First try at a mitten pattern, please advise!

#1

Hi all, I’m a newbie here and still pretty much a beginning knitter. I’m attempting my first pair of mittens and I’ve run into trouble right after casting on.

My pattern says:

  1. Cast 30 sts on a size 13 needle, leaving a 10-inch tail. (Done!)

  2. Row 1: * Knit the second stitch from the back, then knit the first stitch from the front. Let both stitches drop off the needle. Repeat from * until end of row.

Knitting the second stitch from the back is confusing! To knit from the back…does that mean I knit with the “wrong” side facing me, and then knit the first one with the “right” side facing me? After knitting from the back, do I slip the second one over the first stitch before I knit from the front? I think I’ve tried to do this every way I can imagine, but every time I let the stitches drop off the needle, they aren’t secured and just unravel. Should they be dropped off the left or right needle? I’m so confused!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

#2

You’re doing twisted sts (essentially a mini cable). Insert your right ndl into the back loop of the 2nd st on your left ndl. K it and then K the 1st st on the left ndl thru the front loop. Drop both. (You’ve worked them out of order…2nd, then 1st.)

#3

Okay, I think I got it. I think I was dropping the wrong ones. Thanks!

#4

Make sure when you do the 2nd st that you wrap the yarn just loose enough so you can comfortably swing around to the front to work the 1st st.