The Loop on the Loom is Too Tight

 

. Many of you have left comments about tight stitches. The reasons for this problem are many but I wanted to give a short list of the most common. I’m certain that at least one will help if you find that a stitch is too tight.

Note that it is possible that you do one or more of the techniques I list below and not get tight stitches. We all loom knit differently.  This is only a short list and it is built on my own personal experiences and those of many of my readers.Your problem may not be delineated here and if so I’m really sorry. Take the opportunity to leave a comment below and I will try to see if I can help you with your unique situation.

Don’t Push

I know that there are loom knitting teachers that tell loom knitters to push the loops down on the pegs before knitting-off. This is not a right or wrong technique but it may not work for everyone.  The problem with this is that when it’s time to pull the bottom loop over the top some people pull on the loop too much and that tightens the loop next to it. As you continue around the loom pulling on loops you tighten all the loops.

 

Don’t Pull – Pulling on the Neighbor

Some people pull the loops on the pegs to loosen the stitch. The problem is that they don’t realize that it’s having the opposite effect. When the complete the row and start a new one they will notice that the very first stitch is too tight. Because when you pull on a loop that tightens the previous one. This is a good technique under certain circumstances so it’s a good one to know about. One example is when you want to avoid that diagonal line you get when you knit your first hat. If you pull on the loop on peg 2 that would tighten the loop on peg 1 and you would avoid that dreadful line. See, there is a silver lining in every situation.

 

Choice of Stitch

Some stitches are just tighter then others. The best example of this is 2 different versions of the knit stitch. The e-Wrap is a large and very loose stitch. However, the flat stitch is extremely tight. Not understanding this can put you in a really tight spot. OK, so that’s not really that funny.

Keep this in mind – the straighter the yarn on the loop when you knit off the tighter the stitch. The greater the bend the looser the stitch.

 

Choice of Yarn

 

Depending on the type of loom and the stitch, the wrong yarn can make knitting almost impossible. Most knitters are familiar with chunky and bulky weight yarn but did you know that there is something called super bulky ? Yep, it’s like the big mama weight that plays best with only certain looms like a Zippy. Using an extremely wide strand on a small gauge loom can be a problem. The same goes for knitting with two strands as one.

 

Wrap all Pegs – All vs Little by Little

The eWrap is the first stitch most loom knitters learn first. It is easy and because it’s large you finish much faster with that particular version of the knit stitch. However,  for some people there is the need to tweak the technique. Normally, you wrap all the pegs twice and then you knit-off. But if you find that with every row you finish the stitches get tighter you may need to wrap a few and knit off and then wrap a few more an knit off until you finish the row.

The Stitch is too Tight – No More

What works for me may not work as well for you. Some of you are tight knitters it’s going to take some time for you to find the right method, the right tension, the right groove that works for you. The good news is that it will happen just like your mommy, your granny or your teacher told you, with practice. Because the bottom line is that practice really does make you perfect

Stitch is too Tight – The Video

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Tagged: fixes, tight stitch, tight stitches, yarn too tight