Knitting in the round - Easier than you'd think

 

Unexpectedly I found myself in possession of possibly the TINIEST set of knitting needles you've ever seen. Looking for all the world like a rainbow-coloured pair of toothpicks joined by a piece of stout nylon, these needles are meant for 'knitting in the round' which was another skill I was keen to try out. 

So over the weekend, thanks to a very quick and easy tutorial, I thought I'd give it a go. 

Joining in the Round - YouTube

Casting on is pretty much the same as it is with 'flat' needles (ie the ones you nearly always start knitting with), the tricky part comes when you've knitted your first 'row' and realise that you're actually not going to stop knitting and the only way of marking out the beginning and end of your 'row' (or circle in this case) is a stitch marker. 

See the little orange padlock at the start of my knitting? That's the 'start / end' of my row and I figured it was about time I used those little plastic padlocks I got with my crochet hooks. 

The first few rows look a bit straggly and disappointing, but once you get into your groove you start to knit continuously (just like you do when you're crocheting a massive spiral in the usual 'in the round' crochet methods). Building up a tube shape that looks quite cool. 

A couple of extra pieces of advice for newbies. 

• Check the size of your needles. The ones I bought from Amazon (pictured to the right) are tiny, and I do mean TINY! So if you're using thin cotton thread like I was, you'll probably be fine and your stitches will be ultra fine too. 
• But you won't get anywhere trying to knit up chunkier yarn with these puppies, you'll need proper sized circular needles so don't just check the gauge (these are 4mm needles), check the length (unfortunately they're 40cm so not exactly a lot of room for stitches, I squeezed about 45 cast on in the usual way without them being too squeezed up).  
• Here's the link to the needles though, they are tiny and quite cute which means that if you're a 'travelling' knitter, these and a ball of yarn might be all you need to keep your hands busy while out and about: KnitPro 40 cm x 4 mm Symfonie Fixed Circular Needles, Multi-Color: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
• The last thing to say is heed the advice in the video and keep all the 'crossover' bits of your stitches facing into the circle - twist at your peril, because your work will never be untwisted once you start knitting it up!

Here's a better look at the 'cuff' as it's progressing. 

Looks a bit like a scruffy birds nest but as I rather fancied making hats or socks, I can see me rather liking 'knitting in the round' as it feels a bit more like the relentlessness of crocheting long rounds, you literally don't need to follow a pattern until the start and the end of your work, you just knit, purl, fancy stitch, alternate and you'll end up with a rather cool looking tubular structure that can form the basis of various types of design. 

The other thing I invested in this weekend was a knitting bowl. As someone who struggles with not getting in a massive tangle with wool or thread I figured this thing would be a worthwhile investment. 

It's probably too tiny if you're used to using large chunky skeins of wool, in fact try as I might I couldn't seem to source anything bigger than about 7cm in circumference but if you've got a large salad bowl or something similar with smooth edges, it's actually a really useful thing to use. Shove your wool in it, pull out your working yarn, 

....and it'll just smoothly roll around in the bowl without getting trapped around the leg of your chair, or your leg. 

Useless if you've got cats or inquisitive dogs, mind you!!

So far knitting is still feeling a bit like a skill that's going to take a lot more time and practice to master, but when I returned to crochet this weekend, I felt like some kind of ninja crochet master, instantly picking up a hook and knocking out a tidy little Astronaut doll for my nephew with no pattern and (not that many) mistakes. 

Have a great week, catch you in the round!