question about stockinette stitch on circular needles

[jsudor]

i am working on the baby cardigan featured in Vogue knitting mag,my question is this..I am to do stockinette stitch and i am working with a circular needle,so far both sides of the knitting look like stockinette,i know when i work on straight needles i have to knit one row and purl the next,however in my "complete idiots giude to knitting" it says that when i work on circular needles i can just knit every row that calls for stockinette.Am i messing up?Gotta know before i go any further.The pattern actually called for the use of straight needles (size 2 and 3) and size 3 circular,and the lady at the yarn store said i should just use size 2 and 3 circulars to save buying the straight needles...i recently bought the straight neeedles anyhow as i will need to dump stitches onto the size 3 circular when working the raglan sleeves.Sorry this is so long.

[sara_jayne]

If you are knitting in the round on circular needles then knitting every row produces stockinette stitch.

If you are using circular needles in place of straight needles and not knitting in the round then you will need to alternate knit and purl rows to produce stockinette stitch.

[BillSpace]

When you work with circular needles IN THE ROUND you knit every stitch for stockinette. However, if you're using circular needles to knit back and forth (as it sounds like you're doing), then you knit one row, purl the next, just as you would on straight needles. (The round needles are acting like straights with a cord in between to hold the knitting.)

So the difference isn't the shape of the needles, but rather the technique you're knitting with. Since the pattern you're working with is a piece of "flat" knitting, you'll work just as you would with straight needles.

Make sense? Check out the videos in the advanced techniques section for "Large Diameter Circular Knitting" if this is confusing -- you should see the difference.