A Collection of Miscellaneous Knitting Technique Tips by Mary Smith

A Note About Yarn Sizes
Circular Needles
Working With Markers
Double-pointed needles
Moving stitches from one needle to another
Changing Colors
Adding in a new ball of yarn
Figuring spacing for increasing or decreasing
Binding off at the beginning or middle of a row
How to straighten out those kinky circular needles
If you are having trouble understanding written instructions...

A Note About Yarn Sizes
Patterns often describe yarn as "worsted", "sport", or "fingering" weight, among others. This is a VERY vague indication of the thickness of the yarn. Also used, especially in older patterns, are the terms "4-ply" or "3-ply" to indicate thickness of yarn, but this is extremely inaccurate, since the it is the size of the plies, as well as the number of plies that determines thickness. A 1-ply yarn (or "single") can be thicker than a 4-ply. And to add confusion, what has been referred to as "4-ply" in the U.S. is about the same size as Australia’s "12-ply". The important number in determining the size of yarn you need is the GAUGE given in the pattern. If you get a yarn that knits at a similar gauge, you should be okay - but always check with a gauge swatch before starting to knit!

Circular Needles
"Circular" needles aren’t really circular; they are called that because they are used for circular knitting (they can also be used for regular back-and-forth knitting). They consist of a pair of needle tips connected by a flexible plastic cord. They come in lengths ranging from 12" to 40" or longer. For "circular" or "in the round" knitting, the lengths up to 20" are good for hats and baby things. The longer lengths are for adult sweaters and such. "Circular" knitting means knitting a seamless tube, either with a set of four or five double-pointed needles or a circular needle. For standard knitting in the round, the length of a circular needle MUST be shorter than the circumference of what you are knitting (you can knit a 21" hat on a 16" needle, but not on a 24" needle).
Knitting back and forth on "circular" needles: The longer lengths (24" and over) are indispensable for knitting large flat pieces that won’t fit on straight needles. When using them for flat items, think of them as two short straight needles that happen to be connected. When you get to the end of the row, turn your knitting over and work in the opposite direction, changing the needle tips from one hand to the other just as if they were separate needles. If you have a lot of stitches on your needle, the edges of the knitting may get bunched together so it can be easy to knit right across to the other edge, thus joining your knitting into a circle. Be sure to keep an eye on when you are nearing the end of the row so you can tell when to turn around.
Starting a piece "in the round" on circular needles: Cast on as usual; before you join the work into a circle, MAKE SURE that the cast on row does not twist or spiral around the needle. If you have a lot of stitches, it may help to lay the knitting down on a table and straighten out the cast-on row. Mark the beginning and ending of the round by placing a marker next to the last stitch cast on. Hold this needle tip in your right hand and the other tip with the first stitch cast on in your left hand. Knit this first stitch by carrying the working yarn across the gap from the right-hand needle and pulling the stitch snugly, thus closing the circle. When you come back to the marker, you have completed one row or round; slip the marker from one needle to the other to continue to mark the place. The knitting will actually be a continuous spiral. Check again to be sure the row is not twisted around the needle; this is the last place where you will be able to untwist it. Note that in circular knitting, Stockinette Stitch is made by knitting every row (as opposed to Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row in back-and-forth knitting) and Garter Stitch is Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row (in back-and-forth knitting, Knit every row).

Working With Markers
"Markers" are used to help mark a place in the knitting. They can be small plastic rings, pieces of thread or yarn tied into a loop a little bigger than the needle, or even a safety pin or paper clip in a pinch. When a pattern says to "place marker" it means to slip the ring, loop or safety pin onto the right-hand needle and continue working. When you come to the marker again as you knit, the pattern may or may not say to slip the marker, but you will always move it from one needle to the other so that it continues to mark the place row after row as long as it is needed. Slip the marker by putting the point of the right-hand needle into it as if you were purling a stitch and transfer it from the left needle to the right. Occasionally a pattern will tell you to mark a particular stitch, rather than putting a marker on the needle. In this case, a thread tied into the stitch will work, but the most convenient way is to use a safety pin or a coilless pin.

Double-pointed needles
Double-pointed needles come in sets of four or five (which type you use is entirely a matter of personal preference) and are used to knit seamless tubes too small for circular needles, such as socks or sleeve cuffs. The knitting is divided onto three (or four) needles, making a triangle (or square), and the knitting is done onto the fourth (or fifth) needle. You are still only knitting with two needles at a time, and you are always on the right side of the fabric.
It is easiest to cast all the stitches onto one needle and then slip some of them onto the other two (or three) needles. It is not necessary to have exactly the same number of stitches on each needle; often it is more convenient or necessary to divide them differently. Before you join the work into a circle, MAKE SURE that the cast on row does not twist or spiral around the needles. It may help to lay the knitting down on a table and straighten out the cast-on row.
To begin knitting, the needle with the working yarn is on the right-hand side; with the empty needle knit the first stitch cast on (which is on the needle in the left hand). The working yarn crosses the gap and closes the triangle (or square) of needles. The first stitch is awkward since you have to support both the needle on the right-hand side with the stitches and the empty needle you are knitting with; once you have knitted the first stitch, everything hangs together. Pull this first stitch snug. Keep knitting across the first needle to the left of the join, which is marked by the starting tail from the cast on. When all the stitches have been worked, transfer the now-empty needle from the left hand to the right hand, turn your work toward the right, and begin knitting off the next needle around the triangle (or square). One round or row is complete when you have come back around to the tail.
Be aware that you are knitting around a tube. Most people find it more comfortable to knit on the outside of the tube, but many seem naturally to knit on the inside. As you knit, notice which you are doing. At first it can be hard to visualize this, since you don’t see a tube until you have knitted several rows. If you knit on the outside, the needles that are not being used will be pointing away from you, behind the working needles. If you knit on the inside, they will be in front between you and your hands, and the right side of the fabric will be on the inside of the tube. Following some written patterns may be trickier if you choose to knit this way, because you are knitting "inside-out".
Switching from circular to double-pointed needles in the middle of knitting (say at the top of a hat): You may knit the stitches off the circular needle directly onto the double-pointed needles, or transfer them by slipping them one at a time as if to purl. Knit or slip the stitches onto three (or four) needles, dividing them fairly evenly, forming a triangle (or square). As before, it is not necessary to have exactly the same number of stitches on each needle. Remove the marker you were using on the circular needle, since it will just fall off anyway. Keep track of rounds by noticing that the yarn tail at the beginning of the knitting marks the beginning and end of the round and should be at one of the "corners".

Moving stitches from one needle to another
Sometimes you may want to move stitches from one needle to another; for example, to spread a large number of stitches out onto several needles so you can measure your knitting accurately. Hold the needle with the stitches on them in the left hand and the needle you want to transfer them to in the right hand. Slip stitches one or two at a time onto the right-hand needle by inserting the point of the right needle into the next stitch or stitches on the left needle as if to purl and transfer them from the left needle to the right needle without working them.

Changing Colors
Changing colors is, at its simplest, stopping knitting with one color and starting knitting with the other. If there are more than three rows between colors, break the old color off and add the new one. You may just start knitting with the new color; the last stitch of the old color and first stitch of the new color will be loose, but after you work the next row you can pull on the tails and tighten them up. Or, you can tie the end of the new color around the tail of the old color, slide the knot down close to the knitting, then begin knitting with the new color. The tails will be woven into the knitting (using a yarn needle or crochet hook) after the knitting is finished. If you are alternating colors, as in slip-stitch color patterns, do not break off the old color; add the new color as above and begin knitting with it. When it is time to go back to the old color, drop the new color (but don’t break it off) and pick up the old color from under the new color strand.

Adding in a new ball of yarn
When you use up a ball of yarn it is necessary to add in a new one. If you are knitting in the round add the new strand at a back or side "seam" as follows: leaving tails of at least 6", overlap the old and new strands and knit ONE stitch with both strands. Drop both tails and continue knitting with the new strand. If you are making something whose edges will show (scarf, shawl or blanket, for example) add yarn as above, but work the single knit stitch with both strands a few stitches in from the edge. If you are working on a piece whose edges will be sewn into a seam, add the new strand at the edge of the knitting (the beginning of the row). You may just start knitting with the new strand; the last stitch of the old strand and first stitch of the new strand will be loose, but after you work the next row you can pull on the tails and tighten them up. Or, you can tie the end of the new strand around the tail of the old strand, slide the knot down close to the knitting, then begin knitting with the new strand. In all cases, weave the tails into the knitting with a yarn needle or crochet hook after the knitting is done.

Figuring spacing for increasing or decreasing
When a pattern tells you to increase or decrease a certain number of stitches on the next row "evenly spaced": Divide the number of stitches you have now by the number you are to increase or decrease. Drop the fraction if there is one (it usually isn’t necessary to have the spacing exact - just reasonably even). This is the number of stitches (we’ll call it "N")in each group of plain stitches and increase or decrease. If you are increasing by knitting the strand between stitches (Make 1 or M1), simply knit "N" stitches between each increase. If the increase is the type that you make 2 sts out of 1 (for example, "Knit into the front and back of the next stitch"), then knit "N" minus 1 between increases - this leaves the one stitch you need for the increase. If you are decreasing, any type of single decrease (2 sts decreasing to 1) then knit "N" minus 2 between the decreases - this leaves the 2 sts you need for the decrease.

Binding off at the beginning or middle of a row
Sometimes a pattern will tell you to bind off at the beginning of a row (say, for an armhole) or in the middle (for a neckline). This can be tricky to count, because the number you bind off is one stitch less than the number you knit to do it. When you begin to bind off, you knit two stitches, then lift the first one off the needle over the second. Even though you have KNITTED two stitches you have only BOUND OFF one stitch. It is easier, then, to count the stitches you actually take off the needle rather than the stitches you knit. If you have to bind off 7 stitches, you have to knit a total of 8 stitches to do it. The 8th stitch counts with the stitches AFTER the bind off. For example, if the pattern says, "K20, Bind off 20, K20", you do this: Knit 20 stitches; knit TWO more and take the 2nd stitch from the tip of the right needle off; knit one more and take the next stitch off, etc. until you have TAKEN OFF 20 stitches. You should at this point have 19 stitches left on the left-hand needle; the 20th stitch was knitted in order to complete the last bind off.

How to straighten out those kinky circular needles
If you have a metal needle, hold it over the sink by one point and pour a tiny dribble of BOILING water down the length of the needle. It should uncurl immediately. Dry thoroughly.
If your needle is bamboo or wood, dip the coil only into a pan of boiling water briefly, and check it. It may take several quick dips to get the needle straight. Be careful not to get the wooden parts wet. Dry thoroughly.

If you are having trouble understanding written instructions, read them aloud, or better yet, have someone else read them to you. It sounds dumb, but HEARING is different from READING! Try it, you may be surprised.

©2001, Mary Young Smith.
Earth Guild, 33 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801.
1-800-327-8448