[KnitPicker]

Have tried about 8 times to get started knitting socks with dpns. I am having an awful time and the excitement is wearing thin at doing socks. Have watched videos and mine don't give me room to knit - the dpns are too close to each other. What am I doing wrong? I'm knitting an adult woman's sock with size 3 dpn and yarn to correspond. No room to knit as the dpns are too close together. Please don't tell me to use circulars - tried and my knitting just doesn't turn out on them, so thought I'd try dpns. Maybe I should give up and go back to two needles and forget socks? What is your advice?

 

[Barbara Ann]

I'm not sure what you mean by "no room to knit". Using dpns take practice.......a lot of practice. The first few rows you will feel like you are fighting every stitch. Once you get a few rows on the needles, it usually gets a little easier. But it takes practice.....did I mention...a lot of practice?!

 

[jinx]

What some people do is to start the cuff working flat. When you have this established they add the double point and work in the round. Having something to hold onto as you work the dpns helps you get a start. After finishing sock, you just use the cast on tail and close the few stitches where you knit flat. Jinx

 

[Barbara Ann]

What some people do is to start the cuff working flat. When you have this established they add the double point and work in the round. Having something to hold onto as you work the dpns helps you get a start. After finishing sock, you just use the cast on tail and close the few stitches where you knit flat. Jinx

great idea for a newbie! Try it.

 

[KnitPicker]

Thank you. What I meant by no room to knit on dpns was that the needles touch each other while I'm knitting. It's really hard to get started. I got a loom for socks, but I don't like it. I'd prefer to handknit, if I can ever master it.

 

[RookieRetiree]

Are you using 3 or 4 DPN's for the stitches? I fnd that using 4 DPN's for te sitches and the 5th needle to knit with - then using subsequent needles after I've knitted the stitches off of it to knit the next needle's stitches. That seems to work better than 4 DPNs for me. Try watching some YouTube videos and see how they hold the needles - I do it my own way, but watching them helped me figure out how to do it.

 

[KnitPicker]

Are you using 3 or 4 DPN's for the stitches? I fnd that using 4 DPN's for te sitches and the 5th needle to knit with - then using subsequent needles after I've knitted the stitches off of it to knit the next needle's stitches. That seems to work better than 4 DPNs for me. Try watching some YouTube videos and see how they hold the needles - I do it my own way, but watching them helped me figure out how to do it.

I'm using 3 to hold and one to knit with (4 total). I'll try the 5 and see if that helps. I have watched the tutorials and the needles seem to be more loose and hang lower than mine. Thanks for the advice.

 

[KnitPicker]

I tried to add by editing, but it wouldn't accept it.

I have watched a slew of videos, but they seem to have needles that hang lower than mine and the knitter doesn't seem to have any problem knitting them. When I do it, I'm fighting the other needles and they're always in the way.

 

[RhondaP]

When knitting concentrate on the two you re working with and just let the other two hang. Ignore them.

Good luck. I'm sure if you can knit with 2 needles you can manage this.

 

[KnitPicker]

Thanks for the encouragement. I knit OK with two, but the problem is that the other two get in the way and there doesn't seem to be any room between what I just knitted and what I'm trying to knit. Soooo frustrating. It's like having my five kids with their hands all over my lap trying to take the candy from me all at once!

 

[Befast]

I agree, it took MANY attempts for me to get used to using the DPN's. Sometimes I cast on (if enough room) all one needle and start the first row using the other needles. Then I like to place my marker and use the third needle to pick up a few stitches off the first needle making adjustments in the stitches as needed. (I prefer using 3 needles.) I just kept trying and finally can do the top down socks. Taking my frustrations out on several dishcloth's in between!

 

[Sherry1]

I tried to add by editing, but it wouldn't accept it.

I have watched a slew of videos, but they seem to have needles that hang lower than mine and the knitter doesn't seem to have any problem knitting them. When I do it, I'm fighting the other needles and they're always in the way.

I know exactly what you mean! I am knitting my first socks on a small circular. It is going well. I switched to dpn's for the gusset decrease and experienced the same problem as you did. Most experienced dpn knitters say the unused needles just drop out of the way but mine were in the way like a giant spider! LOL
I think Dreamweaver suggested just practicing with them and scrap yarn. I will try this so I can eventually master the technique and make my knitting more versatile.

 

[KnitPicker]

It would be wonderful if my needles would drop out of the way, but they don't. That's the problem I'm trying to remedy - how to make them drop out of the way. I am determined to lick this; I was going to give socks for Christmas to my 5 kids and their kids, but it looks like it'll have to wait for another Christmas at the rate I'm going. There has to be an easier way with 3 or 4 needles! Something I'm not doing, I guess. I appreciate all the encouragement and will keep trying.

 

[debidoodle]

I know for me, I need to get at least 10 rows in before my needles drop out of the way enugh to be comfortable. I find if I keep my working one, the one with the current stitches, placed on top of the other two, at both ends, it helps.
I hope this made some sort of sense.

 

[vmessier]

Your using a free needle to take off the stitches. Don't pay any attention to the other needles, worry about the two you're working with. One should be the one with the stitches on it and the other a free needle that you use to take off the stitches, which then becomes part of the round.

There are very good youtube videos on using 4 or 5 dpns. It worked for me.

 

[Lucille103]

Thats a great idea - im going to do that for my next sock!! i struggled with the first few rows too - Thank you

 

[kknott4957]

are you putting the stitches on all the needles? when you said the needles were too close together to knit it sort of sounds like that's what you're doing. If you have 4 needles the stitches go on three needles and you knit with the fourth, if you have 5 needles then the stitches are placed on 4 needles and you knit with the fifth.

 

[jinx]

Everyone goes through this problem as they try to master dbn. The only cure is practice, practice, practice.
Just a thought. Do you have all 4 tips of the 2 working needles above the 2 nonworking needles? Jinx

 

[darowil]

Until you have some rows knitted the unused needles have nowhere to fall back. So either stuggle with them or else knit a few rows straight and then join up, as you get more length they will fall back more easily. But they will always be thereto some extent in the way, but as they fall back more you get used to them being there. Although I haven't tried stitches on 4 needles that would give more freedom to I would think- and will look more impressive!

 

[lifeline]

I made a hat the first time I used dpns so I was working with yarn that was thicker and larger sized needles. The first sock I did was very difficult it was so different to the hat. This time (I am onto my second pair of socks) I started off on straights until I had completed the rib.