Holes with mixing k & p

How-to Questions
1

i may have asked this when i first joined the forum, but i can’t find the thread if i did.

whenever i alternate between K & P stitches, except when doing seed stitch, i wind up with little spaces in between the last K and first P.

first off, is this normal? i’m thinking no. if i’m correct in thinking no, how do i fix it? is this the same idea as that ribbing secret with doing the clockwise wrap when switching to purl and going through the back loop on the next row? I never quite got that down either… is there another solution?

thanks so much. :slight_smile:

2

It is a common problem. I find I don’t get that if I make sure that I keep my yarn very tightly pulled over to the right (I knit English) and hold it tightly when I work the next stitch. It pulls the two stitches close together and I eliminate the hole to the point it’s not a problem.

There may be a trick out there, but I’m not sure what it is. I read that article about the wrapping the other way for ribbing, too, but I haven’t tried it.

[size=2]Edited to change left to right. [/size] :oops:

3

i am knitting this item English. so you’re saying when you go to do the purl stitch and have the yif is when you pull to the left tightly?

thanks so much!!! :slight_smile:

4

Basically whenever I switch from k to p or vice versa, I see myself holding the yarn tightly to the right :oops: As I knit the next stitch. Sorry about that.

5

got it! i’ll give this a try. thanks again! :slight_smile:

6

Yeah that works for me, too. Being consistent with it is the trick or you end up with wonky holes. :rollseyes:

7

well, i still have holes, but i do believe they’re getting a bit smaller each row here. now, though, the k’s right before the p’s are funky, like when i do ribbing. actually, i think this IS kinda sorta ribbing i’m doing here. No wonder i’m having such a hard time. BLECH. cabling begins in my next row and i bet that will mask the wonkiness. :wink: thanks!

8

The way you wrap your working yarn around your right hand might be something to think about. My knitting was always too loose in places until I saw someone suggest wrapping it first around your pinky finger, the around your ring finger as well. It added so much to my knitting as far as being much more even. Anyway, just sayin’ is all!

Also, sometimes, even after knitting for over a year, I STILL forget to carry my stitch BACK for knit after purling then you get a HUGE hole!! :shock:

9

What do you mean by carry the stitch back? Maybe I’m missing something else as well. Thanks for the other suggestion too! :slight_smile:

10

I use the purling/ribbing trick for nearly all of my work now since I first learned it. It has made such a difference in the look of my finished work. It does take a little bit of getting used to, but I find that I see the twisted purls and that reminds me to purl “backwards” as I call it. To be honest, it didn’t take long at all for me to look at an un-twisted purl funny – why isn’t this one twisted?? :thinking: Actually, for the scrunchable scarf that I’m making right now as a stash-buster… I’ve noticed that some of my knit stitches are looking sloppy… the ones that would have been the purls on the opposite side. Since it’s just a scarf, and a charity one at that, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m not going to worry about it on the other one I’m doing either. Just not worth it for a pattern like that IMO.