Seed stitch woes :(

[jenefor]

OK so I have been trying to work on the kittyville hat or at least get it going but for the life of me I can't get the seed stitch I mean I can knit some and have no issues doing the basic stitches but this is driving me bonkers.
I even moved to working on straight needles thinking maybe I would "get it" better but I must be doing something wrong. I cast on and then knit one stitch then purl a stitch and when I get to the end of the row it is just a big jumbled mess. I don't even know how I would go on to knit the next row....everything is crossed over and a mess I even tried to do just a regular rib stitch but i cant do it....in theory I get it but am I missing something or doing something that is making it turn out like this? OR am I doing it right and just not getting anywhere?
I am just at a loss and am about to pull out my hair....
Any help would be GREAT! thanks!

[djinnj]

When you bring the yarn in front to purl, are you pulling the yarn between the two needle tips or are you pulling it over the right hand needle tip?  The yarn should pass between the needles, directly over the fabric inbetween the stitches.  If you end up with a strand over the needle, you're making a yarn over, and in a k1p1 pattern it can distort your stitches.  Also, that yarn over can cause problems on the next row, leaving holes and increasing your stitch count if you work them; making your stitches uneven and larger if you drop them.

[mols]

If djinnij's suggestion doesn't solve your problem, try casting on and knitting a few inches in stockinette and then practicing seed stich. I've found that trying anything new at all with in the first few rows after casting on often causes problems.

[jenefor]

Thanks so much for your help I was pulling the yarn around instead of between the two needles. I just couldn't figure what i was doing wrong....all the books I read said to have the yarn in the front on the P and back on the K and so I couldn't figure what I was doing wrong...but that was it.....I did a little square and it worked out fine thanks so much again....now I can move on

[kmsmaverick]

i'm sorry to revive a long old post, and also for posting this in two threads, but i have seed stitch questions too!

if i want to do a band of seed stich in my hat, (i'm just practicing the motion, not really folllowing a pattern anymore) I am knitting in the round, currently have 15 rounds of stockingette on the go.

I would like a band of some sort of texture, I tried eyelets, but they really just look like dropped stitches. so then i thought i would purl a few stitches every few stitches, but those looked shabby too. so i wonder if i can make a band of seed?

would this work?
R1: *k1, p1* repeat to end of round
R2: *p1, k1* repeat to end of round
R3-5: repeat 1 and 2.
R 6: knit.

looking at these, do you thing it would work?

[Loo]

well, it really depends on the number of stitches....as long as you're knitting the purls & purling the knits, it should work.

[djinnj]

I would like a band of some sort of texture, I tried eyelets, but they really just look like dropped stitches. so then i thought i would purl a few stitches every few stitches, but those looked shabby too. so i wonder if i can make a band of seed?

would this work?
R1: *k1, p1* repeat to end of round
R2: *p1, k1* repeat to end of round
R3-5: repeat 1 and 2.
R 6: knit.

looking at these, do you thing it would work?

Yes, with a few caveats.
1) double check your gauge and adjust the number of stitches to compensate.  Seed is often a different gauge than stockinette (mine happens to be wider, but some people find it narrower than the same number of stitches in stockinette).

2) If you are working off of an even number of stitches (as written), the beginning and end of the row will have a little spot where you've got 2 knits or 2 purls adjacent.  It will be slightly noticeable.  The easiest way around this is to cast on an even number of stitches, work one row, and then increase 1 stitch at the end of the row (or decrease 1 stitch when you get to the last 2, but I prefer increasing).  Then, when you switch to stockinette, decrease or increase 1 to return to your original stitch count. 

Don't bother to work off of a set pattern of r1 this and r2 that.  Just  knit the purls and purl the knits.

[kmsmaverick]

ok, thanks, i'll give this a go tonight and tomorrow, more news (questions) later!

thanks!
k