Knitting in the round - trouble w/ my join

[emelsea]

I'm getting very frustrated with the spot where I join my knitting to work in the round. It just doesn't look nice (it looks like a loose spot, and it's very obvious). I've tried pulling my yarn tight; I've tried casting on an extra stitch, slipping it over and K2Tog.

Does anyone have better advice?

[~Megan~]

wait until you are done then use the tail to cover up that spot. Once you are finished and it's all blocked it will look much better.

tech knitting has a nice article about this too.

[cristeen]

It's also helpful to move the join spot every round. That way you don't have a line. Mark the start of round, but each round move the join by a stitch. Or you can switch to circs, which don't tend to leave that line.

But yeah, when you block it, it won't be nearly as obvious.

[flapjack]

How are you casting on? If you're using a long tail, follow Elizabeth Zimmerman's instructions in the Knitters Almanac and simply lay the yarn over the needle to start, then make your loops as normal. Other than that, I do it the same way as the tech knitting article, though I'd never seen that before.

[zech13_9_goforgold]

I join my two sides with a the same stitch you use while casting off. Then, that stitch becomes the last stitch of the round. I agree with the others, though- use the tail to "tie it all together."

[adoremybabe]

This may have already been suggested. When I join in the round, I slip the first stitch (as if to knit or purl depending on the pattern). When I am finished with my project and am sewing in my ends, I use that yarn to make the join look a bit more neat. You'll get the hang of it.

This little trick was taught to me by a very experienced knitter.

I do use the long tail cast on.

[Carolinamidwife]

I just use the tail to sew that shut when I'm done.