new to knitting - trouble with stitches slipping off steel needles

[rileynexttime]

I'm knitting a dishcloth in 100 cotton yarn and using the size of needles they suggest ie size 8 /4 -41/2 mm.Although I don't know if my needles are UK or American ( Robin).
I have such trouble with stitches slipping off the end of the needles .
Any advice ?

You could try wooden /bamboo needles as they're not as slippery. Also check your tension as if it's loose that could be making it slip. To be fair cotton is slippery.

Just keep practicing. You've probably got the tension a bit loose, but it will improve if you keep going. Brilliant idea to start on a dishcloth.

Aah ,thank you both .
The dishcloth is really pretty ,you start off with only 4 stitches and add a stitch each row by doing a "yarn over" .And it ends up with a nice edge ! It's like magic !
I'm easily pleased !

Very nice. Well done. Lovely colour!

It's lovely. Love a knitted dishcloth

You're all very kind ! A viper free corner of MN !

Bamboo circular needles were a game changer for me with this.

You can knit straight on circulars, btw! Just stops it all sliding off, it just slides onto the cable and is kept safe. They’re great for storing wips on.

That's a great pattern for a beginner. Another option with any sort of yarn is to do the same technique and keep going until you have a massive triangle then cast off. Makes a lovely shawl.

I was just going to suggest circulars (although they will still fall out at the start of a row, sometimes!) but at least you're less likely to lose them. I started using them after dropping straight needles while I was on a train and having to chase the damn things down the aisle. 😄

Seconding the bamboo suggestion, too - just be careful if you have knitting supurrvisors, they might chew on them.

I had a knitting emergency recently and had to buy metal needles. They were so slippery. Much prefer bamboo or plastic.

Wooden needles are definitely the easiest. If you have to use the steel ones, make sure you don't have hand cream on as that makes it extra slippery. Cotton is stretchy so maybe try to tighten your tension. Enjoy the process.

I tend to knit tightly so slippery metal needles are brilliant for me (have to go in up in sizes as a result though).
You may find that you will tighten up after awhile, or you could change to less slippery needles. Some beautiful bamboo ones out there.

I bought myself some a set of interchangeable circular needles. So I have all the sizes and several lengths of joining cables and can change sizes to suit. There are bamboo versions of this too.