Before you start actually knitting a hat, mitten, sweater, or anything in the round, you need to connect the first stitch of the cast on to the last stitch of the cast on. This is a critical step; without it, you wouldn’t be knitting in the round! It’s called “joining to work in the round,” and here’s our tutorial where we show you how we do it. 

JOINING TO WORK IN THE ROUND: STEP-BY-STEP

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

The very first thing to do when setting up to join to work in the round is arrange the cast-on stitches so they are not “twisted.” Notice in the above photo that the stitches are spinning around the needle. They shouldn’t be!

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

In this photo you can see that the stitches are straight and untwisted, which is how you want them. Once the stitches are all facing the same way along the entire length of the cast on, you are ready to join to knit in the round!

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

First, place a stitch marker on the needle that holds the last stitch you cast on (the one with the working yarn). This stitch marker marks the “end of the round” and is an important reference point in most patterns. When you’re knitting and you get to it, you simply slip it from the left to the right needle.

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

Now to join your knitting into the round, hold the needle with the working yarn in your right hand and the needle with the first stitch of the cast on in your left hand; double check that the stitches aren’t twisted; and insert the right needle into the first stitch of the left needle knitwise. Firmly knit the stitch as usual, ignoring the stitch marker.

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

You’re joined to work in the round! The stitch you just knit is the first stitch of the round. Note that you may have a slight gap between the first and last stitch of the round. Don’t worry; the gap mostly resolves itself after a few rounds, and weaving in the cast-on tail totally resolves it!

Joining To Work In The Round | Purl Soho

Ready to test out the technique? You will love our Near + Dear Cowl, made using just one skein of our extraordinarily soft Nigh DK, a 100% Cashmere, Light Worsted/DK Weight yarn.

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!