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About Circular Knitting
... also called tubular knitting or knitting-in-the-round
Circular knitting or knitting in the round is a form of
knitting
that creates a seamless tube.
Originally, circular knitting was crafted using a set of
four or five double pointed
knitting needles.
Later, circular needles were invented: the circular needle looks like two short knitting needles connected by a cable between them.
Knitting machines also knit in the round; double bed
machines can be set up to knit on the front bed in one direction then the back
bed on the return, creating a knitted tube.
Specialized knitting machines for
sock-knitting use individual latch-hook needles to make each stitch in a round
frame.
History
Many types of sweaters are traditionally knit in
the round; Norwegian ski sweaters are made this way. Even cardigans can be made using
this technique.
The knitter makes a Norwegian-style pullover and stitches the knitting with
a sewing machine to prevent unravelling. The sweater is then cut down the front to
open the cardigan up.
A band for buttons is added by knitting or sewing on a tightly
knitted band, often embellished with woven braid. Icelandic
sweaters are also mainly knitted in the round.
Socks are the garments most
often knit in the round; double-pointed needles, with their ability to hold a
smaller circumference of stitches, are still most often used.
Method
When knitting on circular needles or double
points, the knitting is cast on and the circle of stitches is joined. Knitting
is worked in rounds like a spiral.
Using four or five double pointed needles
1. Cast on stitches on THREE or FOUR needles.
Three supports your knitting on a triangle, four makes a square
"tube" as you work. The knitting will be round, however, when you are
finished.
2. Divide the stitches equally over the needles
and knit a round. To close the circle, knit the first stitch with the working
yarn from the last stitch - and a nice trick is to use the tail of the cast on,
and knit it with the first stitch. This pulls the knittng in tighter to avoid
causing a gap. Keep the last and first needle as close together as possible.
Make sure the knitted stitch is tight, by keeping it close to the last needle. This
also avoids a gap, though any gap can be closed by a discreet stitch after you
finish the article. Again, the tail of the cast on is helpful; stitch one or
two small stitches with it through the gap and tighten.
3. Continue to work rounds, using the one empty
needle to knit off and keeping the stitches evenly divided. Hold the two
working needles as usual, and drop the other needles to the back of the work
when not in use. Believe it or not, the stitches won't fall off the needles.
*Note*Experienced knitters prefer using 5, rather than
4 DPN's (double pointed needles). When using four, three are your project needles,
with the fourth being
your working needle. This produces a triangular working surface. When using
five, four are your project needles, with the fifth being your working needle.
This produces a square working surface, more similar to a circle.
Using a circular needle
1. Choose a circular length that is appropriate
for the project you are knitting. If the needles are too short, the knitting
will bunch up. If too long, the ends of the knitting will not meet. Generally,
a hat or turtleneck is worked on a 16" circular. A sweater body is
normally worked on a 29" long circular, until decreasing for the yoke or
neck, when a shorter (22" or 16") needle is required. For some small
work, such as cuffs, there are 11" needles but most knitters resort to a
set of double points (4 or 5 needles.)
2. Cast on the required number of stitches. Place
a marker on the right needle, next to the last cast-on stitch. This is
important to mark the beginning of a round. Use a stitch marker, a circle of
yarn, a coil-less safety pin or a rubber o-ring for a marker. It should slide
easily over the needle.
3. Make sure all the bottoms of the cast-on
stitches are facing downwards. If you have a twist, you end up with a real
problem. This is the trickiest part of circular knitting, for the cast-on stitches
want to rotate around the needle cable. Before you join, run your hand around
and orient the stitches so that the loops are up and the knot-like cast-on is
downwards. Then carefully knit your first stitch and check again. This cannot
be corrected without ripping all the way down later on, so check and check
again.
4. Push the right needle into the first cast-on
stitch on the left needle. Knit a stitch. Pull yarn after the first stitch (or
two) to tighten the inevitable gap in the join.
5. Continue to knit around (right needle goes into
stitch on left needle) until you reach the marker. Now, one round is completed.
Slip the marker back to the right needle and continue on to the second round,
just as you worked the first. Each round is equivalent to one row in flat
knitting.
Knitting
Small Circumferences Using a Long Circular Needle
If you hate double-pointed needles, or you don't
have a circular needle with a cable short enough for your small round object,
it is quite possible to knit in the round using a long circular needle. There
are several websites that describe the technique:
Original Source:
wikipedia
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Web site: www.getknitting.com
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