Q about top down knitting in the round!

[jruby18]

Hi there! I am trying to knit a hat. The pattern is a top down knitting in the round. It starts off w/4 cast on stitches, then you knit front and back every stitch to get 8 and then knit f&B every other, etc... So my problem is that I cannot figure out how to join the stitches. Help! TIA.

[N0obKnitter]

uh, go look at the knitting in the round video? You sure it's not a knit flat then seam it kinda pattern? I'm just a n0ob, sorry...

[alevtina]

Divide the 4 stitches amongst 4 double-pointed needles. I would CO 4 sts and then slip each one onto a DPN. Join to knit in the round and then continue as per instructions. (If you've never knit in the round on DPNs, view the video on this site: http://www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fla...layer/play/9/1)

[suzeeq]

I'd do this a little differently. Put the CO sts onto only 2 needles (it's a lot easier than dividing them onto 4) and using the 3rd needle, knit into the first st and knit a round. Then kfb in every st.
Or you can just cast on, leave them on one needle and kfb across all the sts, don't turn, but put half the sts on a 2nd needle, then bring the beginning of the row up next to the last st you did on the row, and knit all the sts around. Now you're joined.

Taking a look at the knitting in the round videos wouldn't hurt though.

[Becky Morgan]

I cannot figure out how to join the stitches.

The easy answer is "just do it!" but that won't help you. Have you ever used a round knitting loom? It really is that simple, and it works just like that, but there are a couple of things that may work:
First of all, if you don't mind having a tiny seam at the top, you really can cast on four stitches, knit them, then turn the work and PURL front and back--in other words, work flat for a few rows until you have enough stitches that you feel comfortable putting them on dpns or a circular. You can use the tail of the cast-on to sew those few rows to close the hole.
Second, assuming you want to go without seaming anything if possible, you can treat the very top of the hat like glorified I-cord. Cast on the four stitches, knit them, slide them back to the other end of the double-point, knit front and back, slide them...by the time you get to the third increase or so, you'll have enough to divide. When you're done, you'll need to fluff the top of the hat around to get the stitch tension even.

Once you get established, you really do just keep knitting around. On a circular, it's more obvious. You knit across however many you have on the needle, the first stitch presents itself on your left needle, and you keep going.

[jruby18]

Ok, thanks so much, guys! Hey Becky Morgan, I think I like your suggestion best. My question is this: if the pattern is to increase by knitting into front and back of the stitches, should I be increasing those first few rows like that before I join them?
Orrr, if I do the I-cord method you mentioned, can I do this on a circular round? And If I'm sliding them back and forth, then do I turn the needles around too to start working the next row?
Thanks again!

[jruby18]

Ok, wanted to clarify one more thing. I have no problem joining stitches to knit in the round when it's a bigger project. It's just that I can't join such a small amount of stitches!

[suzeeq]

Actually, what I'd do for this is cast on 8 sts, put them on 2 dpns, use a 3rd one to join and knit one round. Then you'd go on to the next increase round from there. After you get more sts on, add another dpn or 2 if you have 5. You're maybe cutting out 1 or 2 rounds and it won't make that much difference.

[jruby18]

Wow, I'm frustrated, lol! I tried Becky's 2 ways and couldn't get it to work. I watched the dpn video. Never used them, but I think I'm going to have to try them b/c it ain't working for me any other way. I'll keep y'all posted!

[suzeeq]

Do you know how to use a single circular and magic loop? If you do, that may be easier than the dpns.