{"id":2221,"date":"2012-03-06T01:34:33","date_gmt":"2012-03-06T09:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?p=2221"},"modified":"2012-03-06T01:34:33","modified_gmt":"2012-03-06T09:34:33","slug":"enie-meenie-minie-mo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?p=2221","title":{"rendered":"Enie, Meenie, Minie, Mo …"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grab a needle … and off you go! Well in this case, it’s grab 4 needles – or 5 if you’re a purist. Yes, today we tackle knitting with double pointed needles. If you remember the last post, we talked about knitting in the round using one circular needle. Now knitting with just one circular needle is great, as long as you have enough stitches to go around the length of needle you’re using. But what do you do when you start decreasing on that hat you’re making? Or those socks, or the cuffs on the sleeve you’re making from top to bottom?<\/p>\n

Well, one option is to switch to double pointed needles. They’re exactly what the name suggests, needles that have a point on both ends. Yes, this means your work will slip off if you’re not careful, but it also means that you can work from either end of the needle and you can slide stitches along the length of it in either direction! Here’s what they look like if you’ve never seen them before …<\/p>\n

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Now if you remember some basic geometry (yes, math is all around in the knitting world), you’ll remember that a circle can be inscribed within a triangle or a square. With a set of 5 dpns, we can make whichever we prefer – using 3 or 4 needles. It’s this basic concept that allows us to knit in the round using double pointed needles. Let’s use 4 needles to explain. If I take 3 of my four needles, and divide my stitches evenly around them, I have what looks like a numchuck with stitches on it. Now if I join the stitches from the first needle to the stitches on the last needle, I have a triangle. The stitches on the needles however, are circular in shape, as they are on the inside of the triangle. And what about that fourth needle? Well, I’m going to use that one to knit with.<\/p>\n

If I start on the first needle and knit the stitches on it, you’ll see that they get transferred to the fourth needle and the first needle is now empty. So now I’m going to use the first needle to knit the stitches on the second needle and continue in this manner. Again, it’s a good idea to place a stitch marker between the last stitch and the first stitch in your rounds so you know where they start. It is easier to keep track of the beginning of your rounds on dpns, but still possible to lose track. Besides, a stitch marker is a good practice to get used to. Here is a link to the PurlBee’s website where she has a tutorial on how to use the dpns in picture form …<\/p>\n

PURLBEE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Or if you prefer video, here is one I found on YouTube from sapphiresnpurls to demonstrate the process.<\/p>\n