How to loosen up?

#1

So I bought a set of bamboo dpns because they come in sets of 5 and I could only find the metal ones in sets of 4, and I prefer to use 5 for most things, so I thought I was saving some money not having to buy a second set…

I already knew my gauge was tighter in the round, but holy crap! I can’t move the stitches at all on these things! :wall:

I haven’t done a whole lot yet, for obvious reasons, so I’m going to frog what I’ve got and try again, but first, does anyone have any tips on how to knit looser? Sometimes even knitting flat I have trouble getting the needles in… :oops:

#2

Here is an article from knitty.com about loosening up your stiches.

Whenever I work on DPNs or circular needles I always have the same problem. I’m always afraid I’m going to snap the DPNs. One thing I do is if I’m working with US 8 DPNs I’ll cast on to a US 9 straight needle and move the stiches to the DPN that way I can at least start knitting.

I also realized that I pull the working yarn after each stich to tighten the stich, which isn’t good. I still do it sometimes but that might be another thing to watch for.

Hope this helps!

#3

Aha! Yes, that helps a bit. Now if I could manage not to overtighten when I crochet, the world would be a much happier place. :smiley:

#4

I pull the yarn to tighten it too, but then I felt that it was too hard to stick the needle in

I tried to knit without pulling the yarn just to see how it goes…it was much easier to knit but then the stitches didn’t look that neat, so I kinda don’t know what to do right now

#5

The stitches on bamboo don’t slide as easily as on metal, so that might be part of the problem.

Don’t pull your stitches, but keep knitting. The first few rows never look as nice as they will after you’ve gotten some done. It usually evens out in the end.

#6

Sara Jane, thank you so much for linking that article. I just finished a hat for my SIL that’s suppose to have a brim, but because I knitted tight, it won’t cover the ears if you roll it up (thankfully it looks just fine without being rolled up!), but I have a hat that I made for myself that drives me mad because the brim doesn’t cover my ears. After reading the article, I realised that I was adding that fifth step. Perhaps that’s why it takes me so darn long to knit! :thinking: :smiley:

#7

You can also try rubbing your needles down with wax paper. That wee bit of wax helps with a bit of slide. Rub lightly though - think polishing with the wax paper. Too much wax and it gets sticky.
(works on closet rods too)