15 April 2011

Thorougly confused

I am, I really am. For several reasons. One very serious, one less serious.

Last weekend, I ended up doing a lot of knitting in front of the television. There had been a mall shooting in a shopping centre in my hometown on Saturday where six people were killed by the shooter, who committed suicide afterwards. The entire day, we had the tv on, had people on the phone, were checking up on friends and family to see if they were okay.. I'm glad I can say that my friends and family are all fine but we were all shocked and scared. There's about 75.000 people living in this city but it's times like this you find that really, it's like a small town, where everyone knows everyone and something as tragic as this will bring the whole community closer together.

I spent most of the time that we were watching tv with my knitting in my lap, and it has grown to almost the size it should be before I start the decreases, which, admittedly, still isn't very large. (think 20 stitches wide and 60 rows long..) Here's the thing, though.

It's curling up again. I can stretch it out a bit and because it's so thick, it stays straight for a bit and will even stand up vertically, but give it a nudge and it rolls right back.


Am I doing something wrong? Am I knitting too tight? Or is this simply a matter of 'stockinette will curl, end of story'?



I am going to go ahead and finish this, despite the curling, because I have to make a flap and then fold the body in two and sew it closed along the sides, which would probably negate any curling. But I am curious why it would do this.

What do you think, knitting gurus? My fail?

5 comments:

  1. Stocking stitch always curls. That's just how it is. I think TechKnitter explains it better than I ever could here: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2010/12/curling-scarf-rescue-mission-part-one.html.

    If you've not come across this blog I recommend subscribing to it, because it is an absolute mine of information.

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  2. I'm not a knitting expert, but I do know that stockinette curls--it just does! Nothing you are doing wrong, and your knitting looks lovely. It'll be fine when you sew it together.

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  3. I am not a knitter, not that I haven't tried. I am a crocheter. Just thought I would let you know I was here and enjoy your blog

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  4. I'm glad your friends/family are all okay.


    Your knitting is just going to roll because it is stockinette. I can't remember the exact reason why. I think it is because reverse stockinette takes more yarn than the stockinette side so the rev. side pulls your knitting in and it curls. If you're seaming it up, that should control the curling, but you might want to finish any edges that aren't seamed with a few rows/stitches of seed stitch or ribbing.

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  5. When you block it, it will lay flat (for a while...until you block it again). It's just stockinette's nature. :)

    I'm glad to hear you and everyone you know is okay. We had the very same incident happen in the big city I lived in a few years ago and I, too, was surprised by how such a big city bonded in crisis. My ex's mom was in the mall that day and I still have the wallet she bought in the very store where the shooting occurred (she was shaken, but unharmed). It's a small reminder of how quickly things can change.

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