Hey everyone. So, I’m fairly new to knitting, and I’d say I’m somewhere in between beginner and intermediate level of knitting. (I’m self-taught, so I’m fairly along in knitting but there are bubbles of missing knowledge… =P) But this one knitting instruction has me completely stumped. I’ve tried looking it up (several times, on different search engines, on different knitting sites, and asking my other friends who also knit) and I can’t figure it out. It basically says [B]“Insert needle under thread connecting 2 stitches of previous row.”[/B] I have no clue what they’re trying to tell me to do. I’m not exactly knitting anything so much as practicing stitch patterns, and this one happens early on, in the third row, so I can’t just skip it and hope that everything will work out. Can someone help?
Confusing Knit Instructions
It looks like you’re at the beginning of a m1 increase. Look at the two end stitches on your needle. The yarn that stretches from one to the other is the “thread connecting the stitches of the previous row.”
Look at the video on M1 increases–even if that’s not what you’re doing, you’ll see where the needle goes.
What are the exact instructions for the previous row? And then what are the exact instructions for the current, troublesome, row?
Also, if the pattern is available online, please provide a link. Many knitters here are familiar with on-line patterns and appreciate the links.
Someone will be able to help!
DCM
To Ingrid: Okay, thanks. I’ll look it up. =D
To DogCatMom: The instruction were in the third row. This is how it’s exactly written down, “For the [B]second row,[/B] knit 4, purl 4. Repeat the following procedure. * Knit 6, purl 4. * End with knit 4.
For the [B]third row,[/B] knit 1, purl 1. Repeat the following procedure. * Slip next 2 stitches onto a double-pointed needle. Leave in back. Knit 2. Purl the 2 stitches on double-pointed needle, making a back cross. [U]Insert needle under thread connecting 2 stitches of previous row. (Confusing part.)[/U] Knit 1 and purl 1. Then slip next 2 stitches onto double-pointed needle and leave in front. Purl 2. Knit 2 from double-pointed needle for front cross. Purl 2. * End by purling 1, knitting 1.”
It’s from a book I found in the library. I was just confused because I’m only practicing the stitch pattern (it’s called the acorn pattern) so I only have 12 stitches in total. I followed the first and second row just fine, but the third row threw me off when I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t have enough stitches to follow through with it. I forgot the book name but if it is imperative, I will go back and find it again. I mostly have the entire pattern written down in my notebook.
You are doing an increase–just a different type.
Put the left tip under the horizontal thread between the two needles. This gives you a strand of yarn over the left tip.
Knit into the front leg, don’t slide it off. Bring the yarn forward between the needles and purl into the second leg of the stitch and slide both of them off. This will give you two stitches in between your cabled stitches
Thanks Ingrid. It worked! Er. I hate to keep asking for help, but I’m still missing two stitches that I should have. See, I started out with 12 stitches for the stitch pattern sample, but if they’re counted, by the end of the third row, it sounds to me like I should have 16, but even with Ingrid’s help, I only have 14 stitches. @m@ Maybe I still knit incorrectly?
[COLOR=Red]k1p1/c4/[/COLOR]inc/[COLOR=Red]c4/p1k1[/COLOR]
The way it’s written, you’ll go from 12 stitches + 2 up to 14.
It’s possible that you don’t have enough stitches to actually do a complete sample. What do the directions say about pattern repeat? That should tell you how many to cast on to make a complete part of the pattern. It will say pattern repeat X or X + y. I bet your pattern repeat is 12 + 2
Judging from the previous directions, I’d suggest casting on 14 stitches
row 1 - p4, k4, p6, k4, p4
row 2 - k4, p4, k6, p4, k4
row 3 - k1, p1, ct4, inc, ct4, p1, k1 you’ll end up with the 16 you need.
Try it and see if it works with the rest of the rows.
From what I’m seeing of the acorn stitch, 12 is the correct number of stitches you should have. This is a multiple of 10 plus 2 stitches. In other words, you would cast on 10, 20, 30, etc stitches and cast on an extra 2 stitches after that.
This is the only explanation of the acorn stitch I’m finding. The explanation for the abbreviations is at the end of these rows.