Hi Everyone, I am a beginner. I've just started knitting because of the encouragment of a friend. It brought back memories of my grandmother when she tried to teach me. That was 40 years ago. I still remember somethings but I never really stuck with it. Now my mom is knitting and I want to share things with her. I've been watching videos on line (pictures or explanations in books just don't do it for me. I started a scarf to teach myself the purl stich. I'm knitting a row and purling a row. It really looks great except for the curl. The whole thing is curling. Now, I guess I could start a new trend but I'm not sure it will catch on. Will the curl go away if I block it? Is there anything I can do to it? Perhaps I should just enjoy the curl. It's a very soft yarn (angora) with a gold thread that runs in it. The skein was only $.99 so it wasn't a lot of money. It has taken a lot of time. I want to try another scarf next with 5 stiches knit stitch and 5 stiches purl. I hope that won't curl. Will it? Any advice. :) New Sue

Hey Sue, I'm a newbie too. Just like you, I picked it up again after about 30 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far.

Marge can provide great advice and has some wonderful tips and illustrations in her forum articles. They have really helped me.

The knit 5 purl 5 is a stitch I've used in dishcloths with great success. I've always began and ended each row with knit, which makes a border, so the piece doesn't curl. You may not want a border in a scarf though.

Check the blocking article, I think the answer might be there.
Good luck.

SimplySue,

When you knit one row and purl one row, you are doing stockinette stitch. This stitch will always curl at the edges. The way to overcome this is to knit a border on each side. Working a boarder is easy and there are two different easy border stitches you can use:
1. Make a k1, p1 border. I like to use about 5 sts for the border on each edge. So: P1, k1, p1, k1, p1 at the beginning of the row. Then work until 5 sts from the end of the row and then p1,k1,p1,k1,p1.

2. use a garter stitch border. Garter stitch is what you get when you knit OR purl every row. Working this one is extra easy - simply knit across the knit rows, then knit the first 5 sts of the purl row, purl to withing 5 sts of the end of the row and knit the last 5 sts.

Either one will solve the curling edge problem.

A k5, p5 pattern will stop curling provided that the pattern changes to p5, k5 after a given (short) number of rows. A straight k5, p5 used over the length of a long piece will create a long ribbing.

Thanks Llyn!

Blocking the scarf will help some, but as Llyn says, stockinette just curls. Since it is a practice scarf, I'd wear it curled

Good luck,

Here's a question. If I use two or more yarns in stockinette stitch, would that possibly reduce the curl?

I've been thinking about that, but haven't tried it yet. The scarves I'm making are for kids and they will probably be washed frequently. I'm thinking blocking would be a temporary fix, since a scarf won't be joined with anything like in a sweater.

No, I stockinette just curls. Garter stitch doesn't, and basically any stitch with a knit purl texture lays pretty flat. For scarves my favorite is broken rib (from Barbara Walkers Treasury of knitting patterns.)

Good luck,

I just found these tips on knittinghelp.com "If you've already started a scarf in stockinette, you can back it with fleece to keep it from rolling, or you can turn it into a bag (fold it in half, and sew up the sides) or other object. Felting will also eliminate rolling, although be aware that it changes the knitting dramatically."

Maybe one of these solutions will work.

Broken Rib stitch is next on my list to learn for my scarves.

I'm much faster on straight needles, so I started a scarf in stockinette, making it wide enough to sew the edges together, to create a tube, and eliminate the edge curl. However, the yarn was too thick, the needles too small, and it was taking way too much time. After knitting about 6 inches, I realized I would have to turn a 4" wide tube that's over 40" long inside out. I know it could be done, but probably not by me. Needless to say, that project got unraveled.

I've decided if I want the stockinette stitch look for a scarf, I'll just knit it in the round on circular needles. To my surprise and my Mother-in-Law's amazement, kntting in the round using the twisted knit stitch creates a slant. It looks like the piece was knitted on a bias.

Clover has 11" bamboo circular needles. The cables are short enough for making scarves as small as 4 to 5 inches in diameter.

The tube idea is a great one for stockinette scarves, most commercially made scarves are done on machines with very fine yarns as a tube, but it generally isn't worth it to knit at the small gauge of the machines.

And now I'm heading off to swatch the twisted stitch to see this bias thing!

Thanks for the tip.

The bias thing from knitting in the round with the twisted knit stitch also looks really cool on a hat. I've made several starting with straight needles, the base yarn and a specialty yarn. After a few inches, I drop the specialty yarn, transfer to circular needles and continue with the base yarn.

If you decrease stitches at the same spot on the rows, it makes this funky swirl at the top. I'll see if I can get the detail to show up in a photo and post it, if successful.

I haven't been following a set pattern for my hats, pretty much picking a size and working up from that. I'm not very proficient with double pointed needles yet. So I decrease a bit and then thread through the remaining stitches. I think this accentuates the funky swirl with the twisted knit stitch.

I think that sounds like a great way to finish hats, it adds a really nice design element.

Sounds also like you are having a lot of fun with these hats. Enjoy!

I so hope the detail is visible in these photos

This one has the spiral affect from where I decreased at the same spot on each row.

I hoping you can see the "slant" in the white and pink hat. It's a little subtle in this piece, but the bias is more pronounced in a longer piece, such as a scarf

Sorry about the extra column in that last post.
I'm new to including pictures and will try not to
make that mistake again.

The pictures show up really nicely in my browser, what great hats!

Started a scarf in Twisted Rib stitch yesterday. I already knit "twisted" so it was easy for me. I really like the texture. But I have a slight problem.

The right hand edge on the right side is not the same as the left hand edge. It's not curling, it's more of a ripple, while the left hand edge is straight, neat, and flat.

Could this be a tension issue? Any suggestions appreciated!

It definitely could be, have you tried using a selvage stitch? That is where you slip as if to purl the first stitch of every row.

I'll keep checking for solutions.

I'm not familiar with the selvage stitch,
but I'm going to look it up. I finished the scarf
last night and I'm thinking once it's blocked
the problem will be solved.

Thank for your help.

A selvage stitch is just an extra stitch (or two) at each end of your knitting, the former Bellaonline knitting editor has an article about selvedge stitches here.

Just got back from Daytona and knitting lessons with my MIL. I said something about Stockinette always curling, to which she commented it doesn't have to always.

I haven't tried this yet, but we did see it in the swatches at JoAnn's. My MIL said to slip the First stitch as if to kit or purl and complete the row.

Haven't had time to re-check the article you referenced, but this sounds similar to the selvage stitch thing.

Comparing the display swatches, this did work best with bulky yarns in smaller widths, i.e. less than 8 inches. The finer yarns swatches were on average about 6 inces in width and still curled.

Hope this helps. I've got some bulky yarn I'm going to try it on. Looking at all the swatches, I wondered if someone actually gets paid to knit all those little squares and retangles, or are they done on a machine.

I've not noticed selvedge stitches helping with curling, but who knows! Stockinette seems to always curl for me, that is why I never (rarely) make stockinette scarves.

And as to the swatches in stores, I think it depends, but yes often they are machine knit by the yarn manufacturers and passed on to the shops. However, I've been in plenty of shops where the employees happily knit swatches too!