I am a beginner and using circulars for the first time. My pattern is for a shawl, starting with one cast on stitch. Each row has one increase to 175 stitches. Do I turn my work for each row until I get enough stitches on to use a marker? My pattern instructions are not clear, except it says to keep right side facing all times. Thanks for any help!
Circular needles
Yes, you’re going to be working flat, not in the round. The circ is just going to be for holding all the sts you’re going to get which won’t fit on a straight needle. How does it say to keep RS facing at all times? Do you have a link to the pattern?
I’m sorry…general circular needle instructions, not pattern, tell me to keep right side facing at all times. So I just knit as if I were on straight needles?
Yes, you can even start this on straight needles, then after you get about 30 sts or so, switch over to the circs. If you were going to knit a tube in the round you keep the RS facing, but that doesn’t apply here.
That’s how I started, on straight needles. When I switched to the circular, the look of the stitches completely changed. I was 3/4 done and ripped it all out. Had 40 stitches to go, boo hoo. Instead of seeing the regular knit stitch, it became very long rows, losing the little stitch across. I called a knitting store and they told me the look of the stitches would change and to rip it out. I guess they steered me wrong! Thanks for your help, I’m so depressed.
That’s odd, unless you used a different size needle, they should look the same. Did you transfer the sts onto the circ, or just knit onto it? If you slipped the sts over, you may have dropped some of them. You can just start knitting with the circular one in place of the other straight one.
Yes, I knitted on to the circular from the straight. I don’t know why they changed appearance, but they looked long, V-shaped. Anyway, I’m starting over (will use circular) and I thank you so much for all your help!
Long and V shaped usually means stockinette which is knit a row, purl a row for flat knitting. Is that what you’re doing?
It could just be the sts looked different because they weren’t squished up like they were on the straight needle.