Hello all. I know how to do some very basic patterns with Crochet and have always wanted to learn how to Knit. My Mother-in-law suggested I start with 8mm needles (14"). the Yarn I have is Light Pink Baby & Fingering Weight 3-ply (84% acrylic, 16% olefin ?). It is VERY soft, but thin… I watched the Long Tail Cast On video, and then the Small Demo video to learn how to “turn around”. The problem I’m having is, as I knit and slip the stitches, the yarn in between the needles seems to get longer and longer, almost like I’m not tightening the new stitch when I “put it on the other needle”. Make sense? Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? Do I need thicker yarn for my first project? Do I need smaller needles for the yarn I’m using? Any help would be appreciated… LittleGoblin@Gmail.com (or post to this forum).
Hey,
I just started knitting like two months ago, so I’m not much farther than you are, but 8mm seems kind of thick, ESPECIALLY with a thin yarn. I’m not exactly sure what you’re doing, but with thin yarn and thick needles, I find that stitches can become uneven VERY quickly because the loops are too big for the yarn to really hold its shape (if that makes sense).
8mm does seem kind of unwieldy… What are you making? I find size 5-7 CN/UK (that’s 4.5-5.5 mm) much easier to work with. Knitting with needles that are a little smaller also gives you more of a selection in terms of patterns.
Finally, you might want to try matching your yarn up with the appropriate size needles… here’s a really good site:
http://www.yarnstandards.com/weight.html
It’s not set in stone, but it’s much easier to work with yarn when you’re using needles at least in the general ballpark of what’s recommended. So if you’re using fingering weight, I wouldn’t go over 3.75 mm for your needle size. Otherwise, if you want to use your existing needles, you’ll need to use a bulkier yarn. I’d go for something in between if you have the option: like a medium weight yarn, and an average size needle.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the suggesetions. I got a reply from Ingrid (one of the moderators) in the “Introduce Yourself” forum/thread. She said the same thing. I’m going to attempt the “Elongated Stitch Scarf” for beginners that they have on this site… Thanks again. I’ll be sure to let people know how things turn out! 
Yep, that yarn is much too thin for that size needle. You could double it, but that’s not a good thing for learning. What I would suggest is get thicker yarn, not use smaller needles; you’d have to go down to really small ones for that yarn and that’s much trickier. Bigger needles are better to learn on, but you need to have the appropriate yarn. You can get some inexpensive worsted or bulky weight yarn to just practice on with those needles. Bernat Softee Chunky in a variegated color would work really well with them, and it’s less than $2 at walmart. After you get the basics down, then you can get smaller needles to use with the baby yarn and make something really nice.
I’m going to attempt the beginner “Elongated Stitch Scarf” pattern I found on this site. (What sucks is, I have FOUR scanes of that fingering weight yarn: baby pink, baby blue, baby yellow and white…
You could double it, but it would be tough to learn on. Get a skein of the thicker stuff, practice with it, then it’ll be easier to double up with it. Though I’m working on a baby blanket with yarn about that thin on 8 mm needles. I’m using the My So called Scarf pattern which is best done on bigger needles than you would normally use. It’s working out well, but it’s not a beginner pattern.
Don’t worry about having the yarn around. You’ll be able to handle it in no time. Didn’t it feel awkward when you learned to crochet, too? You got that down pat, didn’t you?
This is just personal preference, but I like 10" needles or even shorter ones for small projects. It might help, as might bigger yarn. I’d second the vote on Softee Chunky or something else relatively smooth, but big.
Another thing: since you crochet, you might feel more comfortable with the yarn in your left hand. Or not. Try it both ways and see which feels best to you. The “stretch” between stitches is most likely just a matter of your not quite having tension control where you want it yet. When you crochet, you probably keep a steady tension on the yarn without even thinking about it. When you first try to knit, it’s hard to get the stitch on the needle without a helpful hook, let alone remembering to give it the extra slight tug to smooth it out.
The stretch between the stitches comes from the laciness of thin yarn on big needles, which is tension, yeah, but it’s not controllable by the knitter. It would be similar to using the same yarn on size 5 or 6 needles, but doing a drop stitch pattern.
I was thinking of her saying the distance between stitches seemed to be getting longer and longer, not just lacy and staying that way. That size needle and that size yarn is surely going to make what looks like lace, but even lace has a consistent look. When I first started, one stitch might be tight and the next couple would look as if I’d dropped at least one between them. The only thing that fixes that besides frogging is a trip through the laundry, at which point a lot of warts and lumps even out!
Becky, Yes you are right. I have been working with the yarn in my left hand, wrapped around my pinkie (like in the videos) just like crocheting…
Just to clarify, the needles I have are 8.00 MM (US: 11) 14" - 35cm. They almost feel like the “fat” pencils that kids use in Kindergarten… (What possessed me to buy them that big? Oh yeah, my Mother in law said to get size 8 (and I didn’t know that 8mm = US 11. All I saw was the 8…)
Um, Okay, here’s what I’ve done so far… I found a pattern for a hat. (see this link)
http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt05.htm
I have some cream colored yarn (like I said, it’s what I would consider “normal” yarn) that’s not too thin, and not too thick… (I tore off the stupid paper wrapper forever ago, so I don’t know what brand, size, etc.)
Anyway, I cast on 60 stitches using the Long Tail method (from this site), then started going the other direction. I was able to flip it back and forth about 3-4 times, and then I don’t know what happened, when I turned it over to do row 4-5 (not sure what row it was) it was almost as if each stitch was UNDOING the stitch from the previous row. (so if I was working on row 5, when I got to the end, instead of having 5 rows, I had three?)
What the h*ll did I do wrong? (It’s very late, I will start again tomorrow…)
Thanks for the replies. Hope to hear back soon. =]
I used to crochet exclusively and I find that it is much easier than knitting. BUT there is something about knitting that keeps me drawn to it, even if it frustrates me sometimes.
Good luck and hang in there! If you have a LYS, the ladies there will usually help. I hang out at mine at least a couple of days a week, get an error corrected, and since they never charge, I usually buy something. They’re wonderfully helpful.
Laura
I love the look but it does want to get loose on me sometimes.
And last night, my yarn started splitting in a few places so I had to frog. But I’ll start over today.
Again, good luck and hang in there! 
Okay, the hat is very basic and you can work with your cream colored yarn on the 8mm needles, so no problem there. You may have been putting your needle between the stitches instead of into the stitches, that could happen when you’re tired or just learning, and would explain how the row is coming undone. The pattern is written to be worked in the round on a circular needle, but you can fudge it anyway on straight needles. Just knit every row, ignore the instructions to purl on the even numbered rows in the decrease section. When you’re done, leave a longer tail, thread it through the remaining sts, then use it to seam up the sides and you’ll have a hat!
She’s probably right–you missed taking the yarn through the stitches because you were tired. It’ll look better in morning light and it’ll make sense. Knitting is nothing but the first half of afghan stitch, and you can do that, can’t you? By the way, it really is possible to knit with two afghan hooks. I’ve done it out of pure frustration with some slick yarn.
About your needles: you’ll use those 11s a lot, even if they are the “fat pencil” size. When you get a chance to go to the nearest store with yarn and needles, look around at the selection and see if you can find a nice pair of #8s. (Size H, crochet:D) Some people like plastic, some aluminum, some bamboo or exotic woods. It doesn’t matter as long as they feel good in your hands and do what you want them to. I like aluminum for “sticky” or fuzzy yarn and bamboo for anything slick that wants to slide off. Crystalites are just as pretty in needles as they are in hooks, but darn it, they break just as easily!
I still say size 8/5mm are too thin for worsted, especially for beginners, and advise using size 10/6mm or 6.5 mm. Even soft yarn winds up stiff and rough on 8s.
You’ll get it. It just takes some practice - just like crochet did.
I prefer to crochet hats as opposed to knitting them if I want to do them in the round. I still have not become comfortable with double-pointed needles and so I have tried to find ways around using them. You CAN, though, knit a hat flat (it will look like a trapezoid type shape when you’re done) and sew up a seam.
You’ll use that baby-colored fingering weight yarn eventually. But I’d set it aside for now and start with something with a bit fore weight to it.
I have 14" long size 17 needles and often feel like I’m knitting with trees. 
As a result, I’ve collected a lot of different knitting needles - short ones, long ones, circular ones, and even some double pointed ones, in wood and metal (with a few plastic ones). You’ll find that you’ll soon be collecting needles to suit different projects. Enjoy!
I also found some beginner hat and scarf patterns you might like.
When I learned to knit, the first project the instructor had me do was a scarf in worsted weight yarn with US size 8 circular needles. I had no problem with it, but I know every knitter is different. It’s actually harder for me sometimes to use larger needles, and I tend to prefer circular needles to straight ones because that’s what I learned with.
Anyway, keep at it, and I’m sure you’ll master it in no time! We’re all cheering for you! :cheering: :cheering: :cheering:
Yes, I saw that it said something about Circular needles. I don’t have those and am not sure what to do with the Hat pattern. I guess I need to watch the videos some more to understand how to knit and purl (I dont’ know the difference right now.)
Also, I am having trouble “turning around” the first time. (I can cast on, and turn around to knit the first row fine, but when I get to the last “cast on” stitch, when I knit it, it always seems so loose, like I “undid” the loop or something. Any ideas?
Oh, and I wanted to share (giggle) that because I was having such a hard time with the US 11, I went and grabbed some of my tapered chopsticks and believe it or not, I was successful in stitching about 6 rows ON CHOPSTICKS for goodness sakes!
BTW, my Mom has some US 6 that I borrowed. (MUCH smaller than the US 11 I bought.)
Anyway, thanks for the encouragement. Let me know what I’m doing wrong with that last loop. Look forward to hearing from you. =]
You’re probably not doing anything with that last loop, it can be loose. You can put a twist in it when you knit. If it was the slip knot you started with, make it so the tail is the one that will cinch up the slip knot, that takes up the looseness.
A lot of people have discovered chopsticks make good needles, I think there’s some tutorials on them. They’re usually either size 8 or 9, (some are thicker) and make a great intermediate size.
Thanks Suzeeq. I am not using a slip knot to start, though. I’m using the Long Tail cast on method from the videos on this site. I will continue with the chopsticks for a while and practice Knitting and Purling. (I finally watched the Purl video so I know the difference now.)
Thanks again!