I know how to use my Dpns but am having trouble keeping my needles in order. Would numbering or coloring possibly help? I’m just starting this project and I just need to do a few rows to get into full swing but I hate the first part because I find it confusing
DPNs
I kept mine in the packages they came in so I could find the right size. One thing you could do would be to dab a thin tiny bit of nail polish on the needles. You could use different colors for the various sizes.
You can get a knitting ruler. This is handy because it has a slot where you can measure your gauge of your knitted work. It has a ruler on it in inches and centimeters. It has holes in it where you can insert the needle to find the size. Mine has the American sizes on one side of the holes and the mm size on the other. This comes in handy when you have a pattern where the needle size is only shown in mm. I can quickly glance at the ruler to see which needle I need. It’s faster than looking it up on the internet. The one that I have is metal and is made by Susan Bates.
Do you mean keeping them in order while you’re knitting? If you number them, they’re going to change. Basically you knit sts off the L needle with an empty one in the R hand. Then when the L is empty, it becomes the new R needle and the needle the next st is on is the new L needle. It may be just the first few rows where it may be hard to determine if the sts are twisted, or where they are, but after that it gets easier when you’ve got more length to the knitting. You could also knit a few rows flat before joining, that would give it a little more body to keep things in order.
Ok. I get it now. I must have been reading this wrong. But it’s still good advice. lol
Hi!
If you have trouble to start out, do it like Suzee said.
If you don’t want to do it, you can also cast on, seperate the stitches to the needels and then just keep knitting and knitting until you have sufficient body.
What I mean: If you have trouble, do not put your work down within the first few rows of knitting. After that things are easier to see and better to keep appart.
Also, sometimes a pattern specifies so many sts on needle one and a different number on needles 2 and 3 (for example on the foot of socks). The actual needle itself will change but the position and number of sts remain as specified. In that case, it may help to mark off which sts are on which needle by placing different color markers, one st in from the end of the various needles.
You will always be working from right to left. If your work is positioned properly, the working yarn will always be coming from the right needle. If it’s coming from the left needle, you’ve turned the work inside out and you’re going the wrong direction.
Oh! One more tip: You should hold your knitting in the round the correct way around.
Immagine it would be a cup (the cast on edge being the bottom of the cup (and no floor in it)). You should be working on that point of the round that you would drink from.