We have a double-whammy of knitting tips for you today! Not one, but two short video tutorial tips to help you to avoid those pesky ladders when you are knitting with double-pointed needles (DPNs).

If you are a magic loop knitter, don’t worry! I’ve not forgotten about you! I have a selection of video tutorials planned to demonstrate hints and tips for working with a magic loop, and they will appear in due course… In the meantime, many of my double-pointed needle tips, could equally be helpful, so I hope you’ll watch anyway.

What do I mean by ladders? It’s the problem of having a baggy stitch when you switch from one needle to the next. This commonly occurs when you work with double-pointed needles, and as the baggy stitch happens at the same point over successive rounds, it stacks up and looks like a ladder. The ladder can almost appear like a dropped stitch (without the loop at the bottom), depending on the looseness of the needle change.

Happily, this is a relatively easy problem to fix. I’ve got a couple of suggestions for you to try, and I’ve split them into two separate video tutorials.

The first tip is around positioning your needles, and which stitch to tighten: Little Lessons: Avoiding ladders on DPNs (Tip One)

And here’s the second tip, which moves where you change from one needle to the next, thus avoiding the stacking of loose stitches in one spot: Little Lessons: Avoiding ladders on DPNs (Tip Two)

I hope those videos have proved helpful! If you are working on socks at the moment, then do pop over to our Ravelry group and enjoy the helpful chatter in the Stepping Out KAL thread.

Thank you to everyone who has already made purchases from our Stepping Out KAL collection in the online shop. Now more than ever, each purchase is appreciated! Whether your sock yarn pantry needs a top up, or you are looking for pattern books to get you started in sock knitting, we have just what you need. We’re offering 15% off everything in that collection, from now until the end of June 2020, when you spend £40.00 or more (on products from that collection). Use the code STEPPINGOUT at the checkout, or you can follow this link to apply the discount automatically to your cart. We are shipping orders on Mondays and Thursdays, taking all precautions, and UK shipping is free over £50. Overseas orders are shipping via a tracked service only, and whilst there are some delays, the majority of parcels are arriving with no difficulty.