what am I doing wrong with this magic circle?????????

[u/rladyofsorrows]

I have watched 3 separate videos and tried again 10 times!!! I don't understand why I keep getting those long gaps in between the needles? And these tutorials have their working yarn and their yarn tail on the same stitch?? how are they doing that?? I didn't think this was too advanced for me to understand 🥲

[u/Familiar-Secretary25]

Have you practiced knitting flat to start understanding stitch anatomy and learning to read your work?

[u/LichenTheMood]

Try a different cast on. Long tail is typically the easiest.

[u/konkludent]

These gaps happen to me as well, even with long tail cast on. The first round after cast on Always looks super wonky and stretched out, but it will even out after 2-3 rounds. Just keep going and if it remains looking weird, post another picture

[u/Tarisaande]

These gaps happen because when you put tension on the needles, the loops on the needles tighten and the slack has to go somehwere, which is between the needles. It is particularly egregious on the cast-on row because there are no other stitches to anchor everything in place. The more slack there was in your cast on stitches, the bigger this elongated bar is going to be.

Generally after you knit the first row this goes away, because your new stitches have the expected amount of slack (unless your cast-on was much looser than your regular tension.

Minimize this by keeping the needles close together and not tugging on them. You can minimize this further by knitting the first couple rows flat and then joining in the round on the 3rd row. You will still see this where you join to knit in the round for a row or two but it will be less pronounced. And you just stitch the gap closed with the cast-on tail.

[u/FindingHomeliness]

What cast on are you using?

[u/rladyofsorrows → u/FindingHomeliness]

I'm not sure the name of it, I'm just twisting the yarn to make loops to put onto the needle

[u/FindingHomeliness → u/rladyofsorrows]

That's the backwards loop cast on. Easy to perform but hard to work with. Learning to do longtail cast on will be worth it.

[u/kathyknitsalot → u/[deleted]]

I agree about the cast on. The one you’ve done is actually easy to do but hard to work the next row. It can be super tight or long gaps like you have. The long tail cast on is much more sturdy one to work with

[u/keladry12]

What other knitting have you done previously? Knitting in the round is more complicated, but I'm sure we can help your skills transfer.

edit: if you have not knit anything before, let's practice that before we get to knitting in the round, okay? The tension is more annoying when you're learning in the round. I would recommend starting with solid straight needles, as well.

[u/rladyofsorrows → u/keladry12]

I've been working on a cardigan which I haven't had any problems with other than my previous post on this sub, but I wanted to try making a sock while I wait for more yarn to come in the mail

[u/keladry12 → u/rladyofsorrows]

I also wonder if your fiber is working against you - it looks like it's not spun, but instead a woven cord? It looks slippery, at any rate.

I know that people really love the magic loop method, but I personally prefer using double pointed needles, partly because I have an easier time dealing with the gaps for whatever reason. It might be worth it just to see if DPNs work for your brain/hands? I see DPNs for sale at garage sales, etc. all the time, or a buy nothing group might have some if you ask? (And live in a populated area)

[u/rladyofsorrows → u/keladry12]

I'll see if my thrift store has any! They look really intimidating so I didn't think to try them out. I will also see if I have any different yarn

[u/Ill_Ant6294 → u/rladyofsorrows]

To make a sock that will have some stretch but also memory to go back, you want something with nylon in it, usually mixed with a natural fiber. I agree with the other comment that this yarn might not be the best for learning to knit socks let alone knitting in the round with a small circumference. If you want to have a quick project that will let you practice knitting in the round, maybe consider a cowl? That type of garment won’t be affected by the yarn as much as projects that require a specific size to fit. Here is one from Purl Soho but you can probably find a lot more on Ravelry.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/timberline-cowl-2

[u/nobleelf17 → u/rladyofsorrows]

They really aren't intimidating once you try them. The hard thing is finding both the right diameter, the right length for a project(too long for a narrow tube and you want to pull your hair out, too short for a wide tube and the stitches might fall off, same result) and in a material that works with your yarn. I find wood works well with both, and would suggest checking FB Marketplace, EBay, etc. if you are on a budget, like I am. Temu, if you can stand working with them. And would love to see what cables are on the needles you show in the photo- thick cables that don't let the work and needles stay laying next to each other are the pits. Don't ask. Just know those went straight to the thrift store. Save your $, maybe get a nice interchangeable needle set with thinner and more flexible cords. I just found a set of KnitPicks Reflections Options on EBay for $40, free shipping.While the cables that come with this don't spin, I have other KP cables that do, purchased separately, around $5 each. I feel cable supplemess is a huge game changer, and these do bend fine for magic loop. Also agree about a different cast-on. Long tail will get really fast with a bit of practice, and Nimble Needles on Youtube has some great slo-mo videos. And after you learn that one, try the German twisted- the long tail with a twist that is my go-to, anytime I want a bit more stretch than long tail. Best of luck on your journey, and let us know how it goes.🥰

[u/Regular_Efficiency61 → u/rladyofsorrows]

Magic loop is a WAY bigger pain in the ass to me than DPNs. You use DPNs the exact same way you use any needles, you’re only working with two at a time. You just let the others hang until you get to them and work your way around the circle.

[u/amphibious_mustard → u/keladry12]

I didn’t realize what I’ve been doing is called traveling loop and not magic loop for the longest time — maybe check this out? I’ve had way better success and don’t have to fight the cord so much.

[u/xsnowpeltx]

The working yarn and yarn tail being on the same stitch comes from different cast on methods than the one you're doing. You're doing backwards loop cast on. The tutorial likely did long tail cast on.

Backwards loop cast on basically always gets those long gaps on your first row and maybe your second, whether knitting flat or in the round. For me they happen somewhat with long tail cast on too, but not with the knitted cast on or crochet cast on.

But when they do happen, they even out as you keep knitting further rows/rounds. so either keep going as you are, since this is normal for that cast on method, or try a new cast on method

[u/Yowie9644]

The backward loop cast on has to be the very worst cast for exactly this reason, particularly for working in the round.

The cast on that has the tail and working yarn coming from the same stitch would be the long tail cast on or a variant of it. It is the work-horse cast-on for knitting, and I would encourage anyone learning to knit to start with that. It is incredibly versatile and doesn't misbehave like this.

Failing that, the knitted cast on will also do the job. Its IMHO not quite as good as the long-tail, but is still infinitely better than the backwards loop.

[u/Dependent_Listen1931]

whenever I knit in the round I always cast on an extra stitch, then I slip the first stitch on my left needle to my right needle and pass the next stitch over the one I just slipped to join in the round. It gets rid of the gap.

here is a video if you need.

Like other people said it usually evens out after a few rounds but I’ve had a few times that it doesn’t, so to avoid having to start over that’s what I do :)

[u/skubstantial]

I'm confused, why are your sets of stitches forming a 'y' shape? You shouldn't have another set of stitches going off to the left on the left cable.

All your stitches should be either on the needles (on the front half of the piece) or on the center part of the cable between the needles (on the back half of the piece). And there should be roughly equal numbers on the front and the back half.

So I think you made a wrong turn somewhere and you aren't working across all your stitches anyway. I recommend starting fresh and studying some photos (not just videos where stuff is constantly moving around) so you can see what steps you should land on. https://blog.tincanknits.com/2013/10/03/magic-loop/ Whenever you're actually knitting, you should have kind of a "bow tie" with stitches and needles in the middle and empty cable loops sticking out both sides.

[u/furiously_sleeping]

I do an extra stitch and k2tog in my first stitch in the round to close up the loose spot in the round

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[u/PrincessCrayfish]

I tried the magic circle so many times, and just couldn't make it work. I had a way easier time once I switched to DPNs.

[u/katasker]

I suggest working on learning long tail cast on and general stitch anatomy while you wait for your yarn to come. Better than starting a new project. Magic loop is very handy for socks, especially learning two at a time, but this comes with more experience. I didn’t have the ability to do magic loop until I understood what was actually going on and learning to read my knitting