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Ways to Join in the Round for Circular Knitting

by 5 Comments

how to join in the round for circular knitting.I think the biggest hurdle knitters have to get over when they want to start knitting in the round — perhaps maybe how to manage double-pointed needles — is understanding logistically how to get started.

How do you keep your stitches from being twisted? How do you make all those floppy stitches behave so you can start knitting? Do you need to do anything special to start circular knitting or can you just, you know, knit?

I decided to try to answer these questions in a quick video.

[youtube width=”400″ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giIfI1UP8NA]

I show you what a non-twisted cast on looks like and offer three different methods for joining in the round:

Casting on an extra stitch and working it together with the first cast-on stitch

Swapping the first and the last stitches one over the other so the stitches change position

Doing nothing

I’ve used all of these methods through the years and while doing something to hold those stitches together makes the whole thing a lot less wobbly, especially on DPNs, just starting knitting without any special preparation is fine, too.

How do you start knitting when working in the round? Do you use one of these methods or do something else? I’d love to hear about it.

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Comments

  1. I bring the working yarn forward, transfer the last stitch onto the first needle, lay the working yarn to the back between that last stitch and the next to last one, slide the last stitch back onto the right hand needle and start stitching. This avoids the lagging gap between the first stitch and the last stitch, and the whole thing is smooth as silk.

  2. Thank you for the useful video, Sarah. I’ve been avoiding knitting in the round and found your information very helpful.

  3. Thanks for the informative video. I like to knitting in the round, I primarily knit hats and some scarves in the round. I recently started knitting socks, currently on my second pair using double pointed needles. I look forward in the future to knitting cardigans for a smoother finish.

    Thank you!

  4. Please move your camera over to your work. We cannot see any knitting, only your left hand and the ball of yarn.
    Many thanks. H.

Have you read?

Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts. 

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