Circular Needle Knitting

AudMama · 01-31-2009, 06:32 PM

I know that when using DPN the right side is on the inside, is it the opposite when using circular needles?

Marria · 01-31-2009, 11:35 PM

I'm not sure what you mean by right side in this context. When I'm knitting in the round, whether with DPNS or on a circular needle, I always have the right side, meaning the public side, on the outside (facing me).

AudMama · 01-31-2009, 11:44 PM

When I knit with dpn it ends up "inside out." When I knit the knit sides are all facing each other inside my needles. What I see is the purl side.

A while back I started knitting my daughter a hat with a circular needle. When I switched to dpn and "knit" I ended up with a purl row and had to purl the rest of the hat in. Make sense? Here is a picture on my blog.

I'm knitting a pair of baby pants and I've got the legs finished and I'm supposed to transfer it to a circular needle to make the hips and waist. I'm trying to make sure that I don't make the same mistake that I did with the hat.

I hope that was more clear.

Marria · 01-31-2009, 11:57 PM

Hmmm...I'm not sure what's happening, because you should be able to knit the same way for a circular needle as you would for DPNs. And really, which side is face you shouldn't matter as long as you're consistent.

Maybe this is happening because your knitting is getting flipped inside out somehow when you transfer to DPNs. When you knit in the round, are you doing knit stitches or purl stitches?

AudMama · 02-01-2009, 12:00 AM

When I knit on the circular I used knit stitches. When I switched to the dpn I kept knitting and it ended up with a purl row.

Ingrid · 02-01-2009, 12:41 AM

You're probably knitting with the two 'back' needles so your knits are being done on the inside. Imagine that your work is a cup and you 'sip' from the side facing you. Those are the two needles that will result in the knit stitches being on the outside.

If you've worked the legs and the purl bumps are on the outside, flip them inside out so the V's are on the outside. Then use your circular needles, making sure that the tips are toward you and the cord is away from you. That will put the knits on the outside.

AudMama · 02-01-2009, 01:39 AM

Originally Posted by Ingrid

Then use your circular needles, making sure that the tips are toward you and the cord is away from you. That will put the knits on the outside.

Thanks so much. I was thinking really hard on how I could be doing it differently and I had actually thought of that. So, thanks for confirming it to this newbie!!

suzeeq · 02-01-2009, 03:40 AM

I think when you switched needles, you might have picked up your knitting so the working yarn was on the left needle instead of the right, and knit the wrong way. Whatever method you knit with in the round, the RS knits will always be on the same side.

lynn893 · 02-01-2009, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by Ingrid

You're probably knitting with the two 'back' needles so your knits are being done on the inside. Imagine that your work is a cup and you 'sip' from the side facing you. Those are the two needles that will result in the knit stitches being on the outside.

If you've worked the legs and the purl bumps are on the outside, flip them inside out so the V's are on the outside. Then use your circular needles, making sure that the tips are toward you and the cord is away from you. That will put the knits on the outside.

I used to do this all the time, and couldn't figure out how come my knitting was different! Make sure your knitting with the two closest dpns to your body, as opposed to knitting with the farthest away pair.