I am taking my 3rd knitting class. I decided to try knitting mittens because I have noticed that a lot of patterns require double pointed needles. I figured mittens would be a good project to learn how to use these needles. I am so upset & frustrated, I could break the needles in half! My project was coming along pretty well when I left class Tue evening. I had the ribbing done and I was starting the hand. I made the mistake of trying to continue on my own at home. I made a mistake, had too many stitches, tried to take them out, and ended up unraveling the whole thing! I had only been shown once how to cast on to one needle and divide the stitches onto three needles. After several failed attempts at that last night, I watched an instructional video on this website this morning and was able to get the stitches on the three needles. The pattern for the ribbing is K1, P1, K1, P1. I knit the first round, purled the 2nd round, knit the 3rd round, purled the 4th round, etc. After 8-9 rounds, I have garter stitch as opposed to ribbing? What am I doing wrong? HELP!
hang in there… for the ribbing they want you to K1 stitch then P1 stitch all the way around… if you K1 round and then P1 round that is what gives you the garter…
You are knitting in the round not back and forth. You continue to K1, P1, every round until you start the hand portion.
You’re doing garter stitch by knitting a whole round, then purling the next round, not ribbing. Ribbing is k1 st, p1 st, alternating sts.
Sorry I misread your post about knitting one row and purling one row. I was working on a sock while I read. dustinac is correct.
Thank you all for your replies and the extremely useful info they contained.
So, when a pattern says to K1, P1 for ribbing and I’m using straight needles, I knit the 1st row, purl the 2nd row, etc.
When a pattern says to K1, P1 for ribbing and I’m using double pointed needles, I get ribbing by knitting the 1st stitch, purling the 2nd stitch, etc?
I just want to make sure I understand. Thanks for your patience.
That’s ok…
If you K1 row and P1 row on straight needles this gives you Stockinette stitch…in order to get ribbing you need to K1 stitch and then P 1 stitch…
Another good thing to learn is lifelines! I don’t knit without them. That way if you do have to rip back, you can do it easily and without trouble. There is a video about lifelines under the Basic Technique section, under “More”
No, one of the posters was confused and that’s confused you. Let’s start over.
Ribbing is alternating knit and purl stitches on the same row - k1, p1. It doesn’t matter if you’re knitting flat with straight needles or in the round with dpns or circs, this is how you make ribbing.
Garter st is what you get when you knit every row on straight needles or knit one round, purl a round on dpns or circs.