I am brand spanking new to knitting and have loads of questions…looking forward to becoming a regular member of this site!
I have literally just learned to cast on, and I think I’m doing that pretty well. They were too tight at first but I solved that problem by casting onto two needles, then slipping one needle off when finished. My big new problem now is that I’ve done a couple of rows of stitches, and by the time I get halfway through the second row, they seem to be so tight that I can barely slide them up or down the needle! Also, is it normal for a row of stitches to spiral round the needle as you do them? Mine sure do! Not sure what I am not doing correctly. I am doing the stitch correctly, I’m sure of that, it’s just that it’s far too tight and all bunched up together. Also looks a bit uneven.
Any help on this topic would be appreciated!
Thanks all
Welcome! I’m so glad you found this site…it’s a wonderful place with fantastic videos to help you and the people on this forum are amazing.
Good for you for figuring out a way to cast on that won’t create too tight stitches to start. As far as when you get a couple rows into your stitching and it is too tight…are you tightening each stitch after making it? That can lead to really tight stitches. Typically, the first and last stitch are the most vulnerable to being too loose so those are more prone to needing a bit of gentle tightening but the rest simply depends on how you are holding your working yarn. There are tons of ways you can hold it…I find that the easiest for me is to loop it around my pinky finger up over the back of the fourth and third finger and then around front of my second finger. But there are many other ways too - it’s simply what gives you the most comfort AND control. I’d play around with being sure NOT to tighten each stitch and how you hold the yarn and I bet your stitches will come out a bit looser. Also, be sure the size needles you have and the yarn you are using are appropriate for each other - that can help too.
Good luck and let us know how your stitching is coming along!
Yes, make sure you’re not giving an extra tug to the yarn after you make the stitch, it’s not necessary. And the knitting twisting around your needle may be from the tight sts, so if you fix that, it should stop the curling too. What size needles and what kind of yarn are you doing? They should `match’ in other words, don’t use a thick yarn on small needles; a larger needle will help you see the sts easier too.
I did the same thing when first learning (a whole six months ago) my hand would cramp and I could only do 2 rows at a time. I would look at what I was doing and how tense I am and try to relax a bit, most of getting things right I’ve found is just a matter of practice. You’ll do great in no time! >^,^<
Also make sure you’re not kntting on the pointy tips of the needles. If you do that it will tighten your stitch to that diameter and then when it needs to slide down onto the actual needle it will be too small and too tight.
