Joining beginning to end on circular needles

[suzeeq]

Well, not in every pattern. But a lot of things I use a garter stitch border, So I just start out with the purl round, then knit the next, etc. Sometimes when working in stockinette I purl the first round and it helpe prevent the curling on the edge just a little. Besides, I only follow patterns in a general way, for shaping or st pattern, I usually make them up.

[OffJumpsJack]

Jack,

A long time ago the lady who owned a local yarn shop here told me that actually the first row after a LTCO should be a purl row (this is flat knitting). This makes the work more overall flat on the knit side and places all of what I call the "purl bumps" on one side. But you can begin working a knit row after the LTCO if you want to and you can certainly do K1, P1 ribbing beginning with either a K or a P without it causing any trouble. Woring in the round doesn't change that. You can start right off with st st after a LTCO or do a ribbing and get no problems.

I certainly have never seen this to be the case. I wonder if what you are calling a LTCO is not really a LTCO.

Well I though it was a LTCO (working flat) and Amy does include the note about purling after the LTCO (as it would be row 2 and WS). But, hey, I'm new to knitting so I get one free pass on making mistakes right?

Mia culpa.

Perhaps I am thinking on the single cast on (also called backward loop) CO. I remember that one kept growing a long float between my left and right needle! I hadn't dropped any stitches because the count on the left (to be knit) and the count of the right (already knit) added up to the total sts CO.

The only CO video here on KH that I can find now with a k p rib variation is the cable CO (and maybe the knit CO) but I didn't check that. So maybe my memory banks are getting half-zimers (I only forget half the details, or half the time).


--Jack

[suzeeq]

With the LTCO you don't have to make the first row the WS row and purl it if you're knitting stockinette. Many of us have used it for years and just knit R 1, the RS row, as written. It all depends on how you like the look of it or what you want to do.

Help! I am working a hat pattern that calls for casting on 72 stitches on circular needles, then P 1, K 1 all the way round. I can't seem to join stitch 1 with stitch 72 without its coming undone a couple of rows later. Any ideas? Thanks

I am also working on a hat at the moment (which happens to be my first hat ever). From doing socks, I learned a method of joining similar to what Knitting_Guy suggested. With your pattern, I would cast on 73 stitches instead of 72. Then I would purl the first two stitches together. This decreases the extra stich so you are back down to 72 and (in my opinion) creates a strong join.

Good luck!