Knitting in the round - how easy is it?

[StitchingMoss]

I'm an experienced knitter (have been knitting for 30 years!) but have never knitted in the round!

How easy is it?

A friend has just asked me to make her a gorgeous slouchy hat - but it's knitted in the round!

Help !

I've been knitting for over 30 years and haven't fully mastered knitting in the round either. I had a go but struggled with the magic loop for casting on.

Magic Loop

I can cope with a tubular knit but come undone with either starting with a small number of stitches or decreasing down to a small number of stitches.

I do however keep trying, in the hope that one day it will click.

Your local yarn shop probably does a class on it, well worth it to get yourself going. It's one of those things which is infinitely easier to understand in person than with even the best YouTube video - although .

It's not difficult at all but it's also not like knitting flat, so there are some mental adjustments needed. My mum has been a knitter for well over 50 years and I don't think she's ever knitted in the round and I think would find it hard to make the switch.

Can we see the hat pattern? Perhaps we could have a knit-along to encourage you?

Hmm, that's scared me slightly!

The pattern is here - one of the Q&As asks if you can knit it on two needles and the answer was yes but that confused me even more! Think I'll pop into my lovely knitting shop tomorrow and pick some brains. I really want to knit this hat, it's soooo gorgeous!

Is it the answer about 'just knit, don't purl every other row'?

Basically this is because when you're knitting in the round, you're always working the same side of the fabric. So to get stocking stitch you knit every row (or strictly speaking every round). As this is actually a garter stitch hat, you need to make it look like it would if you knit every row on a flat piece of work, where you first knit on the right side, and then knit on the wrong side. Knits on the wrong side come out as purls on the right side.

So to achieve garter stitch when knitting in the round, you purl every other row. (There is another, 'no-purl' way of doing it but that really is mind-boggling).

So all she's saying is, if you knit it flat (and then sew it together at the back into a tube) you'll need to translate the instructions to take account of the fact you're not always knitting on the same side of the fabric.

Does knitting in the round mean on 4 double pointed needles?

I have never tried the magic loop and only knit large diameter things on circular needles. but knitting in the round on four double point needles is really easy once you get the first join done.

Cast all stitches onto one needle. then knit back into them dividing them evenly over three needles as you go. e.g. if you cast on sixty knit twenty then change needle, and when you get to the end just make sure there is no twist as you join the round and make first stitch on each needle firmly.

Would recommend doing an all knit pattern first though just until you get used to it. just knit a quick tube to try out your Tension. opens up a whole new world of knitting

But 'knitting in the round' does not mean on double-pointed needles. That is a way of doing knitting in the round but you can also use circular needles, either one that is about the diameter of whatever you're making (not possible all the way up for a hat as the top is obviously only a few stitches) or a larger one. A longer cord means you need to have a way of keeping the stitches able to move around, which is where the Magic Loop technique is often used. You can also use Magic Loop for doing the very small rounds at the crown of a hat.

I'm a fairly new knitter and prefer knitting in the round (no sewing together, the item is finished when you cast off). Once you've done the initial join the rest is easy, you just keep going rather than moving the needles between left and right.

Knitting in the round is easier than back and firwards on two needles for simple stitches imo. I just cant do it on dpns, but will have a go using the method described above.

One word of warning though. Make sure you get the right lenth circular needles so the stitches are the right space apart and you dont get ladders in your knitting.

Ethelb, with magic loop the circumference of the needle doesn't have to be the same as (or a bit smaller than) the item being worked. In fact a much longer cable is better.

This is another advantage of magic loop, otherwise you end up needing all the major needle sizes in several lengths of cord. And if you do socks or hats you still have the tricky narrow bits to do on DPNs or a technique similar to magic loop called travelling loop.

I knitted a hat recently on a 40cm circular needle. It was OK actually, once I'd got used to it. I just did the last couple of inches on double point needles.

I've done 2 circulars (but you need 2 the same size) and Magic Loop (then you need a mega long circular needle) but get on easiest with one needle or DPNs for small things. It depends a bit how you hold your needles and yarn which is best for you.

Knitting in the round is the same as knitting on 2 straight needles, you only knit with 2 points at a time. I can't see you having any difficulty if you've been knitting for 30 years. Just don't twist the first row .

Thanks for all the tips - I went into my lovely local knitting shop to ask for advice and they found me a fab pattern knitted on straight needles!

I will master knitting in the round - just not yet !

Do share the fab new pattern as well!

For what it's worth, I knit straight on circular needles as well. I wonder if it's worth getting a pair so you're familiar with them anyway, even if you're not tempted to join the stitches up into a tube yet.

I have also been knitting for years but cannot knit in the round. It's annoying when so many patterns call for circular or dp needles. Would love to see that pattern Stitching if you're able to share .

Me too
Been knitting 30+ years too & can't get the hang of it. I always feel cheated when I find a great looking pattern for a jumper on Ravelry or somewhere only to find the instruction are for in the round.
And even worse, knitted top down too! how on earth do you do the sleeves/body when it's all knitted in one huge chunk, top to bottom?

Get some 14" fixed circular needles for knitting a hat - you'd only need to use magic loop on longer needles for the crown decreases, which would make it a less daunting way to learn the technique.

Some people like to use double pointed needles, but i think they have too many points (and they're not compatible with grabby or bouncy kids)

The thing is, the double point section at the top of a hat is only a couple of hours' knitting - you have so few stitches by then.

People who can't knit in the round - has anybody showed you? It's a bit like saying you can drive a car but not around roundabouts. I can't see how it's any different to straight knitting. Is it that you can't imagine it? Honest I'm not having a go but it's a shame to miss out on some lovely patterns.

Gosh I think you all over think this! Knitting in the round is easier than knitting flat - just keep knitting on and on!

Magic loop isn't a mysterious technique. It's just a way of shifting excess cable length out of the way, honest (you can even pull oyt a single loop of cable rather than the classic 2loops) Double pointed needles look scary but really you are only ever knitting between just 2 needle tips as you always do - the other needles are effectively used as stich holders till you get round to working them.

Top down seamless sweaters are just amazing to knit. You can try them on as you go and adjust. I guess the thing is not to be ruled by the pattern, and that's I guess the mind blowing bit if you are used to following a pattern and it just working it you (I guess I'm not very good at that!)

I agree it's easy. I'd never done it before and I did some socks and hats and things last year. Nothing to it.

I get the theory of it; it's my own knitting technique that prevents me from knitting in the round. When I knit, I keep the right needle firmly wedged under my right armpit. I can't do that with round needles or dpn's because they're too short. I learned to knit like that when I was 7 and I've never been able to stop doing it like that .

Ah, maybe you should be knitting in the traditional Scottish way with very long DPNs (as long as a straight needle) and then under your arm or tucked in a knitting belt (a belt with a pad on it to stick the needle end into)

as here

or as described here

IKWYM it's really hard to change how you knit when you learned young, I'm the same but I knit the much criticised "needle as pen" way.

Yes - the knitting technique I think is called either 'lever knitting' or more quaintly 'Irish cottage knitting' - there's an interesting blog post here about it that includes a video of someone (in a very noisy room) explaining how she does it. At about 2:30 she explains how she applies the same technique to knitting in the round on double pointed needles - not mahoosive Shetland-style ones that go in a belt but in a similar principle with the needle held motionless in the right hand, with the stitches being basically fed on to it by the left. The soundtrack isn't great but it's worth having a look at the technique.

is clearer on how you can do the same thing with a circular needle.

slouchy hat

I will have a go at knitting in the round some time - I suppose I just like knitting to relax and so anything that looks complicated and out of my comfort zone puts me off .

One of the most important things when knitting in the round is to make sure you don't twist your cast-on stitches when you first join them together in the round

I love knitting in the round - possibly more than flat - but then I do make quite a few socks!

I think I started with circular needles as I found them easier to wrangle than DPNs at first

I can understand how it must be tricky if you do 'armpit' knitting too

Funny - I quite like the challenge of something new in knitting because it's the ultimate do-over. If it doesn't work - no probs, pull it out and do something else with it. Plus, as Dr Pepper says, what's the worst than happen?! I do often have an 'easier' and a 'harder' project on the go at the same time (ahem, along with the 'can't be arsed finishing' ones) so that I've got something less challenging for when I'm tired.