Tight Stitches

[BelWulff]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new knitter and have been practicing doing knit and purl stitches. I seem to make my stoches too tight and can not get the needle through in the next row. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[suzeeq]

One thing new knitters do is pull the yarn after making a stitch. You don't need to, making the next stitch will tighten up the yarn. Another thing that happens is they hold the yarn too tight instead of letting it flow smoothly through your fingers. If you wrap the yarn and then pull on the end - if it doesn't move easily through your fingers, it's too tight.

[Sknitter56]

Relax, relax, relax...it's actually a lot easier to mess up when your stitches are too tight because you have to try so hard to knit and/or purl. Also, your stitches don't move as easily which can cause accidents, so just try to relax and enjoy. Knitting's not a contest...what's the worst that could happen? The longer you knit, the more relaxed you'll be with the needles and yarn and the more relaxed you get, the more confidence you'll have in your ability. You'll be fine...
Now....take a deep breath...and relax