Why doesn't my knitting in stocking stitch look right?!?

Question

I've recently started knitting and my stocking (or stockingette) stitches don't quite form the nice even rows of interlocking 'v's that they do on my mum's knitting. My stitches seem to be longer on the right hand side of the 'v' of the stitch - what's going wrong? am I putting too much tension on my knit or purl rows?

Answer 1

You might do better learning how to knit left handed instead of turning your work and purling the next row. Or if it's the purl you tend to be better at, you could purl both sides if you learn to purl left handed.

Answer 2

Its hard to tell without seeing you work but it sounds like your tension is off. You may wish to change the way you hold your yarn when working the purl. If you do it "throw" method you may wish to give the yarn an extra tug before making the next st. You may also wish to learn Norwegian knitting (aka Combined Knitting) where there isn't as much switching so the tension will stay more consistant and you get the nice straight V instead of getting a twist at the bottom.
Here is the link, just scroll down to "combined knitting" or watch any of the videos of how to knit (its the pink or blue boxes).

Answer 3

as long as u r using the same tension that shouldn't be the problem, probably u r off 1 stitch if ur pattern is off. go to ur moms and knit right along with her and u'll find out exactly what is going on. good luck.

Answer 4

it sounds like you are doing your purl row much tighter than your knit row, maybe until you can get better at it, use a half size bigger needle for your purl row.

Answer 5

Check out these sites which may help you determine if you are doing it correctly
http://knitting.about.com/od/learningtoknit/
http://knitting.about.com/library/blstitches.htm
http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/instructions.php
http://www.crochet911.com/home.html