking up as if to knit but just sliding the sts onto the needle so no sts have been worked yet.

You don't need a 5th needle. You just use the end of the needle that is holding the center sts, picking up the sts left and right so they are all on the needle, then just knit the band. When you are finished, end with a wrong side row and cap the needle ends with the needle protectors from the next band. Clear as mud? The marker you see on the white square tells me that it's the top and that and the opposite end will get 10 ridges. The side bands get 9 ridges so it will be rectangular.

I don't think getting cord at the hardware store might be a good solution as you would have no point to get the sts onto the needle. It's the same as if you would put all your sts on a strand of yarn. You would still have to transfer them to the needle. This way, they are already on the needle. If you have any questions you can email me at jlhknits AT earthlink DOT net.