beginner needs help - my knit stitch looks wrong

Hi all! I have never knitted anything before and am just starting to knit a scarf. I’m self-taught using YouTube videos and websites but I’m stuck and I need your help.

I’m confident I have done the cast-on stitches properly, but after a few Knit stitches, it seems “wrong” to me in that with the Youtube videos, the repeated pattern in their Knit stitches looks more clearly defined, neat, and orderly…whereas mines looks like a jumbled mess. See pics:

#1) top pic: to show the cast-on stitches in case those are wrong
#2) bottom pic: close-up of Knit stitch row #1

materials being used:

Prym Ergonomics single point 15US/10mm/14 inches
Loops & Threads brand yarn - super bulky (6) 50% wool 50% acrylic

Based on the pics, am I doing something wrong? Should I complete row 1 and re-upload? Do you need to see more pics or different angles?

For some context, I’m making this scarf for someone very special to me and I want to give it soon so I’m a little anxious about making it perfect for them :smiley:

Thank you so much!

Hi & welcome. You need to make sure your cast on sts are lined up and not twisted around the needle when you knit/purl your first row. Some cast ons can make it pretty tricky to ensure they are all aligned. What cast on did you use?

4 Likes

thanks rcubed - yes, i was wondering about the cast-on and its importance. I’m using backwards loop. It was pretty easy to do (assuming I’m doing it correctly).

I’m wondering too if the quality of yarn is affecting it? I’m finding this yarn gets frayed. So when I’m not happy with my knit stitch row, i end up cutting off the whole thing and starting again rather than untangling it.

Hello
Backwards loop is a bit loose and loopy for lots of stitches. Perhaps try a knit cast on which uses the same knit maneuver you have already learned but which produces a new stitche each time.
There’s a video here, you don’t need your yarn quite as tight as in the video, it’s a but hard for this knitter to get her needle in, you can be a little looser than this.
You’ll see in the video you knit into a slip know just like knitting but then instead of dropping the stitch off the left needle you transfer the new stitch from the right needle to the left needle.
It makes a neater and stronger cast on without having to learn something totally new.

2 Likes

i watched the video. thanks so much Creations! I’ll try it

1 Like