Help, just started knitting!

Hello everyone,

I just started knitting, and have a book and also have been watching the videos on this site. I have learned to cast on with no problem, but now i am stumped. I am trying to knit with the continental method, and watched that video, but it’s hard for me since the video already has a few rows started, and also they don’t seem to have a tail in the film… when I am trying to knit, the tail seems to be getting in my way, and the stitches do not transfer well to the right needle. Any advice? what do I do with that darn tail?

Cindy

Welcome Cynthia!

On my list of videos to shoot, is how to start the first row on straight needles! I’ll get to it one of these days!

My favorite thing to do with the tail is to hold it together with the working yarn, and knit three stiches with both yarns as if they were one yarn. Knit those stitches tightly, to reduce the bulk of the extra strand. Then, abandone the tail yarn and continue with just the working yarn. After you’ve done the next row, you can cut the tail yarn. Leave 1/4" if you can, so it stays in place and doesn’t pop out to the other side and become a big strand sticking out.

Or, if you’re going to be sewing a seam with the yarn, along the edge where the tail is, you can leave it dangling, and use it to sew the seam.

Hope that helps.
Happy knitting!
Amy

oOoOoO Great tip!! I just tried this and it worked beautifully!! The tail was getting on my nerves too…LOL

Thanks for your advice! I just finished my first row, and wouldn’t you know, the phone rang, and I think I dropped one, if not two stitches at the end of my first row… now what I have is the cast on, with a good first row, but towards the tip of my needle, I have a loop of yarn (about 1 inch), that is dangling off the needle in addition to the working yarn. Is this fixable? I tried watching the dropped stitch video, but my mistake doesn’t seem to look like the one in the video…

maybe i need to join a class…

Cynthia

In the class I took, the teacher can fix those ladder boo boos in about 2 seconds. They normally take me more like 10 minutes…I have to do the ladder one at a time, then figure out which needle it should go on and then try to remember which way I am knitting…and then fix the second booboo for putting it on the needle twisted etc. I think almost the best thing to do is make a swatch that doesnt matter, make some mistakes and then try to fix em.

I agree with Kitkat about purposely making booboos on swatches. I do it all the time. It still takes me 10 minutes (or 1 hour :roll: ) to fix a mistake on my actual knitting project, but I think it’s worthwhile practice that will pay off in the long run.