Are any combo knitters out there?
Dana
?
Do you mean Continental and English?
Nadja :knitting:
No, it’s Continental and Eastern method combined - http://www.anniemodesitt.com/
AMy has a vid here in the knit stitch page and purl stitch page. I’ve tried it, but dont know if i want to do it all the way yet…
I used to knit combination but have since switched to continental. I think there are patterns with twisted stitches that don’t come out right if you knit combination.
I always wondered about those knitting directions that specified KBL when I always knitted through the back of the loop!
I didn’t know that combination knitting was an actual “thing” and thought I was doing it wrong for the longest time. It wasn’t until after I switched that I found out it was an acceptable way to knit. :pout:
I’m a combo knitter - I have been knitting this way for over 35 years and I doubt I will ever change. I always adjust a pattern if I need to so for instance I am knitting a clapotis. It calls for a knit through the back loop - so I just knit through the front loop when I see that.
Sanibelle,
Who taught you to knit and where were they from? My grandmother taught my mother and aunt to combination knit. She was from Russia. I have always wondered if the method you used to knit is a regional thing.
Best,
Susan
Susan -
My grandmother also taught me. She was born in the US but her mother was born in Russia. I agree with you that it is a regional thing. The town she was from was right on the Russian/Poland border but I do not think the town exists any longer.
Combination knitter here, all the way. I hold the yarn the typical Continental way and do almost all my knitting combination style. The purl is sooooo much easier/smoother for me this way and my stockinette comes out beautifully. No rowing out or uneveness.
When I’m following a pattern I just adjust stitches like someone else mentioned…like it the pattern says “k tbl” I’ll knit it through the front. It’s really helped me learn to read my knitting because I pay attention to how a stitch is sitting and how it should sit when I’m finished with it so I can adjust increases/decreases, etc etc.
If I can’t figure out how to alter a stitch in my head for combination style, I just reposition that stitch to continental/english orientation when I get to it and knit as written in the pattern.
I was quite happy when I discovered it 
Hooray for Grumperina and this site.
1 Like
self taught knitter who ended up doing combo (and i still do) i can knit continetal, (and so on occations) but 99% of time i am combo knitter.
about 10% of US/UK/Commonwealth country knitters are combo knitters. but world wide, it is closer to 50%. many spanish language countries (most of south america, part of orient) are combo knitters.
I knit that way and find it easier than both English and Continental.
I’ve wondered how you do combination knitting in the round. :??
When I knit in the round I have to knit through the back loop or the stitches will twist.
combination knitter here, continental hold, converted first from english to continental and then to combined continental. i switched because my ribbing was still horrid even when i tried all tricks and i could never quite get in a rhythm with continental purling. now i LOVE my knitting and that is saying a lot for me. 
there is 1 person at the LYS who knits combined, but didn’t know it. she was taught by her mother, of russian descent, like my mother’s side, although i haven’t seen my mom since switching to combined to see how she purls.
in the round, depending on what i am doing, i either just work the stitches TBL or sometimes i will just purl regular in the round. depends on if i’m doing cables, how intricate the pattern is, etc. i find my ribbing still needs it in the round, so usually i will do the TBL thing.
1 Like
:biting:I THINK I’m a combination knitter. My knitting teacher told me that I purl backwards because I wrap the yarn [I]behind [/I]the needle instead of [I]over [/I]and I knit Continental. Does that make me a combo-knitter?
That is exactly what happened to me. I was taking a sock class and a teacher pointed out that I was purling backwards.
Combination knitting is when you wrap the yarn behind the needle when you purl [B]AND[/B] knit through the back of the loop. If you knit through the front of the loop and wrap the yarn behind the needle when you purl then you will be twisting your stitches (as I did for a long time before I changed the way I purl to wrap the yarn over the needle.)
If you don’t modify either your purl stitch or your knit stitch, the twisted stitches will keep certain stitch patterns from ever looking right.
Once I changed my purl technique I was amazed at how much better my gauge swatches were and how much beter my rib patterns looked. You could probably get the same results if you knit through the back of the loop when you knit and keep your purling the same. That would be true combination knitting.
Best,
Susan
Thanks for clearing that up for me zkimom, I’ve been working at trying to change my purling technique but still have a lot of difficulty doing it and finding the right way to hold my yarn.
Maybe I’ll try knitting thru the back of the stitch and see if that’s easier to do.
I’m a fairly new knitter and I don’t see myself getting into a lot of complicated stitches (at 63, and at the rate I’m going, I don’t think I’ll live long enough to master anything really difficult!)
I’d just like to be comfortable enough with my skills that I can make some simple scarves and hats and socks and, maybe, an easy sweater (oh, and I really want to make my dog a sweater for the winter!)