I’ve looked at a bunch of YT vids but found no answer, so here’s my question:
I’m going to be grafting two ends together in garter stitch (except for three weird stitches which I’ll worry about when I get to them) from a provisional cast on, and don’t know if I should be counting the grafting as a row to make it look invisible.
I need 168 rows (=84 ridges) in garter. Do I knit 167 and then do the grafting “from the back” (right sides together) and have the graft as row 168? Or do I knit 166 (or 168) rows, and graft from the right side, with the wrong sides together? Does this matter even a little bit? I can’t tell…I’ve never grafted garter stitch, and never done a provisional cast on before. Also, I’ve run out of crackers and the apparent seriousness of the grafting situation could be related to that.
Thanks for any input.
I have grafted almost every kind of stitch imaginable (stockinette, garter, cables, lace, etc.). What I learned in a class from the late great Sidna Farley (anyone else remember her – an enormous wealth of knitting information and a heart to match), was that with the two rows you are about to graft, one should be purl and the other should be knit. In your example, this means knit 167 rows and graft the 168th. When you graft them, graft the purl stitches knitwise and the knit stitches purlwise. You are likely to need to loosen and/or tighten the stitches to make them look even.
It doesn’t matter whether you graft from the right side or the wrong side. If I have a provisional cast on in an edge that I am grafting to, I often leave that temporary yarn in place until I’ve got the graft to my liking. Sometimes I even use the provisional cast on as what I “trace” with my needle, especially with complex stitch patterns (sorry, too late in your case).
Make a small swatch with a bit of yarn to practice. Try it a few times until you are reasonably happy with the results, then go for it with your real project.
Good luck!
Thanks for answering in such detail - much appreciated! There are no purl rows in this piece - it’s all garter stitch except for three stitches in the center of the row which are slipped on the wrong side and knit on the right side. (it’s the 1898 Hat being made for the MDKgiftalong.)
The good news: the provisional cast on is still in place, so I can still trace it as you suggest! And I’m relieved to know that it doesn’t matter which side I work from. I will tackle this tomorrow in the light of day. Thanks again 
I understand that this is entirely in garter stitch. HOWEVER, when you look at your fabric, there will be purled ridges. If you are grafting from row 167, the row just worked will appear to be purled. When you graft these stitches, graft them as you would knit stitches, but graft the provisional cast on stitches as purl stitches.
As I said, you might want to practice with a swatch first.