Hi, I am currently knitting Mrs. Hipp’s slippers. I have taught myself the Judy’s magic cast on,which I am so proud of myself for !
The issue i am having is that as my slipper has gotten longer ,the circular needle seems to be stretching out my stitches.I have pulled back the cord ,then it twists.I have ripped out the end of the foot several times as i find the stitches looking very loose. i have even gone down to a 16 inch circular and that makes it even more stretched. The pattern does not tell me to switch to DPN’s. I don’t know what i am doing wrong and I am about to give up. The yarn is looking like crap .I am stuck at that point as I don’t like the look of the end of the foot due to stretched out sts. Can someone help ,please .I would assume knitting with a circular needle is working with a circular needle but maybe not with the cast on approach.
If you want to use circulars rather than DPNs, you could try to use two circular needles. That will not put any tension on the stitches.
The pattern calls for Judy’s cast on using a circular but it seems as the slipper progresses to the end of 'Pattern for end of foot " and before the" Decrease for the toe" it is almost impossible to continue using a circular, i even went down into a circular 16" ,that didn’t help ,the stitches were even more stretched.l I tried with DPN’s and the same thing,This is the first time using that particular cast on and using a circular for slippers or socks so i am not sure what I am doing wrong.
As this pattern is something one need to pay for I am not able to even guess were something goes wrong. While I have successfully done Judy’s cast on several times, nowadays I always replace it with Turkish cast on as I find it so much easier to do. If you think the problem lies in the cast on, give Turkish cast on a try. The result will be the same.
Regardless of if I use Judy’s or Turkish cast on I find it much easier to use two circulars for the first rounds. The circular I am not using I am pulling so that only the cord is touching the stitches and both needles at each end hanging down. In the beginning it is a bit tight to work the stitches and this helps as the cord is flexible and having smaller dimension than the needles. After a few rounds I switch to DPNs because I prefer DPNs over circular needles.
(Of course one could use “magic loop” for the first rounds, and I have sometimes done so but my personal preference is two circulars for the first rounds)
I found this ravelry page for Mrs. Hupps Slippers.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mrs-hupps-slippers (Free download)
The page also lists some videos that may help with your issue.
https://youtu.be/1CQ3Yiq-wEY
Can you post a picture of your unfinished project? It is difficult for me to understand where you are having the stitch issue and what may be causing it without seeing it.
I do not think the cast on is causing the issue. I frequently use a variation of the same cast on, and I almost always use circular needles.
I am sure it is not the cast on as well. I got thru most of the slipper with no issues,however at the decrease for the toe, if i continue with the circular, the stitches are getting very stretched. I have ripped this slipper out now about 12 times,even yesterday ( just back to where i am having issues) I now am trying DPN’s ,the pattern does not say to change to other needles, maybe they assume I should know that ?? The decrease for the toe seems to be very confusing, (i have knit socks before ) I am stubborn enough to finish this, whether it looks good or not but not sure i will ever use this pattern again. I wanted a simple slipper with a double sole. Anyone have such a pattern they would like to share.
Ah, okay. Maybe a video showing how to use two circulars on small diameter knitting with out stretching the stitches?
Or small diameter using the magic loop method. (Using One, longer circular)
Both videos are by Amy of KH.
Thanks for the help, i’ll try those.