First Hat Woes

Hiya,
[B]The Problem:[/B] The # of cast on stitches called for in my pattern doesn’t go all the way around my circular needles. Bamboo Clover #9’s, cord length aprox 25 inches.

[B]Other Info:[/B] I’ve knitted a few scarves on straight needles and am very happy with them.

Because of the way I hold my work, working on circular needles didn’t feel comfortable when I tried it out. So, I bought some DPN’s and gave it a shot but, I made a tangled mess.

Now I’ve gone back to my circulars only to find that I have more needle than stitches.

[B]The Question:[/B] Is there anything I can do to avoid buying yet another set of needles?

Please and Thanks,
Adriana-

Hi Adrianaluv,
If you don’t want to buy another needle, you can use the magic loop. Here is a video from youtube. Good luck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdSpc0EZpnk

The most difficult part of dpns is the firn few rows. Try casting on all the sts for the beginning of the hat onto the circular needle but don’t join to knit in the round. Knit back and forth on those sts for the first few rows and then knit onto the dpns and join the round. It will be easier this way and you can close up the small gap when you’ve finished the hat.

Your needles may be too short for Magic loop, but there’s a version called single loop that could work fine for you instead.

Ooh! Single Loop looks like just the thing. Thank you so much.

For single loop: Place a marker at the beginning of the round so you know where you are. If you run out of cable before you go all the way around, just pull out the right hand needle and keep going til you reach the end.

If you feel up to it, many hat patterns can be worked flat and seamed.