New to dpn's

#1

Ok, so I’m knitting some no-toe-no-heel tube socks on dpn’s, and I have 62 sts distributed on three needles.

I’ve been ribbing and everything’s fine, except that one of the needles looks like it has more rows than the rest. Well, it has the most rows (about 14ish), the next needle looks like it has less than the first (12ish?), and the last one looks like it has the least of all (8ish). It is SUPPOSED to be like that? Dpn’s are mean and scary, despite my aunt’s emphatic assurances that they are eeeeasy to use. :roll:

#2

They really are easy, it just takes a little practice. I’m guessing you probably got turned around once and your tube (ribbing) was pushed through the center of the DPNs once. I’ve seen it happen. The other probability is just that you missed a needle entirely and started on the next one by mistake. I’m always doing that myself :os but this one is easy to spot, because you’d see a piece of yarn a couple of inches long on the inside of the sock.

Just frog back a few rounds until they’re all even.

I recently shared several of my DPN tips on this thread: Tips for working with DPNs.

#3

Huh… that makes sense. I don’t see any yarn inside the sock, so I guess it was the first mistake. I started it with about five rows, and then put it down for a few months… so anything is possible! Since I’m not far along on it yet (and I think I’ve made a couple other crazy mistakes), I guess I’ll just frog and start completely over. :slight_smile: Thanks though! Very kind.
Blessings~

#4

One mistake that is often made when you learn is that you knit the wrong direction. If you did that it would account for a few extra rows, too. Always go from right to left around the needles. If you were looking down through the opening it’s clockwise.

#5

Another tip I have for cuff down socks (I don’t do toe ups), is use a cable cast on (there’s a video here on this page) (since you are going to restart anyway)…It will not only give you a stretchier cuff, but also help you make your socks’ stripes match if you’re using self-striping yarn (see pics below). I exclusively start my cuff down socks with a cable cast on.

These stripes don’t match on each foot:

These stripes match:

#6

How does the cast on affect your striping? :??

#7

When I was first learning DPNs, I would safety pin a small #1 on a little piece of paper on that side of my work. The more you work at it, the better you get at knowing where you are. Also, when I am knitting in the round, because I always work in my tail with my row, I pull a piece of waste yarn of a contrasting color through the first loop, to show me where I started casting on.

One of the most common mistakes for folks new to DPNs is getting your work turned around and everyone has ways to deal with that problem. My biggest problem used to come after turning a heel and beginning the work on the gusset. I don’t know how many times I got turned around. The secret is, if you are knitting in the round your draw yarn will be on the needle you just finished on the right and you will begin working on the needle to the left, and keep going around.

#8

It’s just that when you do a cable cast on you can start at the EXACT same place in your striping…it’s easier to match later, rather than try with a long tail. I’m usually just a few stitches short of an exact match.

Does that make sense?

#9

That’s a great idea. I do that too, but what I use is a split ring stitch marker. I know it’s always on the public side of my knitting.

#10

What you might also want to try, since everybody and their dog is making it now, the self-striping yarn. It’s pretty easy to start out at the same pattern.

#11

Oh I see what you mean. Yeah, I guess that would help. You could also do a knitted cast on.

#12

What’s a knitted cast on?

#13

Where you knit into a stitch on the needle, leave the old stitch there and put the new one on the left needle. There’s a video on the Cast Ons page.