Stitches too tight... HELP!

[KnittinKittenWV]

Ok... I am a VERY beginner... I just learned to cast on two days ago.... I did the long-tailed cast on for hours and finally got it mastered. I'm now trying to learn the purl/knit stitches... the problem I'm having is that the more I try the tighter my stitches (or whatever from the cast-on) pull tighter and tighter... I'm not sure how to remedy this... or why it's doing it lol... HELP!

[xxkarenlxx]

I'm a pretty inexperienced knitter also, so for absolute answers you'll need to wait until someone else chimes in, but it sounds to me like you've cast on too tightly.

If you have a spare pair of needles you might want to practice casting on a bit more loosely and see if that helps.

Good luck to you.

[suzeeq]

Sometimes new knitters give an extra tug to the yarn when casting on or knitting, thinking that will make nice even stitches or to prevent them from falling off the needles. It's better if you don't, just keep the sts loose. After a while you'll get a more even tension and they won't be either too loose or too tight. Practice casting on looser, or over 2 needles, or a larger one, and wrap the yarn around the shaft of the needle, not just at the tip.

[Janet71]

I agree with suzeeq. I'm a fairly new knitter myself and found i was tugging the yarn after each stitch making my stitches extra tight.

[ArtLady1981]

I agree with Sue, too.

I've found that snugger cast-on rows also make the gauge smaller!
The cast-on row affects the 'gauge' a lot.

[Fonda]

From one tight knitter to the other...I found that casting on with one size larger needle than for my gauage is good for me as it loosens up the next row from being so tight. Practice...many times and you will learn...and relax...it comes easier...