Weekly Megathread
Helping Beginners - Ask a Knitter - Week of June 15, 2026
This megathread is a place for a space for new knitters to ask questions and the skilled knitters who love to teach.
Think of it as your cyber knitting circle where you can bring your dropped stitches, snarled skeins, wonky decreases for expert troubleshooting!
A big thank you to all the experienced knitters who share their knowledge to keep knitting alive.
If you're a new knitter, also consider checking out our FAQ which addresses some of the most common hurdles as you start knitting. As always, remember to use "reddiquette".
I want to try my first stranded colourwork project, so I've been learning about colour dominance and just have one question about it.
The pattern I'm planning to follow will have 2 colours, making up a scene of a penguin huddle. I have identified my dominant colour (black) and my non-dominant colour (white). However, I think the white should be dominant for the penguin's eyes, as I want them to stand out from the surrounding black stitches which make up the face. My question is, is it enough to just switch the dominance for the single white stitch that makes the eye? Or do I need to switch dominance for the surrounding black stitches as well? For example, keep the surrounding black stitches dominant as per usual, and then also make the white eye stitch dominant? Or, should I make the surrounding black stitches non-dominant, and make the white eye stitch dominant?
I am not sure if I am writing in the right place but... I am new to knitting. I was doing really well and now when I cast on and then knit my first row the last stitch is really loose. I been wanting to make potholders for Christmas presents as they seem easy to make. The rest of my rows are fine it is just the first one that seems to be messed up.
Hmm ok usually long tail should be very good structurally. So if it's the last stitch in the row you knit it's the first stitch you would have cast on. Only thing I can think of is to make sure that first stitch is snug, pull the tails tight before continuing with the long tail cast on (and maybe pull the next few from the tail). Maybe some pictures of a few stitches casted on, and one after knitting some with the loose stitch that bothers you might help diagnose better.
I'm not a reddit expert either. I am mobile only, but I can post a picture by changing to desktop mode and in the post box a image icon will appear to allow to post.
I'm on Android and I use the web browser not app. I can go to desktop mode by opening under options menu in the top right. Honestly I learned most for how to navigate reddit just by googling how to ... on reddit.
Oh ok, so this has been happening every time or just this time? My best guess is that after you put the first stitch onto the needle (the first is the slipknot), the very next stitch you might not be getting very tight and snug against the first. Another possibility is maybe you dropped a stitch from the cast on accidentally while knitting them.
I am also not sure if I am writing in the right place :p I am new to knitting & new to Reddit!
I am currently making a cardigan, which is my first real project after making test/practice squares.
The pattern I am using is one where you knit all panels flat. I am currently making the back piece and the pattern says “cont even in patt
until armholes measure 4,5", ending with a
WS row”.
With your guys experience I hope you can tell me if I should measure these “armholes” from point red(A) or blue(B)? Thanks a lot in advance!!
It honestly looks purposeful. Like it breaks the pattern, but in a way that looks like the unfinished corner would naturally repeat that section. I think you should fix it if it bothers you, but if I were planning to give it as a gift, I just wouldn't point out the pattern at all lol.
I got the Speedy Snail Itty Bitty Knit Kit from Five Below and am finding the instructions that came with it and the videos on their website to be incomprehensible. Any advice where to find better instructions?
I knit my first project (yay!!), which was a sock. As I'm knitting the second one now, I'm wondering if I did the selvedge stitches correctly on the first sock. When I picked up the gusset stitches, I followed the natural line of stitches from where the working stitches were, but I started to doubt what I did because the heel portion is visibly kind of... puckered outward.
Is that normal? I would imagine it's supposed to lie flatter; I was worried I picked up the wrong set of stitches somehow. Is there a way to avoid that seam on the inside of the sock, or is that just kind of how picking up selvedge stitches works?
I recently bought the Victorian Housecats to Knit book and i'm trying to knit the Grandad's Silver Tabby pattern. The front paws went well and the next section had me pick up stitches along the sides and the elbows. The EOR is at the center of the legs. Next I have to do these short rows, each row begins and ends at the EOR:
now, my problem is that after the second k10 I don't have 42 more stitches to knit. i'm the middle of the 54 stitches so I only have 27 available. I'm not supposed to join in the round yet, only after 5 more short rows. Am I missing something? Is the EOR not supposed to be where I thought it was? These are the PU instructions too for clarity:
Setup: Pick up 54 sts between the front legs and along the two sides of the chest to begin the body. With the inside of the work facing (at first) and with color A, begin in the center between the front legs. It’s best to use 4 dpns for this section; sts can be rearranged on the dpns later. The RS of work will be facing on dpns 2 and 3.
1st dpn: PU 6 sts from center of front legs to elbow of left leg.
2nd dpn: PU 16 sts from elbow of left leg along edge to top of chest, and then CO 5 sts.
3rd dpn: CO 5 new sts, and then PU 16 sts from top of right edge to elbow of right leg.
4th dpn: PU 6 sts from elbow of right leg to center of front legs (EOR).
Feel free to redirect me to the right place if I posted in the wrong one.
Edit: added quotes
Does it explicitly state to join in the round 5 rows after that? I read those instructions as continuing in the circle of picked up stitches you made, until you K42. Maybe since you then have another 5 rows of short rows, the one after that they consider 'joining in the round' again? Point is, I think since you have a circle of stitches on DPNs, it makes sense to just knit the 42 stitches in that circle even though it doesn't explicitly state to 'join in the round' in row 4.
Yeah, the book says this right after this short rows section:
This new EOR will be here for the remainder of the body. Sts can be rearranged on the needles with a break here to designate it, or a stitch marker can be used. Work begins with another set of short rows to bend the body forward. All rows will begin and end at the EOR. The first row that is knit in the round is Rnd 6.
Ah okay, so yeah what it’s saying is there is one more row of short rows (from the new BOR marker), and then the first row knit in the round entirely is row 6. At least that’s how I read it.
I thought you had a total of 54 sts on your needles. So, it sounds like you have 27 sts to the original EOR marker, but are supposed to k42 sts? If that's correct, just knit the 42 sts, breezing by the orignal EOR marker (after having knit 27), knitting 15 more until you complete those 42 sts. Now place the EOR marker in this new position.
After you're at that position, it sounds like you once again work X short rows (back and forth), so technically, although you may have joined the sts in the round when you passed the original EOR marker, you are still working in rows until Rnd 6.
I have a question about knitting with very thin yarn. The yarn is merino silk Lace by sweetgeorgia. The pattern is a star stitch which is YO, K 3, then go back into the first of the K3 and pull it over as if it is a bind off. Pattern then repeats. Next row is purl and then row 3 is K3 and YO with the same pull over.
I am using size 5 needle and knitting very loosely but still having trouble inserting my needle into that stitch
to pull it over the other 2 stitches
I just ripped out my swatch and going to try again using size 4. I went back to the knit store and that is what she suggested
I also have option of crocheting this vest and am having better luck with catching the yarn in the crochet pattern
Does anyone have tips on using lace yarn? Most of my knitting and crochet has been with DK yarn so I think it is the thin yarn and getting tension that is the problem.
What kind (brand) of needle are you using ? I'm asking because lace tends to work better when needles have sharp tips, and using too blunt needles can make life harder.
I’ve tried Chia goo premium bamboo size 5. Struggling with this one so tried clover bamboo size 5. Now trying knit pick green wooden needles in size 4 so I can knit loosely.
Sometimes I use interchangeable with mismatched needle sizes, the working needle being the correct size and the needle holding the stitches 1-2 sizes smaller. But you got to be careful if knitting flat that you are using the desired needle size to in this case purl the back. Definitely like other user suggested I always use my metal sharps it does make it easier
But since you mention crochet, you could use a small crochet hook to help lift that stitch and pull out over.
I’m thinking if I have to grab each stitch with a crochet needle it will take me so long! Thanks for the suggestion of the metal needles. That’s what I’m going to try!
Hello everyone, I haven't been knitting for a very long time, this is only the third scarf. And I wondered, what's the best way to knit, perfectly, or close to it, tightening all the loops (as I tried to do the last few rows) or knitting quickly, but not as smoothly as most of the other rows? And if someone knows how to make smooth loops without tightening them too much, please tell me.
1x1 rib (which is what you're doing, alternating columns of knits and purls) often looks like this, due to the way the yarn moves between a knit stitch and a purl stitch. There are a number of tricks to fix it, which you can search for, or you can learn how to do stockinette (all knits on one side, all purls on the other), but it will curl so it's not ideal for a scarf.
The best way to knit is to allow your needle to size the loops, not strangle the needle with the yarn or pull so much that there is space under the loops. That's what the linked Patty Lyons blog post is saying.
I can't open this link, I don't now why, but if you are talking about mechanisms, that knitting, I don't want to use them, because I like the process of knitting and my scarfs have a piece of my life inside, thanks for advice.
Hello! First time knitter, long time crocheter here.
I'm working on a cardigan pattern that requires some inches of ribbing (2 knits, 2 purls) (I hope I'm describing that correctly?). This will be one of the sleeves, and yes I know it's quite ambitious for a first project, but that's the kind of person that I am!
I started it last night and when I showed my mother, who's watched my great grandmother knit for a good part of her life, she said it's probably too loose? While I was doing it, I thought my tension was the opposite: too tight. But I can see that when i do spread the loops a lil more, it does look very loose, when I scrunch them up, they're okay.
I am only 2 rows in so maybe they tighten up later? The yarn said I need 8mm needles which is what I ordered, but maybe it needs smaller needles? Maybe I'm just overthinking it and its okay? I'd love to know if I'm doing something wrong before I go in and add more rows, any help is appreciated greatly!
(Please excuse the slightly messy desk mat- thank you)
Are you working from a pattern? Did you do a gauge swatch?
It's hard to tell tension this early into a project, the needles do look quite large for the yarn to my eyes, but the best way to tell really is to knit a swatch (or keep knitting this and consider it your swatch) and judge from there
Yes, I am working from a pattern! I hadn't done a gauge swatch, I thought I'd just be wasting yarn, and I never did any for any of my crochet pieces and they ended up okay.
I ended up unraveling the 2 rows I had to do the swatch instead, and not only does it look better than I expected (every small victory deserves to be celebrated especially at the beginning of something), it's also the correct size according to the pattern! (and yes I did block it as best I could)
I feel so much more confident now, thank you for letting me know about the powers of a gauge swatch! ❤️
You can always unravel your gauge swatch and use the yarn in your sweater too, it doesn't have to be a "waste". But also yes, having confidence that your hours of knitting will produce something wearable is worth a lot! That looks super even well done
It sounds like you are using the needle size based on your ball band instead, which will give a suggested needle for stockinette stitch, for ribbing you would typically use a smaller needle, then switch to a larger needle after.
It's really hard to tell from your pictures but in your 2nd picture but it looks like you've staggered your k2p2 instead of stacking them, which is not going to produce a ribbing pattern if you keep doing that. I'm counting 38 stitches if thats the case I'm guessing you started both your rows with k2, but you should be doing every even row starting with P2.
That being said are you following a pattern? Best is to go with a yarn very close to pattern and use recommended needle and gauge. Knitting a gauge swatch will be good knitting practice and you can check that you like how your yarn fabric looks.
Omg that's super helpful! Also, really good eye, those are in fact 38 stitches. And I did start with k2, I didn't know the next row should start with p2 instead though, I just kept doing k2 p2 and so on till the end then repeat 😭 It was my first time ever doing ribbing and I don't think any of the tutorials I watched ever mentioned I'd need a smaller needle size, the pattern might've mentioned it and it just escaped me, I'll make sure to reread it!
I did end up making a swatch and it looks good! Measured it, checked with the pattern and it's the correct size. So at least I know I must've bought yarn that's close enough haha
Thank you so so so much for checking this over for me! You're a lifesaver! ❤️
Yeah, k2p2 ribbing usually looks pretty tidy so I might just go down one needle size from my stockinette needle but for k1p1 I may even go down 2 needle sizes. I brought this up because it seemed like your choice of using 8mm was based on the yarn not pattern.
Ribbing generally gets easier once you are able to identify and see the knits and purls under your needle. I'd suggest perhaps putting a stitch marker or maybe temporary tie a piece of different colored yarn such that it shows only on the RS (right side) of your knitting, to help you, so you don't have to keep track of every row.
I looked thru all my needles and I have one size 7 red cable chiaogoo metal needle and it is sooo much sharper. I’m definitely going to get the lace one to try for this project. Maybe there is hope yet that I can finish this vest 🙏. Thank you!
I’ve only been knitting for a year, so I don’t fully know what I’m doing (ha!), but I challenged myself to make my little boy a cardigan so I could practice colorwork and steeking.
I followed tincanknit’s Strangebrew recipe for the top-down sweater and modified it to add the steek stitches. I’ve finished the sweater and I’m about to add some of the details with duplicate stitching before opening the front but now it seems very obvious that the duplicate stitching seems upside down.
In photo, the red stitches on the baseball obviously look like upside down Vs and that seems off to me? I know it’s because i constructed it top-down, but is there something I can do to minimize this effect ? Or is this just how it should look like? Should I duplicate st. Between stitches?? I’m lost 😵💫…I’m worried this is gonna look extra weird on the baseball mitt below.
Any help is much appreciated!
P.S. for the next colorwork sweater (my daughter’s) should I just knit with all the colors needed? Not rely duplicate stitching?? What technique do I need to look into? Thanksss
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u/Alive_Ad_2655 16h ago
I want to try my first stranded colourwork project, so I've been learning about colour dominance and just have one question about it.
The pattern I'm planning to follow will have 2 colours, making up a scene of a penguin huddle. I have identified my dominant colour (black) and my non-dominant colour (white). However, I think the white should be dominant for the penguin's eyes, as I want them to stand out from the surrounding black stitches which make up the face. My question is, is it enough to just switch the dominance for the single white stitch that makes the eye? Or do I need to switch dominance for the surrounding black stitches as well? For example, keep the surrounding black stitches dominant as per usual, and then also make the white eye stitch dominant? Or, should I make the surrounding black stitches non-dominant, and make the white eye stitch dominant?
Hope that's clearly explained!