Hi all!
I have been knitting in the round for quite some time and always have had trouble with the first stitch. I have been taking it for granted for so long that I kind of don’t notice it anymore! On this latest hat, however, it’s so bad that I need to figure out what I’m doing wrong!
I am using the long tail cast on and have tried using the “tail” for both sides of the cast on, if that makes sense…, and I have tried tying a knot and nothing seems to help. When I join the stitches together I am left with a big loop and a hole. I have tried going back and tightening the loop and it doesn’t really go anywhere that I can figure out. It’s not the original slip knot that I tied but it seems similar. What the heck am I doing wrong??? It always looks yucky on all my hats and socks!
Thanks for any advice (or videos) you can give!!
My DH let me spend $80 on 4 skeins of sock yarn when we were in Indy and I want the socks to be perfect!!! (PS if anyone is ever anywhere NEAR Indianapolis, do yourself a favor and stop in Mass Ave Knit Shop, it’s AWESOME!!!) 
Someone else asked pretty much the same thing, so I did a small tutorial with pictures showing how to make an extra stitch with your cast on and k2tog when you start the first round. This might help you! http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78339
Thank you so much! I’m not going to frog the whole hat and start over but I’m going to start a sock and try that tonight! I wish I could thank you more than just once! 
:woohoo:
there are a variety of ways to close a round…
take your pick:
[ol]
[li]join… just knit last stitch then first[/li][li]before closing round, slip last stitch of needle, and first stitch off other needle. Cross them so the last become the first, and the first the last (a simple twist stitch) VVVVL|FVVVV–where | is beginning of round)[/li][li]cast on 1 extra stitch–pass last stitch of cast on onto other needle knit last stitch and first stitch together (a decrease to correct count.)[/li][li]Cast on. Use TAIL from cast on And regular yarn, knit first few stitches of round with both yarns, (be careful to treat the double yarn stitches as single ones on round 2–be sure to mark the Beginning of the round–(since the tail will have moved in a few stitches[/li][li]Use method 1, if there is a big gap when you come back to beginning of the round, twist excess yarn into a make 1, and knit it together with first stitch of round 2 (to close the gap)[/li][li]you can also, cast on 1/2 required stitches, Plus 4 more (need 100? cast on 50 +4) [B]work 3 to 5 rows[/B] [/li]repeat(that is, cast on 1/2 + 4, work 3 to 5 rows) then join into round by over lapping 4 stitches of front with 4 stitches of back, and knit them together sort of 3 needle bind off style, (but don’t bind off!) do the same on other edge, and have a lapped placket closure on each side seam. (gurnsey style)for socks, you might want to only overlap 2 or 3)
[li]Other variations or combinations of the above –or something else completely different[/li][/ol] I tend to use method 1 for sweaters, and method 3 for socks…
You can pick the one you like best!pick the one you like best…
How should you join into round? you decide! its one of those a small persnickity details… 1 is the plainest, the gurnsey style is most noticable. they all work… they are all correct… its ONLY MATTERS if you think it does!
these 7 options aren’t the ONLY ones, just the most common ones… try one or two (or try them all!) and decide which one (or ones!) is the best for you.
That it terrific!! Thanks so much! I’m so excited this won’t plauge me anymore!!!
I may just frog the hat after all…
:cheering:
