I’m starting a skirt that requires a cast on of 774 stitches. I’ve done that on a 60" circular needle, but it’s impossible to join and start knitting in the round because there are sooooo many stitches and they are so bunched up that I cannot make absolutely certain that they are not twisted somewhere along the line. So…what I did was start knitting flat and decided to just stitch up that first little bit that wasn’t knitted in the round right at the beginning. What I’m wondering is…since I’m knitting flat and not in the round, and Rounds 1 and 2 say to knit 5, purl 9…on round 2, should I have reversed this and purled 5, knit 9? Am I making sense. I’ve never cast on this many stitches before so I’ve never had to start out flat and join in the round later and now I’m not so sure I’ve done the right thing. I’m on Row 9 now and I joined in the round back around row 5 or 6, but the pattern looks a little wonky on the first few rounds. I’d HATE to have to frog 774 stitches and start over… but I will if I have to. Please tell me it’s OK…please:noway:
If I understand correctly (and I admit I might not) you would have to do the reverse – purl when pattern says knit, and vice-versa – but also start at the end of the row and work backwards.
Example: if Row 2 says to k5, p9, k to last 5 sts, then p3, k2; you would actually have to p2, k3, p to last 14 sts, then k9, p5.
That’s my interpretation and could be wrong.
This is a link to the skirt pattern: http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/pdfs/fp1may.pdf
Also, I’m going to knit this a lot longer than the model because it’s going to be for me and I think I’m a teensy bit too old to wear a skirt that short. So, Knit4Pie…do you think I should start over?
IMO, it would be better to start it over and do it properly, then to continue doing it, knowing that it’s not correct… if it were me, I’d end up being more angry if I continued knowing I should have restarted, than if you just frog it now.
Good luck!
I would personally start over…even though I might cry while doing it. I might wait a bit to see if someone has another idea. If you think it looks wrong the first few rows, it will always bother you.
In my heart of hearts, I think I already knew the answer, but was hoping for a miracle. Guess I’ll rip it back…maybe I can just rip back to Row 1 and possibly save me having to cast on again. Thanks, guys.
go to a craft store and buy a a pack (or 2!) of coil less pins safety pins that have a U at bottom, not a O
Cast on.
then every 10 to 20 stitches, Place a pin.
(make sure the cast on is not twisted between pins)
[B]AT the SAME Time[/B] you put the pin into the cast on edge take a tapestry needle (threaded with some craft/kitchen (worsted weight) COTTON and thread it though the pins.
(this will create a pin/thread ‘edging’)
the weight of the pins and thread will keep the cast on edge in position (OR at least let you see if it is twisted!)
after a few rounds, you can remove pins/and thread)
([B]second advantage[/B]-- you can place pins a 5 and 9 (or every 14 stitches (instead of 10 or 20)
and
1–double check your stitch/cast on count
2–have a marker/reminder for pattern
Any chance you could just start row 1 where you are, then turn up what you already have as a hem? OOOPS - having looked at the pattern – no, you can’t do that. Brace yourself and start over.
Oftroy…that is a GREAT idea. When I cast on originally, I just put a marker every 100 stitches, but your idea sounds like it would work to keep everything from twisting. I also used the cable cast-on instead of long tail, and I’m wondering if this type of cast-on twists more that l.t. When I finished it looked like one of those potato chip scarves, just one twist after another. I was also wondering…if I cast on maybe half of the stitches to my 60", put some tip protectors on each end, and finished casting on to another needle making sure the last cast on stitch from the first needle is as close to the tip as possible, then I could really stretch it out to make sure it’s not twisted before I join. I would only use both cables for the first round because after it’s joined, the stitches are really jammed on the 60", but not unmanageable. Wonder if that would work. I’m kinda seeing it in my head, but I’m thinking that maybe the transition from the first cable to the other cable may make too large of a gap. Does this make sense what I’m thinking?? I’ll have to see if I have another cable long enough that’s a size 7 to make it work. What do y’all think?