Nasty looking edges on scarf

sjr · 11-09-2005, 08:33 PM

I am trying to knit a scarf ( emphasis on trying). Now that my yarn is all crunchy from ripping it out a million times, and I have broken a needle, I can finally recognize a purl stitch from a knit stitch. Yahoo! Now for the next problem. I read somewhere that nasty bunchy edges can be solved by "slipping" ....when I looked up that term it talked about using it to decrease stitches, which I don't want to do! Can someone explain how to make edges look nice without stitches disappearing and explain how to in detail? Need I say that I don't really know what I am doing? Thanks!

Hildegard_von_Knittin · 11-10-2005, 01:45 AM

step 1: breathe

When you slip, you're moving the stitch frm the left needle to the right without knitting or purling into it.

To make my edges neat, I insert my right needle into the first stitch on the left needle as if to purl (from back to front), and then just sliiiiiiiiiiide it from the left needle to the right.

That's it!

Ingrid · 11-10-2005, 01:48 AM

Also, if you knit the last stitch of each row, while you slip the first stitch as Hildie said, that helps, too.

sjr · 11-10-2005, 02:23 AM

Can I just start slipping the first stitch now ( 5 inches or so into this so-called scarf) or do I have to rip out the whole thing again and start over? And since the first stitch and last stitch is always a knit, do I do as you suggested and put the needle in as if to purl or does it not matter?

Ingrid · 11-10-2005, 02:27 AM

The first stitch is a slip as if to purl and the last stitch is a knit--that'll give you a nice edge.

If you start doing it now, it will look different from what you've done, so it's really your call.

sjr · 11-10-2005, 02:31 AM

OK. I guess I will forgo perfection and just start doing it differently from this point on. I think I might lose my mind if I ripped this out again and the yarn would never survive it! Thanks for the help.

Ingrid · 11-10-2005, 02:35 AM

Don't look for perfection--just go for it, learn from it, and enjoy it.

Hildegard_von_Knittin · 11-10-2005, 04:33 AM

Agreed! Knitting is supposed to be FUN not stressful!

ella · 11-10-2005, 05:20 PM

If you knit the last five inches of the scarf the way you knit the first five (without slipping the stitches on the edge), it'll match and will look like you planned the whole thing and you'll look like a genius

Good luck and have fun!

Sara · 11-10-2005, 05:26 PM

OMG! I thought I was having a psychotic episode! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ella's avatar move. I thought i had imagined it, but then it moved again! So I sat very still, not wanting to startle it of course, then suddenly it winked at me! That is SO cute!! I am so glad that I don't need to be medicated! :rofling: