Continental: I'm getting it!

I’ve always thought Continental looked a lot faster than English, but…old dog new tricks situation here. So, I decided if I’m kitting an article to be felted, I’ll force myself to learn Continental, since any variations in tension won’t show up in the final project. Today, I’ve done it the “picker” way all day, and I’m getting lightning fast! But, my right wrist is objecting. :woohoo:

Have to say, I haven’t tried to purl. Too scary there.

well done tried it once, maybe need to try again :yay:

I’ve got the continental knit stitch down, but I just can’t seem to get the purls right. I wanted to learn continental because I think it would be less tedious when doing something like ribbing. I’ll try again until I get it!

Hi, folks!:waving:

I LOVE continental knitting, even before I cleared up a confusion I had on the purl stitch. If you purl with the yarn wrapped around your pinky for tension, and then held OVER THE NEXT THREE FINGERS, continental purling flies! This video will get you going fast, fast, fast.

It’s so well worth learning! I’m finishing so many more projects these days. Hope you do, too!

Ruthie :woohoo:

My hands/wrists hurt at first, but they stopped after a little while. Continental is SO much faster! Purling took more practice but it’s definitely worth it.

Yes, Continental rocks. I learned it from the get-go, likely because I was learning to crochet at the same time, and my 9-year-old fingers insisted that yarn be held the same way for both techniques.

Wait 'till you learn Fair-Isle!

Dot

YAY! Keep at it! I knit continental & used to switch to English when my wrist hurt. I must have adjusted (not struggling much with the stitches) or muscled up because it doesn’t seem to hurt much anymore.

Video link doesn’t go to a specific one. :??

So which is picking and which snagging? I do both, but never knew the right names. LOL

picking = continental
throwing = english
snagging = I’ve never heard of that, but “snogging” is a British slang term for kissing/ making out… :teehee:

The correct video link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY&feature=related

The video is a little long but I found it very clear and helpful. I posted a short video on my blog recently, but I don’t have a tripod and the You Tube video is better. Here’s mine anyway:http://laikabear.blogspot.com/2008/08/yarn-porn-and-videos.html

Hi ya…I have thought about trying ‘picking’ instead of ‘throwing’ which is what I do now…
Question…I’m hearing alot about pain in the wrists…having had carpal tunnel/and arthritis in some finger joints…would this be a problem/aggravation?..what do you think? thanks abunch:aww:

I decided to do some practicing on my continental knitting last night. It was really my first time to do it for an extended period of time. I had to stop a couple times because my wrists hurt. My wrists NEVER hurt when I knit English style. It could be because I’m gripping my needles so hard since I’m struggling to maintain my tension though! :slight_smile: I’m hoping that with time, my tension will even out and things will go more smoothly.

Hi - If you’re having problems with wrist pain doing conti knitting, it could be that you’re incorrectly holding the yarn for the purl stitch. I had the same problem until I learned how to hold the yarn correctly (wrapped around the left pinkie and then across the remaining three fingers) and have no problem maintaining tension or completing the purl stitch.

I know you’ve seen this link before (Maureen and I keep putting it up!) but it really does sort out any problems with conti and lets you absolutely fly along!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY&feature=related

Good luck!
Ruthie:waving:

Snagging… I think it’s throwing, but I’m not certain. ROFL I hold the yarn in my right hand and use the needle to snag it. I’m pretty sure that’s throwing.

Doing a felted project is an excellent idea for practicing continental. I should practice in wool too. I can do it but I am slow, sloppy and it feels unnatural to me. I am a thrower. I learned years ago continental but I just was never good at it and always had holes and so on and hated knitted and never did it again. When about 10 years later I took a knitting class and was taught throwing it all come together and I love knitting.
Is there any practice tips or suggestions to do continental?

The actual stitching isn’t the awkward part, it’s managing how you hold the yarn in your LH, and the steps of bringing the stitches on up the left needle without breaking rhythm. I recently splurged and bought a beautiful pair of Addi needles and they make things go so smoothly.