I’m knitting a garter stitch scarf and wondering how to improve my tension. It looks okay (I can’t share a photo as too big apparently?) but feel it could be better.
I started off wrapping once round pinky and now wrap twice.
I knit English style and am wondering to get consistent tension do I need to try and make the bit that’s on my index finger same length for each stitch because I often find it slips.
Hello
There are so many different styles of tensioning and holding the yarn and needles, even within “English style” which seems to encompass any style where the yarn is held in the right hand, that it’s kind of tricky to know how you personally knit or what might help.
Are you looking for tensioning tips in general, for all your knitting, or is there something about your garter stitch scarf tension which you think is less consistent than say your stockinette work, or knitting you’ve done with a different fibre yarn or different weight yarn and different size needle?
There are various videos online for tips for even tension. It’s worth sampling some of them.
For myself, practice and more practice was what eventually worked. I tend to be a loose knitter but it’s easy enough to change needle size to compensate. At least the sts are now even.
I found this clip really useful for understanding tension . Being consistent is the key. I would sometimes tug too hard at the yarn, thereby making my stitch smaller than the needle! Sometimes the yarn is difficult - slubby or rustic yarns don’t slide as smoothly through the stitches and can lead to greater variation in stitch size. However, these yarns often hide tension inconsistencies better than smooth yarns. Also, blocking can even out a lot of the stitch variation. Have you tried blocking a swatch to see if that makes any difference?
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/ask-patty-let-the-tool-do-the-work/**strong text**
I took a class on the ergonomics of knitting, the point being that HOW we knit, including how we tension, either continental or English, greatly affects our general health, our posture and our ability to carry on knitting longer and with better results. The author of Knitting Comfortably was the teacher of the class, Carson Demers (the book has a foreword by Cat Bordhi) - I cannot spell out the data here, but would direct any knitters to that resource. The class was terrifically helpful and informative and the book is extensive.
Thank you eveyone for replying.
I wanted help with tension in general really but as I am doing a garter stitch project I wondered if there were any tips for that too.
I’m trying to upload a photo of my knitting to show you but it’s saying the files too big? Is anyone else having the same issue? I never used to have this problem.
You can resize your photo at this site:
Give it a try and see if it helps.
It would be good to see your knitting if you manage to resize it.
I dont have any tios for tension really, other than there being lots of videos and tips on youtube. The main things i focus in are not straining my fingers or wrists, and i changed my tensioning method to eliminate some strain there, and the other thing is i focus a little more on protecting the first couple of stitches of the row and again the last couple. I feel those stitches can easily be pulled out of tension and they are not supported either side so are more kind of vulnerable.
I wonder if I’m right in thinking garter stitch is naturally looser than stockinette (someone can correct me if I’m wrong) so perhaps you’d like your knitting more on a smaller needle?
Looks perfect to me. Is there something you’re not happy with?
Thank you,
Yeh it’s when you zoom in you see bits that are like rowing out I know they’re not that but they seem further away from the other rows.
Even zooming in, I see barely a blemish.
Washing would likely even out any minor inconsistencies in the stitches and will relax the yarn.
Are you comfortable when you knit? I think that’s perhaps more important than perfect tension as comfort leads to being able to knit more, and knitting more leads to even tension. Being able to knit without strains and pains is key for me, especially having had the experience of some hand pain and having to stop knitting to let it recover.
It depends, however, on the whole I do feel comfortable. Like I’ve said in my previous posts I’m a huge overthinker and perfectionist, which is a blessing and a curse.
I’ll start focusing on how I feel more when I knit than focusing a lot on the tension because I think that leads to me getting stressed and creating uneven tension.
Have you though about asking your local library if they have this book which claudia1 recommended?
It’s a shame if you feel stressed about the tension as it should be relaxing to knit.
It does honestly look very good.
Thank you very much. Also need to just realise it takes time and practice to get into the rhythm. And it’s all part of the process.
I’m definitely going to check this out!
