Help - knitting - cluster 7?

I am having trouble completing this st. I cannot get all 7 sts knit together without horribly stretching what I have already knitted. I am assuming that when it says knit 7 sts together, they you are doing a st similar to the k2tog, but with 7 sts, going from left to right.

The directions for the cluster st reads: Turns 7 sts into 5, and is worked as follows: knit 7 sts together, but leave them on the left needle. Next, [yo, k7tog] 2x and then take the 7 sts off left needle.

Maybe I just need to knit A LOT looser on the previous row to be able to get the needle through 7 sts at once. Any thoughts or suggestions?

~ Sarah

This is easier to do if you’re working with thin yarn and very pointy needles and of course practice makes it easier still. But one of the things I sometimes resort to is slipping the sts to be worked together onto a much smaller dpn and then knitting the sts together. The thinner dpn gives you a little more wiggle room without having to loosen up too much on the actual sts.

It’s a lace scarf with a size 4 needle and lace weight yarn. I’ll try going to a 3 to knit (smallest size I have at home), good suggestion! However, I am thinking correct that the needle goes into all 7 sts from left to right at once, correct? It would definitely be easier going right to left, but I don’t think that’s correct. Thanks

If it says to knit the 7 together, then it’s into the 7 from left to right. Yes, doing these sts (also called nupps) on a purl row, where you insert from right to left is definitely easier.

To get an idea of “how loose is loose” for a nupp or a related type of cluster, take a look at this video by Nancy Bush (author of several books related to Estonian knitting).

It’s pretty amazing; I’ve been [I]absolutely certain[/I] that I had HUGE loops on the knit side, but when I came back for the purl, it was [I]still[/I] difficult to get them onto the needle!

DCM