There’s this knitting thing, called tension
I’m asking you to get to know it better if you have tight knitting. It can become a headache, a pain, a reason to stop knitting if you let it.
But I ask you to stick with me and you’ll find it’s a new friend as you click those needles and get those stitches moving.
As soon as your knitting sits on the needles it has tension. There’s something keeping the stitches there – ‘what is it?’ you may ask. I say ‘tension’.
OK, that sounds a wee bit uncomplicated, and complicated, at the same time – the kind of answer the tenth Doctor might give! (David Tennant’s rendition of ‘Timey Wimey Wibbly Wobbly Stuff’ comes under that heading!)
It doesn’t have to be. When knitting you’re looking for a Goldilocks tension, not too loose , not too tight, somewhere comfortable, in the middle. And that’s what you’ll be reaching for if you notice your stitches feel too tight on the needles.
Once you notice that, there’s an inclination to reach too far the other way and end up with loose, or completely uneven stitches. So today I’m going to help you understand why those stitches might be tight already and how to reach far enough so you find that Goldilocks tension, and don’t overly adjust.
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Keep a watch out, next week’s video will give lots of tips on avoiding knitting that feels too loose on the needles.
And you can learn lots more about knitting tension, swatching, yarn substitution and lots more in this Intuitive Knitting course:
