Avoid twisting stitches when working in the round

Almost every circular knitting pattern recommends that knitters make sure that the stitches are not twisted before they enter the round for knitting.

There is a very important reason for this.

If your knitting stitches are twisted when you start working in the round, this twist will remain in the knitted fabric, causing the knitted fabric to twist instead of creating a smooth, flat fabric.

An exception to the rule

There is a point where you can reverse the problem of a twisted circular knitting project, after knitting the first round.

If you look at your project at this point and find that there is a twist, you can remove the twist by rotating the knitting and working out the twist.

It may be a little noticeable that something strange has happened, but it’s no big deal.

I have read that you can do this even after knitting up to three rounds, but the longer you wait for it to repair, the wobblier and more noticeable it will be. The earlier the better.

What to do if you have worked several inches before you notice a turn?

Often you will not notice that you have developed a turn in your knitting until you have knitted several rounds, especially if you are working with many stitches, because it is harder to see what happens in just a few rounds when your stitches are all bunched together. (Similar to the picture here.)

The bad news is that there is no way to fix a twist if you have worked after the first one or two rounds, except to rip out your work and be more careful next time.

In theory, you could knit your entire project with the twist included, cut the work open, work in steek style, straighten it, and sew it back together again, but there are several potential problems: This is scary and a lot of work and a garment being worked on The right size can become too small after cutting and sewing.

Turning the stitches on purpose

Sometimes the twist can be used as a design feature, like this fake Moebius Infinity Scarf, but usually a twisted look isn’t what you want in your knitting projects. (Called a fake Möbius because there is a real Möbius developed by Cat Bordhi)

The Epiphany Twisted Cowl

Start by aligning the stitches to connect them without a twist, as you did in that part. Let the tips of the stitches point up and the cast on the edge point down. Now take the first 3 or 4 stitches and rotate them only 180 degrees so that the top of the stitches is facing down and the cast on edge is facing up. Place a marker and knit the first stitch to join them together. Then turn the stitches further to bring them into the correct alignment and knit them comfortably while you go around the needle.

To prevent twisting when knitting

A good trick to make sure that your stitches are not twisted is to place the work on a table after you have put it on and make sure that all the stitches are facing in the same direction without twisting before you join the round or start knitting.

You can also knit a few rows back and forth before joining the round. Then it will be easy to see that there is no twist. In the end you will have to sew a short seam, but it’s no big deal compared to the inconvenience of having to tear out your work when you discover a turn.