Knitting straight on a hat

Am knitting the Quick Ponytail hat on ravelry. Can not figure out how to keep knitting straight when working in the round. Purled my 1st round but when I get to the end of the row my working yarn is now hanging from the left needle. What do I do now? No matter what I do I will close the hole. How do I work straight without knitting the 1st and last stitch?
Thanks.


Is this the pattern?

Ponytail Hole:
Purl 1 row. Turn work. Now you will begin to work straight, no longer in the round.
Purl 1 row (WS)
Continue to work in stockinette stitch until work measures 5.5 inches from cast on edge.

Is this the part you’re asking about?

I knit up something a couple of years ago that had similar directions. It will feel weird but just do exactly what she’s saying. Also, insert a lifeline so you can feel more confident about ripping back.
So your directions say:

“Purl 1 row. Turn work. Now you will begin to work straight, no longer in the round.
Purl 1 row (WS)”

If you are at the end of your first purl row, all the stitches should be purled, and you just actually turn the work around and go back the way you came. If you were working stockinette this is where you would work a knit row, but it looks like you are working a second purl row marked as WS so go back over those purls with another row of purls until you get to your marker.
[B]This will feel weird[/B], but it’s not like the wrap and turn in short rows(I’m really scared of that). Just pretend you have forgotten you are working in the round!
Good luck!

By working back and forth at this point, you’re creating the slit for the pony tail.

In some situations, like this, you have to knit flat for a bit. You’ll have to turn and purl across the back while you’re knitting flat probably.

After the ponytail hole is in then they will probably have you knit in the round again.

yes it is.

But when I go over the purls with another row of purls I have to close the hole and am knitting in the round again. I have looked for a video of this, but can’t find anything.

Actually, you don’t have to close the hole. When you finish the round, the yarn is coming off the needle in your right hand. If you were to continue knitting in the round, you would knit the next stitch on the left hand needle. [I]Instead[/I], switch the needles in your hands. Now the working yarn is coming off the needle in your left hand. Start purling using that yarn to purl the stitch just completed. Continue working in this direction until you come to the gap where you changed direction and turn again. You’re knitting back and forth in the flat.

Turn it as you would if knitting on straight needles and knit back on the next row.

Hey Waffle61!
Have you inserted a lifeline? Here is the Knittinghelp video that taught me and I use them obsessively now. I move the lifeline up as I knit and am satisfied with what I’ve done. This makes it so easy to rip back when I encounter problems like the one you are experiencing now. Then the problem just becomes a neat way to experiment with different ways of knitting!
If you have your lifeline inserted through the loops of this first row of purls it will be easier for you to ignore the gap and try going back and forth.
Unless I’m misinterpreting what you are saying, you want the gap because this is how you are creating the hole for the ponytail.
You will start knitting in the round again just before you begin your crown shaping. Please post a picture if this isn’t helping so I can get a better idea of what you are describing. :hug: