Hi, everyone. I’m new to knitting. I learned some basics a few years ago, and then stopped. Now I pretty much have to learn how to knit all over again.
Anyway, my problem at the moment is that when I knit, the piece ends up ribbed. I don’t know where I’m going wrong…today I figured out that if I knit one row and then purl the next, that ‘fixes’ the problem. But I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work…help?
I really don’t know what you mean. Please could tell what you want to do? Is it the actaul rib or the stocken stitch or the garter stitch.
If you do knit one row and purl the mext you will get a stocken stitch if you knit all rows you will get garter stitch.
The only way it could end up ribbed is if you are knit and purling on the same row.
Knit all rows = garter stitch
Knit a row, purl a row = stockinette stitch
Ribbing is some variation of knitting and purling on the same row such as k2, p2, k1, p1, etc. To actually get the ribbing you need to turn at the end of that row and then knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.
What I want to do? I’m just practicing knitting a square/rectangle before I figure out what to try next ^_^;;
I just looked up the stockinette stitch, and yep, that is what I get when I knit a row, then purl a row. I thought this result was what I was supposed to get when knitting every row(oops)
Maybe ‘ribbed’ isn’t the right way to describe what I am ending up with. Basicly when I ‘knit’ each row, one row sticks out(like one side of the stockinette stitch), and the next row tucks in(like the opposite side of the stockinette stitch). When I stretch out the cloth, it’s like horizontal ribbing.
Also, can I ask what the term “turn” means?
What you are referring to is called “garter stitch” = what happenes when you knit every row.
And “turn” means when you end one row, then you TURN the needle that it’s on and put it in your other hand, and then start working on it.
When you knit on straight needles, you have a RIGHT side, and a WRONG side, every time you turn it, you are switching sides. Therefore if you knit on both the right side and wrong side (front and back of your work) you will end up with the garter stitch you are describing. Remeber as well that a knit stitch is basically the opposite of a purl stitch, meaning that if you did a row of knitted stitches on the RIGHT side, when you turn the work to work on the WRONG side, it will look like a row of purled stitches.
I hope that helps!!
Turn can also be used when knitting short rows that don’t go all the way across. If you have 20 sts and the pattern says ‘k5 sts, turn’ you still turn as if you were at the end of the row. The leftover stitches will be knit later on.
I see…I think. Thanks for explaining!