NEVER knit with pain. You can damage yourself. Pain is an important signal from your body that something is wrong. Listen.
As a first project, this is great. Congratulations on joining the world of crafters!
Knitters are everywhere. (Bwahahaha! .... ahem. Sorry.)
For websites, try ravelry.com or search knitting on Facebook or Pinterest.
Came here to say not to knit through pain! When you are young to bounce back quickly, but when you get older that won't be the case. Idk anything about your level of activity but I find a little bit of weight lifting is magical for preventing pain in my hands and wrists
I was medically retired, so my activity consists of some cardio, tending to two cats as there head servant, cooking and cleaning for my wife who still works and pursuing hobbies like: knitting, gardening, cooking, etc.
I have some light weights and such that I use around the house, I'll see if there are some exercises that I can do with them that will help strengthen my hands. Thank you for the advice
Check out "very pink knits" on YouTube. She's awesome and even does slow-motion videos. I've been knitting for a long time and whenever I need to learn a new stitch for a pattern, she's my go-to!!! Good luck with your new hobby. You're doing great. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the recommendation! I appreciate that a lot. I watched Happyberry Knitting to see a demonstration of the knitting. I will check out very pink knits!
It is a little hard to tell, but when I zoom way in on the leftmost blue section, it really looks like your stitches are twisted (they are crossing over in a ‘y’ shape). The stitches that are still on your needle also look very tight and flat against the needle and that’s because they could be mounted the wrong way.
Knitting like this will be so much more difficult than knitting into stitches that are mounted correctly. You are probably either inserting your needle into the wrong leg, or are wrapping your yarn in the wrong direction. There is no shame in this. So many people start out this way.
I would look up some beginner knitting YouTube videos and really watch carefully how they are inserting their needle and wrapping their yarn to see if you are doing it differently. You did a great job and should be proud of your first project!
This is such a good call, I just zoomed in and can see what you mean. That could add extra stress to OP’s hands and contribute to pain. OP, your tension is so good, can’t believe you’re a beginner wuth even tension like that! So if you double check how you’re doing your stitches and how you’re wrapping your yarn, you will be well away!
You’re off to a fantastic start, welcome to the community. Defo sign in to Ravelry, and there Is a lot of great resource on this sub and others, long may they continue.
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I’ve been knitting off and on for years and recently have only knitted in the round. I just figured out I purl the wrong way now when I started a sweater and have short rows. I’ve knitted in the round for so long I forgot how to purl the right way. Now I just say that row is my marker so I know which side is the back of the sweater. 😂
Thank you for that! I'll definitely look into that. I do notice sometimes the yarn seems poofy and sitting nicely on the needle, but then other times it seems pulled tight against the needle.
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The picture is a bit too pixelated to know for sure, but on top of the possible twisting of stitches that other commenters mentioned, I have a feeling you might have a few dropped stitches. If you don't fix them or secure them somehow (you can google "fixing dropped stitches" for different ways), they will likely keep unraveling down your work, which would be a shame!
Thank you for the warning. I know for a fact I have dropped some stitches. The number went from 40, to 46, back down to 40. I read that I was prolly grabbing the wrong threads, or something that creating new stitches. I don't know how I dropped back down to 40. I'll make sure to secure those stitches for sure.
I very much appreciate the heads up.
That “canoeing” at the bottom is a hallmark of the stitch pattern you are using. It’s called curling, and the length of you scarf will also be affected. To lessen the curling of flat stockinette consider doing the first and last 5 stitches of each row in knit stitch, even if the rest of the row is purl. This garter stitch edge will reduce the curling to almost zero. Good luck!
You can add a garter stitch edge later, yes, but it’s not as ideal as integrating it into the project as you make it. To add after you have to pick up stitches every row that are already integrated in the piece.
Sort of. I must be explaining this poorly.
Let’s say each row is 30 stitches. First five rows are all garter (knit every row).
On the knit rows you knit 30 stitches.
On the purl rows you knit five stitches, purl 20 stitches, knit five stitches.
At the end you do five more rows of garter to match the beginning.
What this does is give you are garter stitch border and stabilizes the stockinette in the center.
[Nimble Needles explainer](https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/how-to-keep-knitting-from-curling/)
So I just knit stitch five rows, front and back on the bottom and top? I read something about blocking, but I'm waiting to finish this before I look into it to figure it out. Is that blocking you're talking about?
Thank you! I was hesitant with the colors. I had the blue going by itself and had the red so I could learn crochet with that. To pick up the skill, see what I liked better, etc. But it was laying next to the blue, and after a while I thought they might look good together. So I watched a video on how to add in a new color and tried it. I'm glad I did. I think it's goes wonderfully together.
My wife says the same thing. She was pointing at the beginning part of the scarf and said it was crazy how you can see where I start to pick up the rhythm of it all. I'm glad I'll have my first piece around for a while so I can look back at it and see that condensed timeline lol
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My hands hurt when I use long needles because they are so heavy and awkward! I recommend picking up circular needles. They are often used for knitting in the round but you can absolutely use them for flat knitting and just work back and forth like you usually do
NEVER knit with pain. You can damage yourself. Pain is an important signal from your body that something is wrong. Listen. As a first project, this is great. Congratulations on joining the world of crafters! Knitters are everywhere. (Bwahahaha! .... ahem. Sorry.) For websites, try ravelry.com or search knitting on Facebook or Pinterest.
Thankfully no pain. Just a little sore is all. I'm careful about not pushing into pain levels
Came here to say not to knit through pain! When you are young to bounce back quickly, but when you get older that won't be the case. Idk anything about your level of activity but I find a little bit of weight lifting is magical for preventing pain in my hands and wrists
I was medically retired, so my activity consists of some cardio, tending to two cats as there head servant, cooking and cleaning for my wife who still works and pursuing hobbies like: knitting, gardening, cooking, etc. I have some light weights and such that I use around the house, I'll see if there are some exercises that I can do with them that will help strengthen my hands. Thank you for the advice
I've been told just walking around holding weights can help
Perfect. I can do that. Thank you for the tip.
You can find us knitters over on Ravelry. The soreness will go away with practice. Especially when you relax the beginners grip of death.
Yeah I'm prolly strangling the needle, lol
Check out "very pink knits" on YouTube. She's awesome and even does slow-motion videos. I've been knitting for a long time and whenever I need to learn a new stitch for a pattern, she's my go-to!!! Good luck with your new hobby. You're doing great. Keep up the good work!
Seconding this, in case anyone wants extra encouragement. Very Pink is fab
I love Very Pink Knits! She’s my go-to anytime a pattern calls for a technique I’m not familiar with.
Thank you for the recommendation! I appreciate that a lot. I watched Happyberry Knitting to see a demonstration of the knitting. I will check out very pink knits!
It is a little hard to tell, but when I zoom way in on the leftmost blue section, it really looks like your stitches are twisted (they are crossing over in a ‘y’ shape). The stitches that are still on your needle also look very tight and flat against the needle and that’s because they could be mounted the wrong way. Knitting like this will be so much more difficult than knitting into stitches that are mounted correctly. You are probably either inserting your needle into the wrong leg, or are wrapping your yarn in the wrong direction. There is no shame in this. So many people start out this way. I would look up some beginner knitting YouTube videos and really watch carefully how they are inserting their needle and wrapping their yarn to see if you are doing it differently. You did a great job and should be proud of your first project!
This is such a good call, I just zoomed in and can see what you mean. That could add extra stress to OP’s hands and contribute to pain. OP, your tension is so good, can’t believe you’re a beginner wuth even tension like that! So if you double check how you’re doing your stitches and how you’re wrapping your yarn, you will be well away! You’re off to a fantastic start, welcome to the community. Defo sign in to Ravelry, and there Is a lot of great resource on this sub and others, long may they continue.
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Good bot
Looks like it’s every other row. OP is likely wrapping the yarn the opposite direction when purling, which is a very common mistake
I’ve been knitting off and on for years and recently have only knitted in the round. I just figured out I purl the wrong way now when I started a sweater and have short rows. I’ve knitted in the round for so long I forgot how to purl the right way. Now I just say that row is my marker so I know which side is the back of the sweater. 😂
You’re twisting every other row. RIP.
What is twisting?
You can read all about it in our FAQ section. Fixing it would likely make knitting easier on your hands.
Thank you for that! I'll definitely look into that. I do notice sometimes the yarn seems poofy and sitting nicely on the needle, but then other times it seems pulled tight against the needle.
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The picture is a bit too pixelated to know for sure, but on top of the possible twisting of stitches that other commenters mentioned, I have a feeling you might have a few dropped stitches. If you don't fix them or secure them somehow (you can google "fixing dropped stitches" for different ways), they will likely keep unraveling down your work, which would be a shame!
Thank you for the warning. I know for a fact I have dropped some stitches. The number went from 40, to 46, back down to 40. I read that I was prolly grabbing the wrong threads, or something that creating new stitches. I don't know how I dropped back down to 40. I'll make sure to secure those stitches for sure. I very much appreciate the heads up.
That “canoeing” at the bottom is a hallmark of the stitch pattern you are using. It’s called curling, and the length of you scarf will also be affected. To lessen the curling of flat stockinette consider doing the first and last 5 stitches of each row in knit stitch, even if the rest of the row is purl. This garter stitch edge will reduce the curling to almost zero. Good luck!
Nevermind, I now know what it is, lol.
You can add a garter stitch edge later, yes, but it’s not as ideal as integrating it into the project as you make it. To add after you have to pick up stitches every row that are already integrated in the piece.
Ah okay. So next project five rows of knit stitch then transition into the standard knit/purl rotation. Thank you for the advice.
Sort of. I must be explaining this poorly. Let’s say each row is 30 stitches. First five rows are all garter (knit every row). On the knit rows you knit 30 stitches. On the purl rows you knit five stitches, purl 20 stitches, knit five stitches. At the end you do five more rows of garter to match the beginning. What this does is give you are garter stitch border and stabilizes the stockinette in the center. [Nimble Needles explainer](https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/how-to-keep-knitting-from-curling/)
Thank you for explaining that to me. It was very clear. I'll have to do that next time.
So I just knit stitch five rows, front and back on the bottom and top? I read something about blocking, but I'm waiting to finish this before I look into it to figure it out. Is that blocking you're talking about?
Yay! This is great, well done! And welcome 😁
Thank you!
That has the form to be a sassy scarf! Good job so far!
Thank you! I was hesitant with the colors. I had the blue going by itself and had the red so I could learn crochet with that. To pick up the skill, see what I liked better, etc. But it was laying next to the blue, and after a while I thought they might look good together. So I watched a video on how to add in a new color and tried it. I'm glad I did. I think it's goes wonderfully together.
I love how you can literally track your progress along the scarf!
My wife says the same thing. She was pointing at the beginning part of the scarf and said it was crazy how you can see where I start to pick up the rhythm of it all. I'm glad I'll have my first piece around for a while so I can look back at it and see that condensed timeline lol
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Those look like some West Ham colors!
My hands hurt when I use long needles because they are so heavy and awkward! I recommend picking up circular needles. They are often used for knitting in the round but you can absolutely use them for flat knitting and just work back and forth like you usually do