Circular knitting needles are everyday needles for most knitters. Once a knitter enjoys knitting on circulars – fixed or interchangeable, they start using them for most of their projects. We've all been there, happily knitting with the circular needles on a hat or sweater or blanket, when we notice a mistake. There’s no need to panic, mistakes in knitting are just lessons. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the common mistakes that happen when knitting with circular needles and tricks to fix them.
The easiest cure to fixing mistakes is to not make them! To do that, you need some practice. But, till you get there let’s take a look.
Dropped Stitch
If you use circular knitting needles to knit back and forth for flat patterns such as blankets, scarves, etc. then the trick to fix knitting mistakes is as simple as fixing them on straight needles. Just focus on the tips and do not get bothered by the cord. Now if you are knitting in the round, fixing the mistake means correcting them on the right side of your work. A dropped stitch in your knitting can be corrected the way you’ve learned to. You just need to use a repair hook or crochet hook to get the stitch back on your knitting needle. For a knit stitch pick it up from the front of your project for purl pick your project from the back, rest all the steps are the same.
Losing the Beginning of the Round
If you’ve missed the beginning of the round while knitting with your circular needles, try and find the tail of yarn at your cast-on edge. On locating your yarn tail, follow the column of stitches all the way up to your current row and that’s the first stitch of the round! Place a stitch marker between the last stitch and the first stitch of the round so you don't lose your place again. You can use any round, split, or locking stitch markers.
If your pattern has a shape with an increase or decrease, you’ll be off by a few stitches. In such a case, you need to follow your pattern and match it up with the knitting. If your project is made of your own design too, you’ll have a guideline that will assist you to locate the first stitch of the round.
The gap in the Cast On Round
All knitters dread a gap in the cast-on, especially when knitting in the round. If you notice a gap long after into your knitting, then finish your project. After binding off, pick up a crochet hook or darning needle or a repair hook, take the tail of your yarn, and pull it through the first stitch of the round. Cinch it tightly, and weave that end in and your gap is covered
To avoid the knitting mistake, make sure you avoid that gap with measures such as the invisible join in the cast on. Or, begin your round by knitting a few stitches with both your working yarn and your tail.
Knitting Inside Out
A common mistake that happens to knitters is that you keep your work down for an extended period of time and when you pick it back up again, you go in the wrong direction. Over time, you notice the lovely tube of stockinette stitch has now become reverse stockinette stitch, or what appears to be garter stitch. This is because you were knitting inside-out. This means you’ve flipped your work inside-out or you're now working the wrong side as the right side. If you've only knit a round or two, simply tink (unknit) back the other way. Get to the change in stitch pattern, and flip your work so that the working yarn comes out of the most recent correct stitch. If you do not want to rework on every stitch, simply insert a lifeline and rip (frog) back to the right stitch. Inserting a lifeline is quite convenient when you are working with interchangeable circular needles as they have a special lifeline hole in the join between needle tips and cord.
With this, you can easily fix and avoid mistakes when knitting with circular needles. In knitting, there are very few mistakes that cannot be fixed. The most important one is choosing the wrong circular knitting needles. Circulars are known by the standard needle size and the needle length. The needles are measured tip to tip, with the option of changing the cord length in interchangeable circulars and having a fixed length in circulars. Choosing the right length is important, especially when knitting in the round. The general rule is to work with needle lengths smaller than the circumference of the project. So if you have a 20-inch hat to make you need a 16-inch knitting needle length. This rule does not comply when knitting with the magic loop technique. You in fact need an extra-long circular needle to work your stitches.
So, for knitting a pair of socks or a blanket, enjoy working with circular knitting needles.
