Ok. So I took out my DPNs watched and studied Amy’s video. (She makes it look so easy!) I am trying to knit a cabled hat with sz 7 DPNs. I have never used DPNs, so I wanted go something beyond the regular needles and the circulars. I got brave and tried it the first time. It took me about 4-5 times unraveling and starting over again. I even used the double cast on method to make the stitches tighter. The pattern uses P3, K3 ribbing for the brim of the hat. After about the 5th time, I gave up. I’ve tried knitting the stitches as tight as I could, but I still keep getting that long strand of yarn no matter how tight I knit. I don’t know why it keeps doing that. Does anyone have any suggestions on keeping the knit close and tight to the needle? Oh and I’m a contintental knitter. 
Frustrated with DPNs. HELP!
I get a long strand of yarn in between my needles when i’m knitting with dpns, and I was worried about it at first, but then I realized that the length is only about the length between my two needles when I’m knitting flat. Do a few rows and see if there’s a gap in between your stitch columns. Once I did that, I learned that I was okay as far as tension.
Now I’m a HUGE fan of dpns and I want to buy them in every size.
I am knitting the sweet little Goddess dolls, and they have (what LOOKS like) HUGE loose spaces between needles
I find a little jiggle of the finished product clears up any seam that inadvertently appears
the finished product is smooth and nice
ecb
It takes a number of rows before ribbing starts to look like it’s working. You really can’t avoid that thread phenonmenon completely. My best suggestion is this:
Cast on to two needles held together. That way, you can snug up the loops so they are even and tight, then take out the extra needle. You may still have the thread between the two, but it will be uniform. And your yarn won’t be so tight that you can’t knit into it.
Keep trying! I love working with DPNs. If all else fails, you can try magic loop. I haven’t tried that before, but there are lots of people here who like it.
Thx so much guys! Although I am frustrated with DPNs, at the time being, I know I will love them once I get the hang of it. I am already feeling it. I am trying to stay away of the circulars as much as possible. I’d rather be old school. Haha. I guess certain types of needles are to one’s own liking, right? Alyaanne: I think I will try knitting flat. I was knitting in mid-air, so I will see if that works.
If anyone else has anymore suggestions or advice, I’d love to hear them! Btw, the ribbing pattern is P3, K1, for the brim. Oops.
To avoid this ugly thing that plagues us all, I rest the last needle ontop of or sometimes below (depending on mood) the next working needle. I pull the working yarn tight, wrap the yarn, snug up yarn if needed, when forming the first 2 stitches. It actually looks like normal stitches! I had to really focus while first learning this, but now it is habit. It works great and you will really be happy with the “normal” can’t tell the needles met there look.
I usually start all my circular/dpn projects flat. Even for socks, I will cast all the stitches on to one needle, and then knit the first row “onto” the needles to divide them. The tiny gap formed by this is easy to sew up with the yarn tail later. I will also cast on an extra stitch, and I will knit the first stitch and the last stitch together to form the join. I have also knit the seed stitch border of a poncho flat, then joined when the stockinette section started {5 or 6 rows}… again sewing up the gap with the yarn tail. I did the same thing with the garter ribbing for my DSs pullover that I’m working on. I have found that it is easier to get a neat join this way since I’m not fighting to keep the needles from flopping all over the place and keeping them tightly together at the same time. The extra row of knitting on the needles makes it easier to make sure that your work isn’t twisted. As for ladders, I try to keep the first 2 stitches of a dpn tight, but I still get a bit of laddering. If your project is ribbed, you can “hide” the ladders in the ribbing. Also, after a few washings, your ladders will disappear since the yarn will have naturally stabilized itself by then.
I love my DPNs!
I always cast on one more stitch than needed and then knit the first and last stitch as one. That kind of brings everything together.
I always (except for knitting the fot on socks) use four DPNs in the knitting and knit onto a fifth. I make sure that the needle I’m knitting from is on top of the needle after it. I make sure that the rear end of the second needle is on top of the front end of the third needle. The rear end of the third needle is on top of the front end of the fourth needle.
And the needle I knit onto is on top of the rear end of the fourth needle. (So the fourth needle is beneath the “knitting onto needle” and the third needle)
I balance the knitting by pulling the second needle away from me, the third needle towards the right and the fourth needle away from me.
Did that make sense?
I also move my stitches every few couple of rows. I knit two, three or four stitches (depending on pattern) from needle two onto needle one, from needle three to needle two, from needle four to needle three and from needle one to needle four. This helps me eliminate ladders.
Good luck! 
What I do is knit or purl the first stitch, then stick your needle in the next stitch and wrap yarn around needle as tight as you can and hang onto it til you finish that stitch.Do this on edges too. Makes really nice looking edges, no big loops.I got this info from Stitch N Bitch book. Works for me everytime,whether I use DPNs or circular or straights. :happydance:
Hello!
I don’t understand the part with knitting the first and the last stitch together with the extra stitches. :oops:
I should try that. Makes sense. Hehe 
Would if you have only 4 needles (mine are sz 7) and the cast on is 92 stitches. I tried using another needle about the same size and transfer them to the dpns. Is there an easier way of doing this?
Depending on the weight of the yarn, I would probably do something that starts with 92 stitches on a circular needle. If I had to use dpns, I would do my cast on on a straight or circular needle the same size, or up to 2 sizes larger. I would then knit those stitches on to my dpns to divide them equally or as the pattern instructs me to. When it comes time to join it into a circle, my cast on {long tail} and the first row together make it a bit more stable and easier to see if my stitches are twisted before I join. Clear as mud?
Thanks for the tip! I’ll be sure to post some pictures! Hope it works! :XX: