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Knit > Knitting in the Round on Circular Needles
Knitting in the round on circular needles allows you to create tubes of
knitting. Many also prefer to use circular needles for flat knitting as
well because of the way circular needles distribute the weight of the work into
the lap instead of at the end of a set of needles. When you use circular
needles for flat knitting, you don't join the round.
Circular needles come in many lengths: the length you choose depends on
the number of stitches that the needle can physically accommodate as well as the
gauge at which you are working: circular needles that are too long will
cause the stitches to stretch. There is a point at which your knitted tube
will be too small to be worked on circular needles. At that point, you
will need to do your circular work on
Double Pointed Needles.
Another characteristic of knitting in the round is that the right side is
always facing you. This means that if you are working up a stockinette
swatch, you will knit all rows.
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Step 1: You must first cast on or pick up
stitches to have a foundation of stitches on your circular needles just as
you would for straight knitting. (See
Knit Tutorial Index
for techniques used to cast on or pick up stitches.) In
preparation for joining, arrange the stitches so that they are not twisted.
In this example, the cast-on edge is facing center. |
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Step 2: Picking up the circulars so that the start
of your cast-on / picked-up foundation row is in your left hand, and the end
of your foundation row is in your right hand, place a marker on your right
needle. This marker will indicate the end of the round.
Make sure to keep your stitches untwisted! |
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Step 3: Purl or knit the first stitch on the
left needle as desired (knit
shown). Pull the loop on the right needle through
the stitch on the left needle. Pull the yarn tight to avoid a hole. |
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Step 4: Continue working the stitches. You
will find that you need to periodically redistribute the stitches evenly
around the circular needle so that they do not pull. |
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Step 5: Continue working until you come to the
marker. This marks the completion of the first round. Slip the
marker to the right needle and continue working the number of rounds
required. |