Suggestions appreciated. I am a beginner. Ty!!
Stockinette curls always. You need to have a border to help counteract that. Even with a border it can sometimes cause the fabric to “fold” at the edge of the border and body of the project. So your best bet is to make a wide border of a non curling stitch such as seed stitch or garter stitch. Blocking may help, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem.
Thank u. I’ll try the first four and last 4 stitches with garter stitch as a border. Correct? I’ve never heard of blocking.
Blocking? Never heard of it? It is the final step of laying out the finished project: for instance, a sweater pattern- when finished, may have an odd or “off” shape. Blocking consists of say, wetting or dampening the project, and pinning it in place so it is in the shape it SHOULD be in. For instance lets say your project is a perfect square. When you are done knitting the “square”, you’ll find it is kind of warped, maybe too narrow at the bottom, too wide at top- Blocking you lay it out, dampen it, pin it into place of a perfect square, letting it dry. Some iron the project, some wet it completely, it depends on the yarn.
About the curling, yes you got the reply earlier that answers the question. What I do, is when I come upon a pattern that calls for stockinette, I might add a pattern to the stitch such as diagonal lines, or diamonds, or cable, whatever. This adds a design to the pattern and also prevents the curling.
Not all projects need blocking in the traditional sense, but most benefit by it. If you’re making something in acrylic you can often just toss in the washer and dryer and it’ll come out fine. If it’s a shawl or sweater in wool then definitely block. You block by hand washing and laying the project out (on blocking boards/mats or just a bed or table on towels. Or you can lay it out and then spray it with water. If necessary pin it to shape. It really depends on what you’re making. I block shawls, sweaters and scarves, but not hats. Baby things I almost always make in acrylic for easy maintenance for a new mom and toss in washer and dryer.
What I do is make a pattern that adds a purl here or there, even if it is just a diagonal pattern, or adding those cute little purl “dots” every fourth or so stitch. On the edges I might purl and knit too, instead of just one row of knits. No more curls.