Help with knitting in the round please?

#1

I am making this pattern (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sofia-11)

It’s some baby dungarees and the idea is you knit each leg on double ended needles and then move over to knit both legs and the body etc on circular needles. After knitting one leg, the pattern says to cast on 13 extra stitches to as an extension to those already on the needle - I’m assuming this is for the bit between the legs.

My question is, when it then says (under the heading BODY) to knit the 2 legs onto the circular needles is the idea that you first start with the second leg and knit on the 13 new stitches first? Then the rest of the second leg, followed by the rest of the leg of the first leg, then the 13 “new” stitches of the first leg? Sorry if this is a really obvious question. This is my first attempt at knitting in the round!

I don’t really understand what the pattern is talking about when it mentions “wedges” e.g. “to mark the wedge after the last stitch on the round” and “The 13 sts between the blue markers are the wedge sts.” so I don’t think that helps!

Thank you so much in advance to anyone that can shed some light on this!

#2

That’s a very sweet baby romper.
You’ve placed the first leg on hold while you knit leg 2. Leg 2 is on the working needle with 13 newly cast on sts at the end. Place another blue marker and knit across leg 1. When you get to the end of the 13 new sts on leg 1, place another blue marker. You’ll have both legs on a single circular needle with 4 blue markers, one on each side of the 2 sets of 13 sts.

35340EE9-5ACB-4E72-9333-BE39B9611D33
35340EE9-5ACB-4E72-9333-BE39B9611D333264×2448 1.77 MB

(I used 40sts which is the first size but you should work however many sts you have for the size you’re making. The 13sts are the same for all sizes.)
The 13sts are gussets at the crotch to give you some fullness and ease at the front and back of the romper. From now on you’ll be joining and knitting in the round on the body.

1 Like
#3

That’s super helpful!! I can’t thank you enough!!

Just to clarify then, the second leg is made straight onto the circular needles as opposed to using the double ended ones like I did for leg 1?

Thanks again!
:slight_smile:

#4

You could do either but since you end up putting leg one onto the same needle as leg 2, it’s just as well to knit leg 2 on the circular needle.

#5

That’s great. Thank you!

Last question :see_no_evil: because it says to “knit” the two legs onto the same needle, rather than just to slide/transfer/move etc. Does that then mean I need to knit another round of the second leg, once it’s finished, before knitting the first leg onto the same needle?

I don’t know if I’m overthinking it or being too picky (whether it even makes much difference) but thanks so much for your patience with my questions!

I also just thought, won’t the 40cm circular needles be too big for the leg and stretch out the stitches? Or can they just spread out on there? I’ve never used a circular needle before! This is the first project I’ve done in the round, as you might be able to tell and I’m getting to grips with the double ended needles, but not confident with the circular ones at all yet!

#6

All good questions.
When you finish knitting the second leg having cast on 13 new sts, the working yarn is at the tip of the right hand needle. Now knit the first leg onto the same needle starting at the leg sts (40sts for the first size) and ending with the 13 newly cast on sts for that leg. You won’t have to knit another round.

The 40cm needle won’t be too big. Depending on the size you’re making you will probably have to go up to a 60 or 80cm needle. The directions recommend:
3 mm circular needle, 40 cm long for sizes 3 or 6-months,
60 cm long for size 12-18 months

Good for you for trying out circular needles. Many knitters use them for knitting in the round or back and forth. They carry the weight of a project without wrist strain and can be used for techniques like magic loop.

#7

Fab - thanks again for everything! Will give it a go now!

I’m just making the first size - we’re expecting twins at the end of November so hoping I can get at least one pair done by then. :sweat_smile:

#8

Double congratulations! Take good notes and the second pair will go much more easily. Good luck and enjoy knitting for the new babies.

#9

Thank you :grinning:

#10

16636095889123744500690706559532
166360958891237445006907065595323456×4608 4.07 MB

I’ve got myself in a real muddle :see_no_evil: these are the 48 cast on stitches and even as spread out as possible on the 40cm circular needle the ends seem too far apart to be able to join them up in the round. Haha. Oh my goodness! I’m going to give it a go with the double ended ones and see if I can work it out any better.

This is a lot trickier than I was anticipating :sweat_smile:

#11

I agree that it would be difficult to work with 40sts on this needle. Start with the double points and when you have increased enough that the sts are too many for the double points, knit the next round onto the circular needle. It’s only the cuff that has 40sts. Once you start on the leg itself there is an increase round which doubles the stitch count. That should work on the circular needle.
If not, stay with the double points until you have to join the two legs.

2 Likes
#12

What a nice pattern! I am going to make it for my great-grandchild. Hope you are happy with this lovely project. Thanks for sharing.

#13

Hello
I think you’ve used your double pointed needles for this now, but just a note for the future about circular needles (which took me ages to get used to and I still struggle at times), check out “magic loop” and “travelling loop” where a smaller number of stitches can be worked on circulars.
Lots of video tutorials available on these when you have time to explore it further.

How exciting to be expecting two bundles!

#14

Thank you all so much for your replies!

@Callye I’m glad you like the pattern - I’d love to see your finished product when you’re done!

@Creations I’ll definitely be looking into that technique for future reference

1 Like
#15

Something seems to have gone terribly wrong :sweat_smile:

The bit between the two blue markers on the diagram you drew, @salmonmac, are attached to each other… Which means when I’m trying to knit the needle tips won’t come together because the two needle ends are basically joined together. I’m thoroughly confused!

Any help would be hugely appreciated!

1664732446274138391238494756150
16647324462741383912384947561503456×4608 3.6 MB

The green marker on the left is instead of the red one and the black ones are the start of each original loop (so can just be ignored).

#16

This is the view when I try to knit the edges

16647325755993297483769689714635
166473257559932974837696897146353456×4608 3.4 MB

#17

It’s looks very pretty so far and it look correct. Yes, it’s going to be difficult to knit the first couple of rounds because the bridges of 13sts front and back are constraining the needles. This also happens in certain patterns when you add sleeves onto a yoke sweater.
One thing you can do is pull out a loop of the cable part of your circular needle in this area (see blue arrow):

KH4
KH43456×4608 2.51 MB

This is a bit like magic loop or traveling loop. That’ll give you a bit more play with the needle tips so that you can knit along till you get to the pulled out loop. Once you get to the loop, pull out another loop a bit further along, somewhere in the next leg. Keep doing that for a round or two and you should be OK to continue plain old knitting in the round.

This video shows you the pulled out loop at about 4:00min. It’s used so that Roxanne can demonstrate the technique for working with a larger needle. You’re not making the loop for that reason but simply to give you more freedom or play at the needle tips.

#18

Brilliant!
Thank you so much… I watched that video and a few other videos on YouTube and realised that they seemed to just pull all the stitches off the working needle to give more flexibility, which made me realise that my question must seem really stupid! :see_no_evil: They make it look so easy.
Your message has really reassured me and it’s such a relief I haven’t messed up the whole thing as it just felt really wrong with everything pulled so tight. Thank you for being so patient!

#19

It’s a really good question and it may well come up with other patterns. The solution isn’t obvious.
The first time through we’re all afraid that we’ve gotten ourselves into an impossible fix.
Glad to see that these little overalls are coming along so nicely!

#20

Your question isn’t stupid! I’ve been stuck in a jam with circulars too! It takes to get to grips with how it all works.
For me pulling a loop out as salmonmac said is a much better solution than pulling the full needle out which I think is what you mentioned (sounds like magic loop). I would suggest this as I think it is easier for those of us who are still learning. The loop part way down the cable seems to keep the stitches together a bit better and not cause so many ladders. Putting the loop in a different place each time you pull it out also helps to avoid ladders. Stress in the same place every round can cause those stitches to pull.

The dungarees are already looking cute!

1 Like