knitting question - tension issue?

Question

I have a knitting tension problem (I think). If you imagine a knit stitch as a V, the left side of the V is much tighter than the right side of the V. This makes my knitting look odd, like there's a tight line, a loose line, a tight line, etc running all through my knitting rather than a flat, even fabric. I've looked at many online videos, and as far as I can tell I am forming the stitch correctly, without any additional twists or loops that may cause one "leg" of the V to be tighter. I try to hold the tension of the yarn consistently. I have no idea what causes this. I can typically work it out when I block my pieces, but I'd like to get to the root of it. Any ideas as to what I might be doing wrong?

Answer 1

Most likely it is your yarn. Are you using a singles (a single ply yarn)? Whether it's a singles or not, it sounds like the yarn has a bias.



http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2011/01/avoiding-yarn-twist-why-does-it-matter.html



But this is actually the article I was thinking of. The photo illustrations are quite good and the article is informative:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/FEATwhyply.html



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Center pull balls can add a bias to yarns too. Here's an article on that:

http://stashkitty.com/yarn-twist



If you do use a center pull ball, or yarn "cake," I recommend pulling from the outside instead. Then, if you start seeing some twist creeping into the yarn, all you have to do is turn the cake over to put a stop to it.



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Knitting through the back loop, for a western knitter, will create a twisted stitch, not a stitch that leans with one side wider than the other.



If you guys wanted to see what this looks like, you only had to look at the article that she said looked exactly like what was happening. ie http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/images/PLYBRLambKnit.jpg



And hairbender, I guess this proves that not everything you need to know about knitting was covered in your trusty knitting class. The photo is proof that some stitches do indeed turn out wider on one side than the other. No, washing does not remove fabric bias caused by an unbalanced yarn. Steam blocking may help, but odds are the bias will always show to some degree.



There is always something new around the bend to learn about knitting if you are willing to keep an open mind instead of fixating on what you learned in one class. I learned some new things about color work in Portuguese style knitting that were very interesting just yesterday and plan to give them a try in my next pair of mittens.

Answer 2

Without a picture it's hard to make a suggestion.

Unless it's very extreme what you describe sounds perfectly normal. When the stitch is pushed off the needle that edge has slightly more tension on it. Most people then do their purl row at a slightly different tension so in hand knitting you do get that "stripey" effect made by the different way of holding the needles on the right side and the wrong side.

This is how you can tell machine knitting as on a machine every row is a right side row and the stitches are pulled off straight off in the middle rather than to the side so is completely flat and even.

Answer 3

Without seeing your knitting, it is hard to imagine what you are talking about. I find that washing will tend to even everything out nicely. One side of the stitch CANNOT be tighter than the other side... they are both parts of the same loop. Washing will take care of that.



It doesn't matter whether you take the yarn from the inside or outside, although one will add twist and will subtract twist from your yarn. It depends how you wind your yarn around the needle too. The proper way for the yarn to come off the ball is from the outside, and the ball has to turn to unwind the yarn. You will need to put your ball on holder through the middle. Most people don't care.



Wash your fabric and see if that doesn't clear it up.

Answer 4

Are you knitting into the back of the stitch? This will cause the type of fabric you are describing also. You must knit into the front of the stitch (closest to you) unless stated in the pattern. I use a centre pull on most of my knitting and do not have a noticeable problem with the fabric.

Answer 5

Tensions might want to no longer be at a million. set all stress back to well-known - it ought to allow you to recognize in the guide. for skinny t-blouse fabric make sure you're utilising the right needle and stitch length. carry the bottom and good thread for the first few stitches. Your needles should be wonderful. yet low priced thread does make a large difference. you could prefer to bypass in to a stitching gadget broking (that has Pfaffs) and merely search for suggestion from from them before getting the gadget repaired. make sure you're threading the bobbin properly and putting into the gadget good. i'd get the gadget operating with some woven cotton fabrics first.

Answer 6

Pearl nailed it perfectly!