New conti knitter -- my guage varies horribly!

How-to Questions
1

Hi everyone! I’m determined to master conti knitting style. Just for practice I started a scarf. I’m about half way through it and it started out about 8 inches wide and now is about 11 inches wide. It’s not because of accidentally adding stitches, it’s my guage. My question is does this problem get better with practice? I love this style of knitting as I’m already faster than I was with English style. Thanks for any pearls of wisdom. Merissa:)

2

Everything gets better with practice! Check to see if you haven’t added stitches, rather than it being just the gauge. I can’t see an uneven tension adding 3 inches in width.

3

Yes, I’m surprised by the difference too. The stitches are definitely larger. I think I changed the way I held the needles a bit and that’s probably the main reason. Thanks for your reply and encouragement.

4

I started English and switched to Conti, too. My gauge is definitely looser with Conti, but not that much. :wink: But it does take practice - mine has gotten better the more I do it.

5

I should have counted before posting the question. I HAD added stitches. My guage, however, IS larger than when I started the project.:aww:

6

This happened to me on my first scarf, but backwards. It started out MUCH thicker at 5.5"(though not three inches; crafty stitches jumping on the needle without you noticing) and then narrowed down to something closer to the 5". It’s just tension. For me, it was how I was holding the yarn.

7

I removed the large area of the scarf and it’s going much better now. Thanks for your comments.

8

Hi Merissa (what a pretty name!)

Here is my prediction- by the end of that scarf, you will knit continental with an even tension no problem.

I learned when I made my prayer shawl- it was a k3p3 pattern & by the time I was about halfway through- no tension problems and no accidental yarnovers. (I actually counted stitches at the end of every row for a while- while saying BETWEEN the needles every time I had to switch!) It was great practice.

Good luck with it and have fun!

9

You’re absolutely right. I’ve finished the scarf and it’s almost perfectly even throughout. I am also MUCH more comfortable with conti knitting. I may make another scarf purling in conti… or maybe you’ll find me cowering in the corner mumbling gibberish :stuck_out_tongue:

10

Thanks for your comment on my name.