Dorret Conway

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The Mystery of the Additional Stitches…

Having the right amount of stitches on your needle is crucial to the success of your project. Last month’s knit knacks looked at problems where you find you have not got the correct number of stitches on your needle stitch. This time we are looking at the same theme but the problem of too many stitches rather than not enough.

The stitch count is related to tension i.e. the measurement of your finished piece and also ensuring that the stitch pattern turns out correctly.

One or two additional stitches might not make a huge difference when working in stitch patterns such as stocking stitch but when you move on to more complex stitch patterns, having the correct number of stitches is fundamental to it turning out correctly. So having too many stitches is as much a problem as finding that you are short of stitches (see The Mystery of the Missing Stitches”)

There are some obvious reasons why you may have too many stitches: it could be simply that you have miscounted during casting or made a mistake during shaping, e.g. missing out one or more of the decreases, so always check and check again and give your work your full attention when working these stages of the pattern.

However, are you one of those knitters whose work grows mysteriously wider with each row and by row 20 you have nearly double the number of stitches you started with, as well as a curiously lopsided piece of work? This happens to a lot of beginners. The cause is quite simple.

The problem stems from a baggy first stitch. In an attempt to tighten the stitch, the yarn is pulled which wraps the baggy loop around the needle giving the appearance of 2 stitches rather than 1. Both of these “stitches” are knit, and so you are unwittingly increasing by one stitch on each row each time you make this mistake.

Loose or baggy stitches are caused by poor control and this problem is corrected by paying attention to your technique as you are knitting, which comes with practice.

TOP TIPS

• count stitches often and check your work often.

• use a notepad and pen to keep track of the pattern instructions and shapings

• work on your technique for holding the needles correctly and maintaining even tension

• use stitch markers when casting on.

Knit Knack CD ROM by Dorret Conway is packed with practical tips and advice to improve your knitting. Plus a unique troubleshooting section with video tutorials to demonstrate how to recognise and correct common problems and mistakes.