2 Circular needles knitting question

#1

Hi,

I just joined, so I don’t know if this has been addressed before (I’m sure it has :slight_smile: ). I’ve never knitted with 2 circular needles before, and I’m attempting to make a pair of fingerless gloves. Every time I change needles, no matter how tight I try to pull that first stitch, I end up with a loose gap between the needles, so the sides of the glove are very loose. What can I do to prevent this? I’m knitting with sz. 10 needles and am following the directions from the video on this site.

I’d sure appreciate some help.

#2

When the mittens are done and you wash them, you’ll be surprised at how much of the ladder pulls up into the rest of the fabric. In the meantime, if you can use stitch markers, you can knit one extra stitch on one round, one less on the next, and so on to stagger the loose spots. If you do that, make sure you know where the round begins and ends, where increases/decreases are supposed to be, etc. or things will go south in a hurry. I just let it come out in the wash, meyself :wink:

#3

The ladders will be less noticeable after the mittens have gone through the wash and/or been worn. However, if you can’t stand the look of it right now, you can use stitch markers (to remind yourself of where the division ought to be) and knit one off the other needle on one round, just the right number the next time, one less so the other needle picks one up the next…it’s harder to explain than it is to do. Unless it’s really, really loose, I’d let it go.

Another alternative, depending on how many stitches you’re dealing with–obviously, this will work better if it’s on a lot of stitches–is to use a crochet hook and pick up one whole extra row of stitches along the offending ladder, then hide it in the first batch of decreases. Odds are you don’t need to do that; I’m just mentioning it in case.

#4

It just takes practice. I knit with two circs and don’t have the problem anymore. I kind of hang onto the join when I’m knitting, but it’s hard to explain. Just pull the yarn up close to stitch and then do it and use your fingers to hang to the join for one more stitch.

#5

Thanks for the advice. I must admit that it all sounds a bit confusing, but I’ll see if I can figure it out…I might be back soon with more questions. :wink:

#6

What Jan is describing is kind of like pinching the back sts together with the front sts when you start the front sts to bring the back ones closer to them.

#7

I agree with Jan and hold the needle that I am leaving close to relax the tension on the yarn between needles. I have also found the that by pulling the first, second and third stitch on the new needle a little tighter it helps reduce ladders. I don’t think the first stitch on the new needle has enough tension/friction to hold the old needle up as you move the the second stitch. However, three stitches working together seems to be enough.

YMMV (Your Mileage May Very)

#8

Thanks for all the help…I will give it a try this evening and let you know how it goes…

Frodo :muah: