Stitches

knitting, why am i getting a long string of yarn when attempting to knit my first row after casting on?

Public Comments

1. I like to knit too, but I'm soooo not a pro, I usually go to Peter Jones/ John Lewis, they have a haberdashery section, with lots of people who would love to help. That is if you live in the UK
2. Sorry, I'm having a hard time visualizing your problem. Are you talking about the long tail that you will weave in when you're done? http://www.modeknit.com/weave_ends.html http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/FEATfall04TT.html http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/a/weaving_in.htm Or are you knitting your first row from the wrong end of the needle so that the yarn stretches across your work from one edge to the other? Here are some videos that show how to cast on & knit: http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques http://www.helloknitty.com/videoinstr.htm (RealPlayer) You could go to your LYS (local yarn shop) or a local knitting group (like S'nB or Meetup) to show someone and ask for help. Most everyone likes to help a "newbie" -- after all, we were all newbies once.
3. I think what's happening is you're knitting is too tight, and it's creating a string of yarn between the stitches. What helps is to keep your first row VERY loose, and keep your stitches really close to the tips of the needles; that way you won't be having to pull and stretch the stitches to get them across the needles. I hope this helps! The first row is always the hardest. : )
4. Just to add the the last comment, if your cast on is too tight, try casting on with a larger needle. This will help your stitches from being too tight when you begin to knit. If your worried about leaving a really long tail, don't worry too much. you can cut off alot of it and then just weave in the rest!
5. How are you casting on? I'm betting that you are casting on with a backwards loop (e-loop) over your thumb. This method, while easy to learn, also leaves something to be desired by allowing the yarn to be too long between stitches and then you have this problem as you get further along the first row. If this is what's happening you need to learn to knit on by putting a slip knot on the needle and knitting into it to make your next stitch, and then knitting into that one to make the next stitch and so on.
6. I believe you are using what is called the long tail cast on method, as the others have said if you leave your stitches a bit loose when going to knit your first row, you should not encounter this issue. The best place I have found to learn other types of casts on is DIYnetwork.com and goto a program called Knitty Gritty.
7. You are casting on the fast way. There are 2 ways to cast on stitches. If you use the fast way you have to be very careful not to pull your needles too far apart. I can't describe the other way to cast on but it is pictured in most books.