FAQ....Is your STOCKINETTE CURLING? Here's the solution! - Page 8

brendajos · 10-22-2006, 12:49 PM

i am wondering about knitting too tight maybe? or on needles that are too big for the yarn thus making a tight fabric?

Teiris · 10-23-2006, 03:49 AM

It's possible..I am a tight knitter, and my garter usually curls a litle, but never to this extent before.
Hopfully when I'm done I can block it a little to reduce the curla bit.. : <

dplantlady · 11-01-2006, 03:25 PM

Has anyone tried applied I-cord to discourage curling?

I found a pattern for a decreasing square (which I altered to make a rectangular snuggle). Basically, you start at the outer edge & decrease in a regular pattern to get to the center. It's given in all knit (forming stockinette in the round), and I knew I'd hafta do something to make it lay flat.

I'm just wonderin if anyone's tried I-cord & how it worked out?

Thanks,

Diane

swarthygirl · 11-22-2006, 05:41 AM

I'm a total beginner at knitting, so this might seem like a stupid question, but what do you do when you reach the end of the bind-off? I know how to do it, but on the last stitch what is done?

I just realized I had no clue about this until I made a swatch for the Harry Potter scarf I'm knitting. I bound off in the regular knit way, but at the last stitch I felt like I was holding a potholder. I ended up tying it to the stitch in the row below, but what can I do when that's not an option? Or is that standard procedure? And my next project is a lace scarf; what do I do then to make sure there's not a huge square knot on the end?

Thanks.

suzeeq · 11-22-2006, 07:42 AM

When you've bound off the last stitch, cut the yarn about 3-4 inches from the stitch, then pull the loose end through. Then take a blunt darning needle or crochet hook and pull the end through several adjacent stitches so it doesn't show. Unless the scarf is knit really loose, it shouldn't pull out.

sue

dplantlady · 11-22-2006, 01:11 PM

Swarthygirl,

Take a look at Amy's video "Demo of a small project"
(Large videos*, 45MB each) This is a small sample of knitting, shown from cast-on to bind-off. Topic covers how to weave in cast-on and bind-off ends, and how to avoid those loose side stitches.
She has a neat trick for avoiding that last loopy bound off stitch! It's on the Basic Techniques tab. Mouse down to "More.." & click, and it's the first topic on that page. It's long, so be patient. It's about 3/4 of the way through.

BTW, if anyone's interested...I did a 4-st applied I-cord on the curling rectangular snuggle & it helped alot. It still wants to do a bit of rolling, but hey, I don't think the animals will mind...next time, I think I'll do a garter stitch edge to try to eliminate the problem.

Diane

swarthygirl · 11-25-2006, 07:43 PM

Thanks, suzeeq and dplantlady! I wouldn't have thought to look at that video or weave in the end. I'm doing fringe after making a three-needle bind off so I'm not sure if I want to weave in the end much at all.

suzeeq · 11-25-2006, 08:42 PM

You're using a 3 needle bind off on a scarf or shawl? Are you making it from the ends to the middle and joining them together?

sue

themightybotox · 12-20-2006, 02:48 AM

I feel like a loser for even asking this after having read five and a half pages of people asking the same question, but:

I've only been knitting for a year (not even). I'm working on a scarf in merino wool that's done in stockinette (except for three rows of garter on either end and then like a reverse stockinette row or whatever for accent just after it) and it is curling soooo badly.

I've done two other scarves recently in stockinette, but with the reverse row for a little accent texture repeating at frequent intervals and the curling was actually endearing in those scarves.

So on this one I've got about 22 stitches and it's about 2/3s done and I don't want to pull back and start all over even though I know I should have right away as soon as it started to curl, but what's done is done.

So my question, redundant though it may be, is: Is there some way that I can crochet a border on it to make it stop curling? Or, considering that I don't know how to crochet and would have to learn or ask my mom to do it for me: Is there a way to knit a border on that someone could describe to me in detail?

Also someone recommended to me that I could hang the scarf over a teakettle and steam it flat? Would this work or just ruin the scarf?

I'm desperate and beating a dead horse, I know, but I would appreciate any advice someone could give me.

Ingrid · 12-20-2006, 03:34 AM

You can block merino wool. When it's done, dunk it in lukewarm water with a little woolwash if you want, roll it between towels to get the excess moisture out and lay it flat to dry. You can shape it as it dries--probably no need to pin. Just keep checking it and straightening it out. It should be fine.