Knitting Help!?

Question

I'm a beginner and I'm knitting a stockinette scarf with a seed border and I keep getting confused and just quitting and taking everything off my needles (I'm frustrated) It's just not working very well I keep getting confused after I knit the first row. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Answer 1

Learn to read your knitting. When you're knitting seed st, you knit the purls and purl the knits. That may sound confusing, but it's really easy once you get the hang of it.

Look at the stitch on your left needle that you're about to work. Is it a "V" shape? If so, it's a knit stitch and you need to purl it. Or does it look like a bump or a ridge? If so, it's a purl st and you need to knit it.

Stockinette is just the opposite. With stockinette, you knit the knits and purl the purls. So when you have a "V" shaped st on the left needle, it's a knit stitch and you knit it. When you see a bump or a ridge, it's a purl st and you purl it.

It also helps to put a stitch marker between the seed st border and the stockinette body of the scarf. Do this on both sides of the scarf--one marker on the right hand side between the last st of the border and the first st of the stockinette st body of the scarf, and one marker on the left hand side between the last st of the stockinette st body of the scarf and the first st of the seed st border. The markers will help remind you that you are switching from seed st to stockinette, or visa versa.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

You never said how many stitches you were using so I'm going to assume that you're doing a 3 stitch seed border. This would mean that the first 3 stitches will be - Knit, purl, knit - and the last three stitches will be - Knit, purl, knit.

Start the scarf by knitting all stitches on the first three rows. After the first three rows (Row 1), do the seed stitch (k, p, k) the first three stitches, then slip on a stitch marker, knit all but the last three stitches, slip on a stitch marker, do the seed stitch (k, p, k) the last three stitches. Use a row counter until you get the stockinette stitch really established. This way whenever you're on an 'odd' row (1, 3, 5, etc.) you would knit the stitches inside the border and whenever you're on an 'even' row (2, 4, 6, etc) you would purl the stitches inside the border. When you get the scarf to the length you want it simply knit across the row for three rows.

And just remember, have some fun with it! Good luck!

Answer 3

You may just want to knit a simple scarf in garter stitch, where every row is knit. The edges won't curly and you will have a project that you completed without getting too frustrated. When I'm teaching knitting I find my students get their confidence up more quickly by completing a project or two in garter stitch then gradually move on to other stitches.

Good luck and don't give up. Once you get the hang of reading patterns and remembering where you are in the pattern, you will make beautiful things. I have been knitting for more than 30 years and still loose my place in a pattern from time to time.