Why do my stitches increase?

[UmmSamiyah]

Okay, I thought I was getting better with the garter and stockinette stitch....but I am not! everytime I try to cast on a certain number of stiches by the second or third row I have managed to increase the number of stiches on my needles. It is so weird! What am I doing? Please help :

[juliasmum]

I had this problem for awhile when I first started knitting. At the end of the row when I would tighten my yarn, my thread would sort of wrap around the needle funny and the very last stitch would kind of stretch around. I would knit into this wrapped around part where the last stitch I knit was actually being stretched around the needle so I was knitting both parts of that stitch instead of the part of the thread I was supposed to be knitting.

Ok... that would make no sense to me if I were someone else reading it, but I'm not quite sure how to explain it.

Not sure if that is what you are doing, but that is why I kept getting the increases.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

Yup, make sure when you are at the beginning of the row, the yarn is hangin straight down the front, and not in the back-because if it's in the back, the last stitch on the row below will be twisted up the top of the needle, so you'll think each *leg* of the stitch is a seperate stitch and will knit into each one, thus increasing a stitch at each end.

[tboroson]

Hrm, I have two guesses.

1) You're accidentally not dropping an old stitch off the needle after making a new stitch into it - instead, you're slipping that old stitch over onto the right hand needle along with the new stitch, and in the next row you're working both.

2) You're accidentally wrapping the needle when moving the yarn from front to back at the beginning of each row when changing between knitting and purling. This strikes me as less likely, since you say you're getting the increases with both stockingette and garter.

[UmmSamiyah]

okay, dh lost my teflon needles but now I am working with super long plastic needles that are the same size. The tail, what is left after I cast on may be getting wrapped? Is that what you all are saying? I will make sure I am not wrapping it. but that doesn't seem to be the case since it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. But I will give it a shot! Thanks

[yllek]

Hmmm... the tail (the yarn that is hanging free after casting on) is probably okay, but you might be wrapping the yarn (what you're holding in your fingers and attached to the ball) over your needle without realizing it. This happens a lot when new knitters are learning to do ribbing, for example, but it also happens at the end or beginning of a row.

When you finish a row and turn, make sure that you are bringing the yarn forward or back between the needles. Don't let the yarn lay on top of the needle. I hope that makes sense...

Kelly

[UmmSamiyah]

: Okay so I started out with 22 stitches and decided to stop when I reached 111! So I am starting it again. I binded off(for the most part) and am going to try this blanket again!

[Throkmorton]

Are you pulling the old stitch all the way off the needle? If not, you would be making double stitches.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

wow-how many rows did it take you to get from 22 to 111??!?!?! If it happens again the next try, can you take a close up pic and I'll look at it. It's hard to say what's going on without seeing it, LOL