knitting on 4 needles ribbing help

dbriese · 02-26-2010, 07:33 AM

Hello all sooooo glad I found this forum! I have been searching for such a place.
Ok now my question.... New to knitting in the round on four needles. Taught myself from utube. Working on baby hats. My ribbing knitting the first few rounds looks uneven loose then it begins to look fine but those first few rows looks bad. I do not knit any different those rows they just dont look right. I tried going down a needle size for a few rows, to no avail still looks loose on some stitches. Will this go away after item is washed? will the stitches even up? I am beside my self, I rip and rip out several times and start again not knowing what is wrong. I do cable cast on, could that be it? I would love any advise or tips that can help me be a better knitter in the round I love to knit hats and would like to continue to improve. I dont know if this will come with time or what is going on I am getting frustrated. HELP Dee in Florida

suzeeq · 02-26-2010, 03:19 PM

I think you just need more practice at it. It can be difficult to start things on dpns so the awkwardness of it may contribute to uneveness. It should look a little better after you wash it.

Jan in CA · 02-26-2010, 06:10 PM

Some people knit flat for 3 or 4 rows and then join the work. Maybe that would help. (You use the tail to seam that short edge later)

If the hats are knit in the round and don't have a flipped up brim you can use the method I worked out for nice tight ribbing. I always use it on ribbed hats.

I figure this out on my own, but I'm sure I'm not the first to ever do it. Here's my old blog with the info.
http://knittingandmore.blogspot.com/

AngelaR · 02-26-2010, 06:39 PM

I knit in the round a lot, and I have to admit, I hate ribbing on socks. It will take me days to do a simple 1.5 inch ribbing because I just HATE it. It's because of the very teeny tiny needles you knit on, and then the fact that ribbing requires much attention to the detail.

My feeling is, based on my past experience, wait until you wash it. A good washing tends to even things out (like ladders) so don't worry, entirely, about how it looks on the needles.