Ending the knit stitch row

[dudeknits]

I have made what seems like hundreds of knit stitch rows and I still have nothing to show because I can't end them properly.

You can kind of see what i mean in the small example I took a picture of. There is just a single loop of yarn on the left side and you can't really pass a normal stitch through it without ending up with this weird floppy mess.

I am new and I feel like I missed something basic about ending the row with an extra loop of the yarn or something along those lines. Any suggestions would help, thanks so much in advance.

[Jan in CA]

Is the picture upside down or backwards?

Anyway just knit across all the loops. It's okay if the last loop is loose so don't worry about it. It all works out after each row or two beyond it. Just keep knitting and as your tension improves you'll see a difference although that loose loop is normal.

[nannaknits]

I am not sure I understand you question. If it is the end of every row that is a problem then do as Jan suggested. Just go ahead and knit that last stitch, on the begining of the next row knit the first two stitches tightly and it will take up the slack of the loop. After a couple of rows it will start to look nice. If it is a bind off question then go ahead and bind off that last stitch just like you did with the rest of them. Then cut your yarn, pull up the loop to make it big enough to pass the cut end of the yarn through. Then pull on the end of the yarn. It should tighten down that last loop. You don't want to fiddle with it too much or the loop will be difficult to pull tight.

[dudeknits]

I think that helps a bit to guide me with this.

What's in that picture is about 10 cast ons and and a row of knit stitching. It is upsideish because i just folded down the macbook screen to photo it.

So this tension concept that seems to be very important in knitting, where and how do I tension while knitting. Is it with pulling the knit between the needles or keeping the tension on the thread coming from the spool of yarn?

[Jan in CA]

I think I get the picture now. You just knit that last stitch then turn and knit across again.

Your tension mostly comes from the 'working yarn' which is the yarn you use to make the stitches. Most people find some way to wrap it around their fingers so their knitting is not too tight or loose. Just find a comfortable way to do it that works for your style of knitting and keep at it.

You're learning right now. Don't worry about how it looks. Just concentrate on making the stitches correctly and making your hands become accustomed to a new technique. Keep knitting even if it looks wonky. That's how we all learned.

[trvvn5]

The edges of your knitting will be a little loose for a while. It's just part of the learning process. Eventually you will learn how much pull on the free hanging yarn to give so that you will end up with a cleaner edge and more consistent stitches. Thats what tension is. It's how tight or loose you hold onto that free hanging yarn as you knit so as to make your stitches tighter or looser.

As for your picture. Just try giving it a little tug on the free yarn to tighten up the stictch and try to maintain that as knit that last stitch off the needle.

[dudeknits]

here is what it typically looks like on the edges. It's all gunky and seems to get wider each row.

One of these days I'll take real photos, I do make a living that way : )

[Jan in CA]

If you're not adding any stitches then it could be because the cast on is too tight. You can cast on with a larger needle to help combat that if you don't like it.

The edges do get better with time, but you can also make a nice chained edge by slipping the first stitch and knitting the last. To slip the first stitch have the yarn in front as if you were going to purl and insert the right needle into the first stitch from right to left and slip it to the right needle. Then continue as normal and always knit the last stitch.

[dudeknits]

Here is another example of what ends up leading to this issue. See how between the two needles I already have this massive gap forming? I got this even with using a size 7 to cast on and 5 to knit.

sigh, i will keep knitting away till i figure this mystery out. Wish I had a friend who knitted.

[Jan in CA]

What cast on are you using? Looks like it could be backward loop (single) cast on. That one ends up like that frequently. If that's what you're doing try either long tail or the knitted cast on. It should solve your problem.