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knitters

omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

Ive recently embarked on knitting and have a question. when i mix my stitches (purl and knit) to get a seed stitch my stitches get progressively tighter! my knitting class has been cancelled two weeks in a row and my “homework” is due….what could i be doing wrong?

Comments

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    are you doing every other stitch? or every other row. Every other stitch can be tricky and get tight if you don’t try really hard to keep things loosened up.

    I’m not a wonderful knitter but I enjoy it. ha.

  • I’ll ask my daughter. She is a wonderful knitter, crocheter and seamstress. I suck at the “womanly arts”. I think it skipped a generation. She’s only 11 and taught herself most of it…

    I just asked, and she’s not sure what’s going on. sorry. maybe the internet can help….

  • jellibijellibi Raw Newbie

    Are you feeling more tension on the yarn as you go? It can simply be that your yarn is pulling tighter as you progress down your row. Are you knitting from a ball, a skein, or a hank? Maybe if you are knitting with a skein, you grabbed the wrong end of the skein to start with?

    Yay! I’m ready to pull out my knitting needles to! Fall is here! Time to get those Christmas presents going :)

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    thanks guys between you all and the googleing i did seems its just my technique i even switched yarns and that seemed to help! it would be horribly embarrassing to sho up with nothing after 3 whole weeks!!! teehee

    jellibee i cant wait to take class number two that deals with knitting on round needles! yahoo

    tjb and mmm milk, ive jsut embarked onthe learnign of womanly arts..teehee i had the cokking thing down from pre bubecet days, laundry took me a bit longer finally getting it proficient in college…then there was crafting, a stint in sewing( oh how i sucked at that) and now knitting! i find it very relaxing!!!!

  • Omshanti,

    You are probably just pulling tighter on the yarn when you create new stitches. For most begginners, there is a tendancy to do that because you are just wanting to making sure that the yarn stays on the needle so that you dont lose a stitch. I know it may be hard at first, but try to keep the yarn nice and loose, but not too loose on the needle so that you have even and easy to work with stitches.

    Oh yeah and knitting in the round is so much fun, that is how I made my purse.

    I just made baby booties for my cousin who is due in October. I gotta admit, they are the cutest!! Everyone is saying I should go into baby bootie making business!

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    azulblue, yep keepig my stitches sliding on the needle is hard for me i start out well then get to tight!

    what are some favorite beginner projects all you old hands? i have huge aspirations but ill settle for easy projects my first year or so!!!

  • chicorychicory Raw Newbie

    are you using metal or wooden knitting needles? I find that my stitches are looser on metal, and glide easier. Actually, that’s why I use bamboo… cause the stitches always slides off of the metal ones

  • I just started my first knitting class tonight! I’m making a purple scarf for my Mom : ) Goodluck to you on your project. I’ve got so much to learn and need to get the hang of things… perfect time to start making warm winter gifts!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Some easy things to start out with are scarves and blankies. Check out some pattern books at the bookstores or craft/yarn arts stores (some stores have single pattern booklets also) for something you like that is for a beginner. By the time you get done with the project you are an “expert” with the stitches in the project. Another idea is to do a sampler so you can learn different patterns and still make a cool project. It all depends if you like repetition (the first suggestion) or are ADD and prefer variety (the second suggestion).

    When I went to the Expo in Vancouver, many, many moons ago, I took some yarn with an copy of the pattern of a project and crocheted while waiting in the lines. Just hung a bag with a ball of yarn off my belt and crocheted away. Made the wait a productive time and I made a blanket and had some fun times at the Expo and travels. A lot of the time when I travel I’ll bring a portable project to keep my hands busy… so they (for the most part) stay out of trouble. ;)

    TheRawDance~ The blankie I made was purple… one of my fav colors. :)

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    blue you stay out of trouble? i doubt that!!! teehee thanks for the ideas…how hard are socks? im going to do a scarf i guess, mine is maroon and purple( we mst be a bunch of purple people eaters here!) boucle type yarn and im using my bamboo needles, some how metal seems so 21st century or something!!! i took a weaving and spinning class once at a farm museam near my house in MD and for what ever reason i was better at the drop spindle and walking wheel than the modern spinning wheels…cracked everyone up! Im such a pilgrim…..personally i like variety and seem to need practice not getting my stitches to tight when i go form one stitch to another! if this site ever gets normal again, ill post a pic of my first project!

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    omshanti-I did a womanly arts sort of thing a few years ago and learned how to knit, crochet, sew, iron, and cook. Of course I had already learned how to do laundry and such. I love crocheting! It’s very relaxing, faster than knitting and there are a multitude of stitches that aren’t nearly as hard to learn as new knitting stitches. You should try it!

    My next thing is really getting gardening down. I’ve been at it for a couple years and it’s gotten better and better. Next year will be awesome because when I planted my garden this year I wasn’t raw and now I know exactly what I want! I’m so excited!

  • omshanti,

    hi! I began knitting about 3 yrs ago. I remember knitting a blanket and going through almost all of the yarn for the pattern and I was only 1/2 way through the blanket. “WHAT”?! I thought! Turns out, When I wrapped the yarn around the needle to pull it through the stitch, I was wrapping it in the wrong direction. I wrapped it around the front of the needle first, instead of around the back (before pulling it through to complete the stitch). SO it really “ate-up” my yarn…AND the stitched were extremely tight! To the untrained eye, it looked beautiful! But, there was a slight twist in the stitch that would not have been there had I been wrapping the yarn around the needle the correct way…and it would have saved a lot of $$ on yarn! :)

    I love knitting

  • FeeFee Raw Master

    Kirsten – I knit like that too and Ive been teaching kids at school to knit like it! There is going to be a whole generation of backwards knitters soon!

    Omshanti – if you want to try knitting socks Id start with a pattern which is done flat and then stitched up the side seams first. This enables you to get practise (or practice I can never remember which it should be) at turning a heel without having to worry about having 4 or 5 needles to deal with as well. But knitting socks is great fun and you can make them just the right size too. I have small feet and its great making my own socks. I have a pair with a cable down each side to match a cable tank top I made. The self striping sock yarn is FANTASTIC as it stripes without you having to do anything. Enjoy.

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