KNITTING TENSION. How to knit with ease.
Hi, guys, I'm Kristen and Welcome to Studio Knit! A lot of times beginning knitters knit
really, really tightly. Some people knit really loosely and some people are just right in
the middle which is where I hope that I help you get to.
WHAT IS KNITTING TENSION?
So Knitting Tension is how evenly the yarn feeds into your knitted work from the yarn
ball. Our goal is to have a moderate, even tension throughout our knitting both while
casting on and while knitting.
There are a few good reasons we don't want our knitting tension to be too tight or too
loose.
For starters, your knitted piece will look its best when you are knitting with an even
tension. Otherwise, your work may have stitches that are a mix of tall, short, tight, loose,
resulting in looking pretty wonky.
KNITTING TOO TIGHTLY
It is really common for beginning knitters to start casting on and knitting too tightly.
You'll know that you are knitting your stitches too tightly when it's really hard to insert
your needle into your stitches.
Remember, your stitches cannot be any smaller than your knitting needle size, right? So
there's no need for your yarn to squeeze your needles. Just lightly wrap your yarn around
your needles so it's touching all the way around, but not holding on for dear life.
Test out your stitches to see if they can move along your needle like this without too
much effort.
Your hands will thank you! Knitting really tightly, it often results in stressed out
hands. If you feel your hands are starting to hurt from knitting, just try knitting a
little looser. And you may also want to take a break and do some hand exercises and a bit
of massage.
Before knitting, you also might want to check your mood. If you're stressed out or angry,
you may tend to knit on the tighter side. So, when you're ready to knit, take this opportunity
to check in with yourself, take a breath, and just relax into your knitting.
KNITTING TOO LOOSELY
Knitting loosely, it is not as quite as common for beginning knitters, but it can happen.
So just make sure your yarn is holding onto your knitting needle and it's not looping
around really loosely with a lot of space between.
Test out your stitches to make sure the yarn is holding on to your needles but not in huge,
big open loops.
Oh and if this video's been helpful to you, please do me a favor, LIKE it up. It really
helps me out.
THE PERFECT KNITTING TENSION
Again, an even, steady moderate tension, it's your goal! While knitting, make sure
your yarn is wrapped around the needle, hugging it with a nice, even tension.
Getting into a rhythm with your knitting is helpful, too. If you find yourself getting
interrupted, putting down your knitting needles a lot between stitches, your tension might
become uneven. Personally, I like to keep a nice, steady rhythm with my knitting. Of
course, a slow rhythm is perfectly fine. I also try to complete my knitting stitches,
not putting it down until I have completed that entire knitted row.
Once you have gotten into your rhythm and been knitting for awhile, you will find yourself
naturally knitting evenly. You've found your groove and are no longer thinking about it!
CHECKING TENSION WITH A GAUGE SWATCH
I just wanted to quickly mentions that as you start to check out knitting patterns,
you will start to see a mention checking your gauge with a knitted swatch. This is a way
to determine if you are knitting with the correct tension, and needle and yarn size
to make a project a specific size.
I feel this is not something you need to concern yourself with now, I just wanted you to be
aware there are knitting projects that require correct sizing, you will be creating a swatch
that is checking your tension. For now, just have fun knitting as evenly as possible!
Action Item of the Day: Keep Knitting! Keep knitting that knit stitch row after row. There's
no limit on how much to knit, just keep knitting, be mindful of your tension, and proudly watch
your knitted swatch grow. Tomorrow we are going to be knitting along together and answering
questions from Studio Knit subscribers! And just like that, it's time to check off Day
9 in your knitting series planner. Don't be tense, don't be tight, don't worry, all of
your stitches are going to stay together beautifully, I promise. And I'm super proud of that you've
gotten to this point, so YAY! And I hope that these videos have been helpful to you. If
so, hey, this is a great time to share it with a friend, because you've come this far
and you've succeeded, like, you are officially a knitter now. Like, totally, you are a knitter,
I give you a badge. Knitter. Maybe I should have one down in the description below that
you can put on your social media. I think I'll do that. Okay, congratulations, Studio
Knitters. I'll see you next time! Bye!