BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting NEWBIE Knitter here!

Hi everyone, my name is Marie May and I just learned how to knit a couple of weeks ago. I've been crocheting for a few years now but finally worked up to nerve to use two needles, lol. I'm knitting and purling quite evenly but since I'm on the klutzy side I tend to drop some stitches and end up with holes but I guess all I need is more practice right? I hope to get to know you all here!

Hello Marie May, welcome!

Yes, many of the problems beginner knitters have wear off with practice.

I have a suggestion though. Count your stitches, and count them after each row for a little while, until you keep getting the number you expect.

Sometimes holes are not dropped stitches, but rather ones that have been accidentally picked up where there should be none! If this is the case, what happened was you either got the yarn caught over the needle (known as a "yarn over" this is sometimes done on purpose to create lace)... or... you didn't get your stitch pulled all the way through the loop so you got a slipped stitch and a yarn over rather than a knit stitch. Both of these create holes, but fortunately, not the kind that run.

Counting your stitches should help. If you wind up with an extra stitch, you can either ask someone to show you how to "unknit" the last row, or how to fix the mistake.

Thanks for the welcome and tips! I will try counting and hopefully that'll help with the holes. I'm finally making nice even knits and purls so I'm going to try and make myself a simple halter top. Wish me luck!

hi, welcome to the forum and good luck with your knitting.

It sounds as if you are making progress and the halter top sounds very nice. Do let us see it when it's finished!

Hi Mary May,
You can also check out our DVD called The Zen of Socks. It will teach you not only sock knitting but it starts with general knitting instructions.
You would enjoy it.

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