Knitting - UK (2021-07)

knittingmag.com 63

PATTERNS

cm

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in

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THE MAGIC LOOP
You can also use a single long circular needle for knitting small tubes. This method is
called the looped needle or magic loop method. It is similar to the two-needle method.

1. Distribute the stitches between the two
   needles and put them on the points. The
   loop of wire is to the left, and the working
   yarn is attached to the first stitch on the
   back needle.
   2. Now pull the back needle through the
   stitches so that these stitches are on the
   wire and the tip is free to work the first
   stitch on the front needle. There is still a
   loop of wire to the left. Work the stitches
   on the front needle, then turn your work
   so that the working yarn is at the back
   again. Repeat from the above image.

Both these methods work really well for
small-circumference knitting projects,
or projects where the number of stitches
decreases: they save you swapping to a
circular needle with a shorter wire, and
make the most of your long circulars.

For sock and small circumference knitting
you can also use short double-pointed
needles or sock circular needles. There
are a number of different variations of
sock circular needles, from tiny very short
length circular needles to needles with
very short wires. They may have different
lengths of needle at each end, and even
the shape of the points can differ.

CAST ON METHOD
It’s best to choose a stretchy cast-on
method for circular knitting. My go-to
standard cast-on method is a cable cast
on, but this is quite firm. It may be better
to use a long tail, long tail thumb, or even
Old Norwegian cast-on method. If you
are working from the centre outwards,
there is a circular cast-on method that
uses a crochet hook so you can tighten
the centre.

The most important thing for circular

knitting when casting on is not to twist

when joining. There are a number of ways

to avoid this:

• (^) Cast on the correct number of stitches
and use the tail to knit the first stitch
when joining, then use the working yarn
from that point on.
• (^) Cast on an extra stitch, move this last
stitch to the other needle and knit it
together with the first stitch in the
new round.
• (^) Knit one row flat, then join.
• (^) Swap the first stitch with the last stitch
when joining.
If you have to cast on in the middle of a
project, as in this top, use the knitted-on
or cable cast-on method. This adds the
stitches in the correct position.
You may find you have a different tension
when knitting in the round compared to
flat knitting, so make sure you swatch,
and swatch in the round. To do this you
can make a small tube then cut it to
measure properly – although this isn’t
ideal if you think you may be short of
yarn. Or you can work an open-backed
swatch on a pair of double-pointed
needles. To do this, work the pattern as
a row (first round) on the first double-
pointed needle, then instead of turning,
push the stitches to the other end of the
needle while draping the yarn across
the back loosely, then work the second
‘round’ as a row. Continue until the
swatch is big enough to measure.
This way, you can re-use the yarn.
HINTS AND TIPS

• If you are a loose knitter, circulars
  may be better than double-
  pointed needles as it’s easier to
  secure the ends and stop stitches
  dropping off! You can use tip
  protectors, stitch stoppers or even
  elastic bands.


• Make sure you mark the beginning
  of a round so you know when to
  start and stop.


• If you are using double-pointed
  needles, make sure you tug the
  working yarn when moving to
  the next needle to avoid a ladder
  and to keep the tension constant.
  Or move some stitches to other
  needles every so often to break up
  the ladder.


• If you can’t work out in which
  direction to knit, look at which
  stitch the working yarn is attached
  to and make sure this is at the back:
  the next stitch clockwise is the one
  to work.

t

Knitting in the round is a great way to

work and the possibilities are endless.

There are more and more patterns now

specifically for circular knitting, and for

those of us who hate bulky seams, this is

the way to go.