Hi there!
I’m brand new to knitting and just took my first lesson last Sunday. I can cast-on pretty well and I’ve knit about 12 rows since then. Let me see if I can describe my method, because I don’t know what it is called. I taped a color tab to the needle that was in my left hand so that I would know to keep it in my left hand.
I just keep knitting from one needle to the other always starting at the back of the loop. It looks like Jersey knit, but my project is totally curling. Looking at it, I would think it was the right way to make a sweater, but I want a scarf. Am I supposed to alternate knitting and purling?
You ought to be knitting into the leg of the st that’s closest to the tip of the needle, whether it lies in front or back of the needle. Or did you mean the ‘loop’ the needle makes? If you’re working in the round you do keep the same needle in the Left hand all the time, and if you knit every round you get stockinette stitch which curls up.
If your work isn’t joined in the round, you have to switch the needles to the other hand and work on the back side of the piece. Then, if you knit every row you get garter stitch which doesn’t curl up. For stockinette stitch you alternate a knit row with a purl row.
A scarf is usually knit flat with only about 20 sts, unless you want a double thickness then you’d knit in the round. Maybe a picture of what you’re doing will help us figure it out.
Are you knitting flat or in the round? I would assume flat as you just started.
Is the needle with the tape on it always in your left hand? At some point it has to move to your right hand (and the needle in your right hand has to go to the left) so you can work across the back of the work.
I don’t know what “flat” or “round” means. But I have not been switching hands. When I started, I was switching, but with no rhyme or reason. So I ended up having the front of some stitches on one side as well as the back of some stitches. That’s why I put the tape on the left hand needle. Now the back looks all the same and the front looks all the same.
I am not home so I can’t take a picture, but I will bring my project to work tomorrow. I thought I was getting good until my project became a curly mess!
There are videos (top of page) and in the tips section the demo of a small project is very helpful for new knitters.
If you’re knitting on one side and purling the other you are doing stockinette stitch. Stockinette curls. You have to do a border to keep it from doing that.
“Flat” means you’re knitting a flat piece of knitting which means you have to turn your work and work on the back of it. You use two needles and knit from one to the other.
“In the round” means you’re knitting an unbroken tube so you don’t need to turn your work. There are multiple ways to do including using circular needles or DPN which are double pointed needles.
If you are a new knitter you’re probably knitting flat with two needles.
I attached a picture of my project. My friend told me that I may just be ambidextrous and without even knowing it, I was knitting and purling to make a stockinette stitch.
It’s not the most exciting pattern for a scarf but I guess I’m not doing anything wrong.
Were you trying to make stockinette stitch? If you knit a row, then purl a row that is stockinette. Looks pretty good!
What does being ambidextrous have to do with it? :??
Also… stockinette curls. Knit in a border as you do it and it’ll help. The border should be 5 or 6 stitches on each side and top and bottom in a non curling stitch like seed stitch or garter.
:yay: Nice job for a first time…and yes that is stockinette…I think its a added stitch suzeeq that your seeing…wish I had only added a stitch when I first started…
Yes it does curl and it will if you dont add a border when you are through with it. You are doing great!
From the photo it looks like knit one row purl one row (looks great for a new knitter, I know my gauge as a new knitter was nowhere near that even!)
but from the original description
If there is something taped to one needle so that you remember to keep it in your left hand always, and you do keep that needle in your left hand always – but at the same time are knitting “from one needle to the other” – and the result looks very much like stockinette stitch …
Is it possible that you are knitting off the left needle “right handed” and knitting off the right needle “left handed” the next row? So that way the needle with the sticker on it always stays in the left hand?
If that is so it is possible you have “only been knitting” an not purling on alternate rows
If this is true, it actually sounds amazingly cool and I want to try it too!
However, this might not be a good way to continue learning because if you were to try to follow a pattern while knitting with this method I think you would have to reverse every other row in your head if you were to try following a written pattern (I guess like you do for translating a flat written pattern to knitting in the round?) which sounds more confusing than necessary while trying to learn stitches at the same time.
If this is true, it actually sounds amazingly cool and I want to try it too!
It’s called ‘backwards knitting’ and if you search Youtube you’ll find some videos on it. It’s often used in entrelac because the rows aren’t very long and some people don’t like the constant turning. I don’t mind and find turning to be less fiddley than knitting backwards, but I do longer rows with 12-15 sts. I sometimes do it though when I take out a section of sts to fix a bunch that got off the lace pattern and knit backwards for the WS rows to get me back to where I need to be.
Well I am kind of discouraged because I don’t love it as far as scarf patterns go. How do I learn how to add a border, or make a cooler looking scarf? I have no problem pulling that one apart.
There are several knitting methods, but the main ones are continental and english.
With continental you carry the working yarn in your left hand. With english you carry the working yarn in your right hand. One method is not better than the other it’s all personal choice.
Actually knitting left handed is a whole other ball game. They do everything the opposite way. Stick with the way you learned since obviously you are doing pretty well with it.
There is a video (top of page) in the tips section called “demo of a small project”. That’s a good one to watch.
To put a border on your knitting you can either cast on about 10 more stitches or you can just use the ones you have and knit 5 of each side for the border. It kind of depends if you have a pattern, but for stockinette that’ll work fine.
See if these look easy enough for you - (ravelry is free to join)
