Saturday, March 8, 2014

ladders and double pointed needles



so i have spent every day after work this week feverishly knitting away on my sweater, going great guns, lots of progress! i had my first sleeve 90% finished when i stopped and gave it a good look and saw the LADDERS! i kind of knew this was happening but thought it would be o.k...however, deep down i realized this flaw would plague me forever...

do you have the problem of ladders when knitting with double pointed needles? my photos are not the best, but can you see in the first picture what looks like 2 creases running the length of the sleeve? these are where i am changing from one needle to the next and there is a loose stitch every time i move to the next needle. there were three of these ladders along the sleeve at each intersection of the needles. the second picture shows this a bit better.

i got on the world wide web and found this helpful link. i ripped out my sleeve down to the cuff and started again using tip #2, "forward switching". and it worked!!!!!


six episodes of "house of cards" later, look! a nice smooth sleeve! yay!!!!!  i have always pulled the yarn tightly when going to the next needle but still made the ladders. maybe i'm pulling too tightly, i don't know, but ladders have always been a big frustration, so i am glad to have finally found a solution!!!

i hope this link will help you if you have this issue! now to start a new sleeve and a new series. something more cheerful this time!!!

1 comment:

  1. i knit socks and used to worry about this, but realised [eventually..] that they disappear when the socks are worn and washed ! yippee ! i worry no more. still i might give your new found method a go if it's not too difficult - sorry to admit i am a lazy knitter .
    you are making grand progress and i am very impressed.

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