How do I make the first stitch in magic loop even/tighter

[G J]

Okay, so I'm REALLY new here, but my wife knits....I'm posting under her name.

I just started knitting a month or so ago and I'm trying to make a hat using magic loop. My first stitch seems really loose and not quite even. Is there a way to fix that?

[Spinto]

If you mean the first stitch you're knitting to join in the round, it's possible that your cast-on was uneven. If you mean the first stitch in every round, which can sometimes be a problem, think about your cable. If it's too short or too stiff, it can be putting strain on the stitches where your work is divided, i.e. the first/last stitches of the round and your center stitches.

If it's really bugging you, I'd suggest pulling it all out and casting on again, possibly using a different cast-on method, and then consciously knitting the first join stitch (and several stitches thereafter) very tightly.

Hope this helps!

[dustinac]

Hi Gina's dh... I seen your first project...you are doing good

What I do is I Cast on my stitches and then I CO one extra stitch... I put this stitch on the needle I will start knitting on... and do a K2tog and give it a tug to close up the gap... then knit the 2nd stitch tug as well...

[redwitch]

It's a knitting in the round thing, not a ML thing, but perhaps for some people's knitting it is more obvious in ML. My favourite way to close that join is to switch the first and last stitches in place, using a crochet hook to pull one stitch over.

Also you could have your needle cable loop between say stitches 24 and 25 rather than between the first and last stitch, the sexcond way puts stress on and pulls it apart.

[G J]

Thank you all for your help! Thankfully, Gina understands your language and helped me with the first round. I'm on my way!!!

[Shandeh]

Welcome, Gina's hubby!