Ok, so I’m new to knitting and have only done scarves. I’m attempting to knit a baby blanket using a cable knit pattern and am using circular needles for the first time. My questions are…
-
I’m so confused about what I’ve read about switching needle sides at the end of each row. If I switch them, my working yarn would be on the wrong side?!
-
After I casted on and knitted/purled my first row, it is connected by a piece of yarn at the end. Is that supposed to be there?
My blanket is 164 stitches and I think my circular needles are 21/23 inches? I feel so stupid, but I literally have no one in this area that I know that can help me, and my knitting books don’t seem to answer these questions. I like taking on challenges and really hope to make this work!
Hi. Welcome. I assume your blanket is knitted flat, not in the round and that’s what’s causing the confusion. When you get to the end of the row turn your work just as you would if you were using two straight needles. Change the left needle to your right hand and the right needle to your left hand. You can now begin knitting the new row with your working yarn in the right place.
Knitting Flat With Circular Needles
Welcome! What GG said. And needle length when knitting flat all depends, if your 164 sts fit comfortably for you on that length needle then go for it. If you’re not comfortable or your stitches are coming off, you might want to consider using a longer length cable.
I always use circular needles. When doing something flat, just pretend they aren’t joined 
[I]2) After I casted on and knitted/purled my first row, it is connected by a piece of yarn at the end. Is that supposed to be there?[/I]
Did you turn as in the video or just continue knitting without turning? If you didn’t turn, you’re now knitting in the round. The only way to fix it if you are knitting flat is to take out the row and redo it, just make sure to turn your work when you do.
HTH
I’m still confused, so sorry…If I’m knitting on circular needles isn’t the whole piece always connected. I can clearly see where the row ends bc there’s a length of yarn separating it, so it’s not a continual piece. Is that correct? I still need clarification with switching needles. How can you switch sides w/out the working yarn also switching? Are you supposed to knit from the opposite side? I know, I’m prob making no sense at all!
Did you watch the video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZqt19tpfDs She turns her work in it just the same as you’ll need to do. When you turn, nothing is connected. I think what happened is that you didn’t turn as if on straight needles and began knitting at what should have been the end and not the beginning of the next row.
No need to be sorry. Things like this are very confusing at the start but you’ll get it figured out.
Thank you so much! I think I understand now what happened. After I casted on, I didn’t switch sides right off the bat. I will just start over!
I’m glad you got it. Sometimes I get stuck on something that after the fact is so obvious to me, and it is frustrating! You’ll be off to a good start now. Let us know how it goes, and we love pictures of the things people knit. If you have more questions be sure to ask.
