Newebie - Help with scarf

[jeslyn448]

Hi, i just started to knit, and am currently trying to knit a scarf. I am using a worsted medium weight yarn, and have casted on the width of my scarf. I bought a how to knit kit, but i dont understand them, and the videos are a bit confusing. My question is, once I have casted on the width, what do i do next after moving whole row to the other needle, and want to move the second row, how i do i attach it to the casted on row?

[suzeeq]

You don't move the sts except by knitting them. After you cast on, put the needle with those stitches into your left hand with the yarn at the tip. Then insert the right needle into the first stitch on the left needle, wrap the yarn around it and through the st. Drop off the stitch from your left needle, leaving the new stitch on the right needle. Repeat. When you get to the end of the row, switch needles again so the left needle has the stitches on it. Keep going. The yarn is always attached to the last stitch you did.

[jeslyn448]

thanks. is the yarn im using a good one to start with aswell?

[suzeeq]

Yes, medium weight like a worsted is good to begin with. What size needles do you have?

[jeslyn448]

i have a size 8 and a size 6 US. im currently using the size 8

also i followed ur directions, but it turns out that the yarn attached to the ball is at the bottom of the needle, not at the tip. is that where its supposed to be or did i do something wrong?

[suzeeq]

That's good. The 6 will make tighter stitches, the 8s are about right.

Did you move the stitches to the other needle? Or maybe you caston with the wrong strand. Which cast on did you do?

[jeslyn448]

i casted on with what i believed was the "slipknot" way. im not too sure. i followed these directions for casting on:
http://www.knit1mag.com/how_knitbasics.php

after looking at their knit stitch, what i think i did wrong, was #2 and #3 of it. do you think that could be it?

[Abbily]

Wow, I already know how to do long-tail cast on, and those directions confused me! I'm sure they're great directions, but it's hard for me to learn knitting from pictures and words. Videos are much more helpful. Luckily, there are TONS of great videos right here on knittinghelp! At the top of the screen, hover your mouse over 'view videos' and then click on 'cast-on'. You'll see a list of several different options, with videos demonstrating them. There are also videos for the knit stitch, purl stitch, and everything else you could possibly ever come across.

Good luck, and come back if you need more help! This is a great, friendly and helpful place.

[reeny]

Did you slip knot all of the stitches onto your needle? That might be why it the working yarn is on the wrong end. On the page you posted showed the slip knot, and then the long tail cast on. The slip knot isn't a cast on method, but just the starting point before you cast on. It tells you to slip knot for the first loop on your needle, after that you would have to choose to do one of the cast on methods for the rest of your loops.

I think the video on this site for long tail cast on is the best one I've seen--it helped me even more than having a live person show me how to do it. I suggest you try casting on along with that video.

[suzeeq]

The slipknot is just the first step of all the castons. If you did the long tail, the thumb yarn should be the short tail, and the yarn that goes around the index finger will be the one goes to the yarn ball. I don't know how you would end up with the yarn on the back end of the needle though, instead of the tip. Both the working yarn and the tail would still end up at the tip.

On the knit stitch, you might have put the needle between 2 stitches instead of into the first stitch, so it unravels when you pull the yarn through and the left stitch drops off. Look at the videos here, both for casting on and knit stitch and see if that helps rather than looking at still pictures.