I’m a lefty in a righty world I know. I’m somewhat ambidextrious though not when it comes to writing & needlework, then I must use my left hand. With crochet I’ve only ever made blankets & scarves (ie flat things) so I could still follow a pattern without regards to turning things around for my goofy handed-ness. I figured I could do the same for knitting too.
Well I’m knitting my 1st wristwarmers in the round & my work it coming up towards my face instead of going down into my lap. Is this wrong/bad? I’m guessing it’s because I’ve not adapted righty instructions to lefty, but does it really matter so long as it comes out ok? Or have I messed up & turned my stitches (don’t really know how I did that or how I’d avoid it in the future? I did make sure that my cast on chain dind’t get twisted before getting it closed & a few rounds done).
TIA And feel free to laugh at me if this is all silly
There are no knitting police so it doesn’t matter as long as you are happy with your work. Sometimes when people knit differently they find the pattern doesn’t work quite right, but sometimes it’s fine.
I would think though that it won’t stay sticking up. We all knit (lefty and righty) from bottom to top so I can’t see how it would work… could you be knitting inside out? :think:
Up into your face? My knitting in the round developes out toward my face as well. I am a right handed knitter though and I don’t know if it should/would be different if you knit left handed. As long as your result is right and you can figure out any changes, you are doing fine. Whether it is knit toward you or away from you doesn’t really matter.
Just point it so the CO edge is down toward your lap, flip it inside out if you need to so the RS is on the outside and your needle tips are pointing toward you. This happens when the tube is short, you just need to tame it a little.
I did some Christmas stocking ornaments that kept doing that…either they looked right, but came up like you describe, or they were inside out.
The key is looking at your needles as if the circle were a cup…you should be knitting where you’d drink. If you’re on the other side, it’ll be inside out, and maybe backwards.
You can check out the videos on this site to see how it’s supposed to look . But, as mentioned before…there are no knitting police, so if it’s working, you may not need to change.
It’s not inside out, I guess I could push it thought & make it inside out so the work goes down, but I’m afraid I’d end up with knits & purls on the wrong sides. I guess my biggest worry is would this make my edge curl? I’ll find out tonight most likely as I’m only a few rounds away from my 1st knit item!
OK that makes the most sense, I am not knitting at the bottom of the circle, I’m knitting at the top. Though I don’t know how I’d knit at the bottom & still sugessfully control the yarn & needle in my left hand… Guess that’s part of the lefty issue.
It’s not inside out, I guess I could push it thought & make it inside out so the work goes down, but I’m afraid I’d end up with knits & purls on the wrong sides.
If it’s not inside out then just turn it around so the needles are on top of the knitting.
I tried that once- before I realized the work was forming towards me- I ended up knitting the wrong direction, leaving a hole where the round should have started When I started over & tried that way I loose my last cast on stitch trying to knit in it…
I just watched all the videos for circular knitting & it looks like the work in those is forming towards the knitter too… Maybe I’m not doing anything wrong afterall…
Well I don’t know if it’s right or wrong but it works! I finished & aside from binding off being a PITA (totally my fault I know, I tend to have stitches that are too tight until I get familar enough) every thing looks great! I guess I’ll just get used to it for now & hope fellow knitters don’t giggle at me if they see me knitting in public
Thanks everyone!
I, too, am a left handed knitter! I know exactly what you’re saying and for me everything usually comes out right in the end. The only comment I’ve had from people that see me knitting in public is that I “knit backwards”.
Somewhere I read that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body - therefore left handed people are always in their right mind
This is actually true. The right side of your brain is also the side that controls creativity too. I guess that is why I’m so darn good at knitting, crochet , and spinning. Being left handed is a gift
I’m glad to hear there is one advantage to being a lefty. Both hubby and I are lefties and have always adapted to a righty world which can be annoying.
When I was a teenager I had an elderly man (who was also a lefty) tell me ‘everyone’s left handed- until they commit their 1st sin’ That’s been my favorite lefty saying ever since. My mom’s a lefty, MIL & 1 of my 3 daughters (the others are a righty & an undecided). Well, I’ll at least be able to teach one of them to knit & crochet someday- my sister never learned to crochet because she couldn’t follow a lefty.
And feel free to laugh at me if this is all silly 
When I started over & tried that way I loose my last cast on stitch trying to knit in it…
That’s been my favorite lefty saying ever since. My mom’s a lefty, MIL & 1 of my 3 daughters (the others are a righty & an undecided). Well, I’ll at least be able to teach one of them to knit & crochet someday- my sister never learned to crochet because she couldn’t follow a lefty.