How to knit with dpn and not get a horrible wide bit on the bit when the knitting goes from one needle to the next

[Rollerbird]

I did a cardigan (I'm a beginner) for a baby and thought it was going OK. It was a top down with no seams
Tried the dpn for the first time and thought if I wet the finished cardigan and pushed it into shape a bit the bits on the sleeves where you could tell I'd been on the dpn might miraculously shrink up and disappear.
It didn't.
Do I have to try and go extra tight when moving needle to needle?
What's the secret I don't know?

I pull extra tight on that bit.

I could never get on with dpns; I find circular needles much easier.

It's probably one of a few things: 1) pulling too hard or 2) too big a gap between the needle you've just finished and the new one, or 3) some types of yarn are less forgiving than others (wool tends to be more forgiving than cotton or acrylic.

I used to hate dpns, I learned magic loop to avoid it, but you can still end up with ladders even then. I have learned to like it as I've gained more experience. There are lots of videos on YouTube if you type in the question, hopefully if you look at a few you'll find something that you can relate to. I like Very Pink Knits, she makes sense to me, but you might be different.

Well done on the baby cardi!

This is very good on avoiding ladders with dpns: techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-avoid-ladders-on-dpns-double.html?m=0