Double pointed needles still a mystery!

How-to Questions
1

I’m new to knitting and this forum and to expand my skills am trying to teach myself knitting on double pointed needles… and utterly failing at it!

I have watched the video, over and over again but can’t see how to get the knitting into a tube shape and where exactly the extra needle fits into it all.

I am so confused and woudl really appreciate any more instruction or tips people have!

Thanks.

2

Hi Bimbler, I am also very new to four needle knitting having only knitted a one inch tube of it but as I’ve only just got it myself, maybe I can help.
If you follow the instructions on the video til you have the stitches on three needles then what you have to do is using the fourth needle, knit into the first stitch you cast on, knitting with the wool hanging from the last stitch you cast on. Knit all the stitches from that needle then take that needle and use it to do the same thing on the next unknitted needle. When that needle is empty, take it and use it to knit the next ones and so on. The Knitting makes itself into a tube as you go around.
When I tried the first time, I forgot about switching the needles and ended up knitting all the stitches onto one needle. :doh:

3

When you first start on dpns, it is awkward. I think the best way to get the hang of them is to finish a hat that’s been started on a circular. The stitches are already well established and in the round, so you can concentrate on working the needles rather than trying to start with the needles flopping all over the pace.

4

I only recently taught myself to use DPNs, and it almost drove me crazy. The best advice I can give you is to work at a table or something, so you’re not trying to hold all of those needles at once. That helped me a lot. After you manage to get a few rounds knit, it gets much easier. Don’t think I can say it better than Hepsibah, but as for the extra needle, that is your working needle. When you knit the sts from one needle onto that “working needle”, you will have a new (with no sts) working needle. Hope that helps. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. :smiley:

5

thanks for all the excellent advice everyone, it has certainly inspired me to try again on my enormous (borrowed) slippy plastic needles.

the resting on a table (or lap) seems to work well and stops them slipping around so much. i also like the idea of move on from working a circular needle, great tip!

will keep going…!

thanks!

6

When I first tried dpn’s I was also using plastic and found them to be very slippery. Try bamboo. It’s made a world of difference for me. The stitches stay in place and I can concentrate more on the actual knitting than worrying if my stitches are going to slide off the needles.

:XX:

7

Hello, I"m new to the forum and new to DPN and I’m about to loose my mind. What video? I thought I did everything right and then was told that it was inside out !. Ripped it and am starting again. I need to see a picture of how you hold the needles to start the first row after you have cast on and divided. Thanks in advance

8

Maybe the pictures here will help - http://community.knitpicks.com/page/page/show?id=1984936%3APage%3A253
and the video for DPNs under Small Diameter knitting

9

Same here except I was trying on aluminum dpns. One trick I learned was to concentrate only on the working needle and its partner. Granted it feels like you’re fighting with an unruly hedgehog, but practice does help you improve. :hug:

10

The only set of dpns I have is metal, and they’re darn slippery! I would definitely advise trying wood needles especially to learn on.

11

That’s very common when first using DPNs. The working needle should be the one closest to you not the one farthest away.

Here’s the video http://www.knittinghelp.com/apps/flash/video_player/play/9/1

12

for detailed instructions on using Double pointed needles you can go to
http://www.knittingatknoon.com/demos.html

there are 3 video’s on using them.

HG

13

Double-pointed needles are an experiment in patience. A lot of patience. I spent a lot of my time just knitting tubes (even though I had convinced myself it would be a sock one day) and poking myself with them.

My recommendations:

  1. Knit either very closely to your lap or on a table. All that hanging tends to be frustrating, especially if you’re using slippery needles.

  2. Use wood. I know they’re more expensive, but for learning purposes, get a pair of wooden ones and use a yarn that isn’t slippery (I learned this the hard way – mine was made of bamboo, merino and silk)

  3. Don’t overthink it. I did. With double pointed, remember you’re still just knitting. Don’t make the mistake of trying to join the stitches at the end of each needle (yes, I did this too), but rather, when your new working needle appears, knit with whatever needle you’re on. Ignore the other needles. Completely. Entirely. They’re not there. All you have is the needle in front of you and your working needle.

  4. You’re gonna get poked. No matter what, you’ll get some poking in your palms. You can avoid this by sliding the work around however you please to save your palms some acupuncture. The more you work with them, the more control you’ll have.

Hope any of that helped. :wink: