So I’ve been knitting just about two months now and the past couple weeks I’ve done a few washcloths to learn new stitches. I think I’m doing okay but something that is eating at me is how the finished project always seems too messy for my taste. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I’m hoping for some feedback in how to knit neater.
This picture was taken immediately after casting off and it hasn’t been blocked, obviously. What I keep tending to find is that in garter stitch my edges are always all wonky. This bugs me so bad. I do slip the first stitch when I can, but I still get funky edges. Also by looking at the picture you can tell that the cast on edge (bottom) is different than the bind-off (top). I cast on with the long-tail cast on and bound off purlwise as the pattern suggested. Even if I had bound off knitwise the two edges would still be different. This happens in all of my projects. I’m unsure what cast-on/bind-off I should be using. Also on the lower left corner you can see that it’s the only round corner. Why does this keep happening and how can I make all my corners uniform?
I also have some confusion about tension. Some places I’ve read to keep a tight tension, some places I’ve read to keep a loose tension. Which gives a neater finish?
Finally, I’m a bit confused over carrying the yarn up the sides when switching color. In this ghastly colored Lizard Ridge DishclothI carried the pink and white alternatingly up the right side and ended up with one somewhat neat side and one wonky side. On the side I was trailing the yarn up on I’d sort of twist the yarn around the other once just to pin it down. This lead to bits of pink showing through the white on the right side and vice versa. It also made some areas on the edge more chunky than others. It’s hard to tell on my crappy cell-phone picture, but in person it’s very obvious. Any tips on trailing the colors up the side?
I’m determined not attempt any important clothing or gift projects or anything until I neaten up my knitting. I’ve really been working on it but I seem to have hit a plateau. Am I being unrealistic? Ahh!
I find slipping the first sts makes them looser and messier than just knitting or purling them, especially with garter stitch. To tighten up the edge sts without slipping, knit the first st (or purl it, then tug the yarn gently so it takes out the slack yarn from the last st in the row below and the first st itself. Then knit the next couple sts a wee bit tighter. Works very well, and your edges will improve with practice. As Mike pointed out, a lot of edges will be hidden in seams or borders and you’ll get better at it. Geeze, you’ve only been knitting 2 months. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with either item, they look good to me.
Mike, your tip of pulling out the tip of the rounded corner worked like a charm. Thanks!
About blocking, I figured it was kinda pointless to block a dishrag. I’m curious though. Once you block an item is it always blocked or do you have to reblock it after every wash?
Sue, I’ll try next project to not slip the first stitch and work the first couple tighter and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip!
I have to say that both items look fine to me. I’m with Sue on not slipping the first st. For me, it makes the edge look loose and messy and I hate it. Just tightening up the first few sts give me a nicer finish. If the pattern specifically says to sl the first st for a reason (picking up sts later or something), then I’ll do it.
I also think that both items look great! Don’t be too hard on yourself, though I understand how you feel as I’m a perfectionist as well.
I just wanted to comment on two things, tension and casting on. I don’t think you should try to keep either a tight OR a loose tension… I think you should simply try to keep YOUR tension and try to keep your stitches even. That comes with practice, though looking at the photos you seem to already be doing well there. But rather than adjust your tension, adjust your knitting needle size to produce the tension recommended in the pattern - you’ll need to knit a swatch before each project. Trying to adjust your tension by knitting a certain way will make your knitting uneven.
Regarding casting on, I’m not the greatest fan of longtail cast-on, but I do use it if a pattern specifies it or when I’m following with garter stitch or moss stitch. One side of longtail cast-on (and I think it might be what is supposed to be the ‘wrong’ side) looks a little like garter stitch and blends in very nicely when the following rows are garter stitch. So that’s the side of the cast-on that I use on the right (visible) side of my work.
Perhaps someone who is experienced with the longtail method might take a close look at your cast-on. To me it looks a little different from how mine looks and I wondered if you might be making an error with the method you’re using. If you click on the pic [COLOR=“Blue”]here[/COLOR] where the cuff of the sleeve is close-up, laying across the cardigan, you can see my longtail cast-on, used before moss stitch. But perhaps it’s my method that mightn’t be correct!
Both look fine to me and it is to wash dishes. As far as clothing goes any imperfection along the edge is usually covered when you seem the garment together.
I think you’re being way to hard on yourself! Those are beautiful dishcloths!!
I find just plain garter stitch is neat enough most of the time. If you do a slip one make sure you are always slipping the same way and don’t make it too loose. Another thing you can do if you really need to neaten the edges is to do a single crochet around the edge.
You’re doing very nicely! I love them both. The only thing I can see is that maybe on the white one that the reason the garter looks different on the cast on edge is that maybe you could have made the other side of the cast on edge the outside of the cloth. That may not be right, but it has a flat look along the very bottom and if the other side has the bump part at the bottom, if you’d made it the outside it may have looked more the same throughout. I don’t think you did anything wrong, but sometimes making a different number of rows than they said can place the flat side on the back instead of the front. Then work the other end so that it has the same number of garter ridges.
Carrying the color up the side will show, and when the item is seamed you hide it, but on an item like this the only way to avoid it (I should never say “only” ) is not to carry it but to end each off. It makes for a lot of ends to work in, but if it really bothers you you can go that route.
What Miss_Molly said about tension is good. Don’t try to be too tight or too loose, just knit evenly. There are a few stitches that are easier to do if you are not in the habit of knitting [U]super [/U]tightly. I would advise against knitting [U]too[/U] tightly, relaxed enough so that your stitches slide along the needle handily, but nothing sloppy loose.
Thanks everyone, I feel a LOT better. Knitting is my first real craft besides a little dabble in cross-stitch and I guess I’m just getting used to the home-made look. Imperfections no matter how small bother me but I guess I need to realize that I’m not a machine and my work will never be perfect. I do want to knit as neat as I can though.
Miss Molly, you are right that your cast-on edge looks different than mine. BEAUTIFUL sweater, by the way! I’ll look into what I’m doing to cast on and see if I’m doing it right. I learned via the videos here at knittinghelp.
Thanks again, it’s wonderful to have such a resource for help and critique.
Carmen, I was using longtail cast-on today to start a new project, and thinking about your problem so took a close look as I worked. I always hate the first row after that cast on, as I always get a little bridge of yarn between each stitch, which, however, closes up fine as soon as I have laboriously worked the next stitch. But as I did this it struck me that if I had cast on too loosely, that bridge of yarn between stitches on the first row would be longer and by the time I got to the second row, it might give a loopier finish.
This is just a thought for you to check out, ie that you might be casting on too loosely… no way am I saying you ARE, but perhaps its possible? Also, as someone else said, double check which side of the cast on you’re using as the outside view.
My favorite local knitting guru always told me that the long tail cast on likes the first row to be a purl row. I just tried a little swatch and did all purl garter (yes, purl every row) over part of it and all knit garter over the other part. The [U]back[/U] side of the all knit garter looks best.
I am not recommending all purl garter, that would be too much trouble, but putting an extra row that would throw the first row of purl bumps to the front makes the garter look better along the cast on edge. No flat area before the garter ridges start. Try it out on a little tiny swatch. In other words make row 2 the right side of the cloth.
I made a tiny “washcloth” of 8 stitches with 3 garter ridges at each end and a couple of rows of stockinette for the body of the cloth (I didn’t bother with side garter, too tiny for that), making row 2 the outside. At the finishing end I ended it off right after a garter ridge (purl bump right against the needle) by binding off on a right side row.
Experiment with a couple of tiny swatches trying different things and recording your outcomes.
Another thing you might like to try… When I bound off my tiny swatch with a regular bind off I wondered if it would look better with a sewn bind off, so I tried one. It still doesn’t look exactly like the edge of the cast on edge, but I think you might like it. It is easy to do.
Here’s how to do the sewn bind off. Cut a nice generous tail to use to work across the width of the cloth or swatch. Now thread it into a tapestry needle. Don’t take the stitches off the needle, just work with them on. 1. Run the tapestry needle purlwise (that just means into the front like you would if you were going to purl) into the first two stitches together and pull the yarn through like you would for sewing. 2. Then you run the needle back through the first stitch on the knitting needle knitwise, then slide that first stitch off the knitting needle. Keep repeating steps one and two to the end. At the end you will only have one stitch left, and I have to admit I don’t know what you are supposed to do to finish it off :oops: (I usually use this in the round and have figured out something that works well in that application). Try different things and see what works best. If you like the bind off appearance otherwise, you might start a thread asking how to finish off a sewn bind off in flat work. Maybe someone knows the secret.
At the end you will only have one stitch left, and I have to admit I don’t know what you are supposed to do to finish it off
I really like the sewn BO. As for the last st, I just sew back thru it once more and drop. I’ve not had a problem finishing off that way.
For pieces like hotpads and afghans, where I want the CO/BO to match I opt for crochet CO. Seems to afford better balance in the FO. If I do LTCO and standard BO the CO seems to work narrower than the BO leaving that ‘wider/narrower’ result. Not the case with the crochet CO.
) is not to carry it but to end each off. It makes for a lot of ends to work in, but if it really bothers you you can go that route.