Help, please...first time knitter

lisa7267 · 01-02-2008, 08:09 PM

Hi there...I am brand new to knitting and self teaching at that, lol. The tutorial videos here are great! I just followed the long tail casting on stitch and have been practicing it....I am good with that now, lol. But here is my question. It says to go to the purl stitch next....what do i do with the couple of inches left hanging from the tail side of my yarn before I move on to the purl stitch.....and can anyone confirm that it is the purl stitch i do next...i believe the cast on video said that the long tail cast on includes a knit stitch in it, therefore i go to the purl stitch next.....if I do all that...whats next? a knit stitch???
THANKS!!
Lisa

SteveDallas · 01-03-2008, 01:14 AM

I would go to the Knit stitch next.

If you're working the Stockinette stitch pattern (there's a video about that too), alternate one row of all knit with one row of all purl. What Amy meant in the video is that if you are doing this type of pattern you should start with a purl row after doing the long-tail cast-on.

Don't worry about the "tail" for now.. you can weave it in later. Though if it's so long it's getting in the way, you can chop off all but a few inches.

lisa7267 · 01-03-2008, 01:17 AM

ok, so long tail cast on, then knit, then purl, then knit then purl? Should I be using a pattern? THANKS so much for your quick response.

Mulderknitter · 01-03-2008, 01:18 AM

I agree, I think the video is talking about doing stockinette stitch, where the 2nd row you would purl the whole way across, the 3rd row knit, the 4th purl, etc. Don't worry about the extra tail hanging. It's just extra. Weave it in now or when you are done.

lisa7267 · 01-03-2008, 01:21 AM

awesome, thank you SOOOOOOOOO much!
P.S. I don't know how to weave it in, lol. I will leave it for later.

Knitting_Guy · 01-03-2008, 03:09 AM

I wouldn't worry about doing any sort of pattern right away, just practice the knit and purl stitches until you're comfortable with them.

Weaving in the tail is actually quite easy and I believe Amy demonstrates that in one of the videos. You are basically just using a tapestry needle to weave it through a few stitches to hold it in place and hide it.