Help me! Stitches too tight!

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:36:33 -0000, "Charlie" spewed forth :

Most newbies have tension issues. As you become more comfortable with the yarn and needles you'll relax and so will your knitting.n

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Whole-hearted agreement with Wooly, and a little aside addendum... when I've had knitting students who DON'T eventually relax, I have them knit on uncooked spaghetti. Honest. They get so frustrated breaking the spaghetti, they HAVE to relax! Try it, it works! JM2C Noreen

I still tend to knit a little on the tight side and I've been knitting for years! Guess I just got used to doing it that way. I can move the yarn, but the stitches are still pretty tight. ;o)

Gemini

Try changing the way you hold the needles. That worked for me.

What helped me was trying different ways of threading the yarn through my fingers. Some make the yarn flow a littl more readily.

sue

I always advice pupil who knit to tight ,

Ps Sorry i apologize forgot ...... Welcome Charlie you will get used to the right tension mirjam

Hey I got it! It DID come after a few more rows when I just let myself relax and do the zen thing! I found holding the yarn in a different way helped, I'm sure it's considered really bad form to hold it the way I do! Ah well, I can do it the proper way when I've been getting it right for longer! Just need to buy some more yarn now, I rocketed through this ball in about 2 hours!

Charlie.

There is no "proper" way to hold yarn or needles, just what ever works for you. Having learned to crochet before learning to knit, I hold the yarn in a similar manner for both.

DA

Charlie, the only "proper" way is the way that works for you! Glad that you've got it! LOL

You might also want to try different needles - metal, plastic and wood all have different slippery properties. Although most of mine are metal which are the easiest to slide on, I've recently started using wood needles for complicated patterns - which are in between.

By the way.... welcome to RCTY, Charlie! I think I forgot to welcome you before! :o)

Gem

Hi Charlie,

Who cares how you hold the yarn and needles, I do whatever is comfortable for me. I'm left handed and couldn't do it the way my Mom did so I found my own way of holding the hook, needles and yarn. Whatever is easy for you is the only way.

BTW, welcome to this great group.

Nora

WONDERFUL Cahrlie !!!! Remember TTT Things Take Time mirjam

Nora, I didn't know you were left-handed. :o) My maternal grandmother, my oldest sister, her youngest son, my other sister's second daughter are all left-handed. Matthew was ambidextrous, but leaned more toward being right-handed for writing... he still shovels snow, and sometimes bats (in baseball) left-handed though. ;o)

Gem

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen a écrit dans le message : snipped-for-privacy@ar.news.verio.net...

The thing gets worse if you have sweaty hands. If that happens to you, maybe a bit of talcum powder in you hands and in the yarn will help lessen the tension. At least it works with me ;-) Sofia D (from Brussels with love :-)

Yeah I know, but I want to make EVERYTHING in the stitch and bitch book, and some legwarmers for myself, and my friend wants arm warmers (he's a little strange...)! I've just got so many things to make! Think I'm going to try and churn some scarfs out before Christmas with the chunkiest yarn I can find on the biggest needles!

Charlie.

Cahrlie i wish you the best of luck and ENJOYABLE knitting ,,,, but remember knitting IS NOT a Marathon ,,, take it easy ... otherwise you might have tense muscles , Knitting is like a Sport , one has to train for the longer and bigger excercises. I don`t know what you do in your life , but I for instance have my knitting with me , in bus rides , bank lines , wiating rooms of docs etc ,, i knit an other row or more ,,, it adds up ,,,, I am a slow knitter , and accept myself as such. mirjam

Strange, or from one of the cultures that did wear arm warmers? They used to be standard clothing in several Middle-European countries and I think also in some countries in South America.

Just remember the holiday knitting hotline number: 1-877-SOS-KNIT (it's free)

and read the Yarn Harlot's weblog!

=Tamar