Thanks for posting this! I think the last time I looked at the purling video page the Norwegian style wasn’t up yet. I 
it! Yay, a new way to purl!
I tend to knit with thinner yarn…for some reason bulky and larger needles really hurt when I knit with them not really harder to do…just very uncomfy…I never thought to change to English though…I’ll give that a try next time 
:yay: I was doing the continental purl and although I wasn’t having any trouble with it, I didn’t care much for it (I used my thumb 'cause my middle finger just wouldn’t help that yarn over…so a few days ago I was looking around and found that video…I’m working on a top with a lot of purl sts and it’s a lot easier/faster to do :happydance:
I can not for the life of me figure out purling with the English method but doesn't really matter!
When purling english you use exactly the same motion over the needle as knitting. It’s just that your tip is point to the front left instead of the back left.
I’ll have to put that video on my “when you go to the library that has broadband” list. Right now I’m halfway through a sweater in moss stitch and all that switching back and forth is driving me NUTS.
I agree with most of you–do what feels right, not what you think the Knitting Police want. If it doesn’t hurt your hands and you’re getting the result you (not anyone else, YOU) want, it’s a Good Thing. TRying out new techniques is part of the fun, but if you don’t like them, nobody is allowed to make you!
I learned to crochet first, too, and everyone around here seems to knit not only English, but with a wrist-twisting variation and very, very hard, tight gauge. That won’t work for me. Thick yarn doesn’t seem to be a problem,–I don’t like a lot of the projects that are made with the clothesline-sized yarn and great big needles, but it isn’t harder to work with or anything. Really fine yarn is more of a problem for these stiff hands–I can;t do much thread crochet, either.
Hi,
Constance here. I was an English knitter until I was 30. At that time I was living in Germany (AF wife). My landlandy saw me throwing my thread with my right hand and said “ach, you Americans, you waste so much time, here do it this way”. She just took it from me and showed me the continental way. You have to let go of the grip and really knit looser. I hold my tension with my left index finger. It took me one solid year to stop picking up the knitting the English way. It takes forever. But finally you will forget the old English way. Stick with it. Make yourself do this. But releasing your work and knitting very loose will help a lot. You will find you like it a lot better. Also, working with only round needles has helped. Good Luck. Let me know how it’s going.
Love
Constance
Ok, let me throw this onto the pile. I learned knitting continental (actually combined but I didn’t know the difference at the time, all I knew was I held my yarn in my left hand) and I knit that way until last year when I wanted to start teaching knitting classes. I had heard that it was easier to learn knitting English style (although Kelley Petkun disagrees) and that’s how both my kids were learning at school so I thought I’d give it a try.
I picked it up fairly quickly and now, I love knitting both ways. There’s something very meditative and relaxing about doing a garter stitch scarf and knitting English. If I were to knit garter and use continental, I knit too fast and kind of miss the pleasure of the stitch along the way.
That being said, I don’t purl well English style and much prefer continental for stitches that require me to mix knits and purls. That includes anything other than straight stockinette or garter.
Really, it’s all about the knitting.
And I just wanted to add that my garter stitch is much more even since I’ve been knitting English. I never liked doing garter stitch continental style. My rows always came out kind of wonky and uneven. When I garter English style my rows are nice and straight. Maybe it has to do with the way the stitches sit on the needle when I knit them off but it’s much easier for me to work them English.
Yeah, I know this in theory but when it comes to the practice my
brain just sorta goes on holiday and I sit there with drool coming
out the side of my mouth! 
I can purl any way I’ve come
across so far in continental but for some reason english does
not click.
Libbie 
Silly Libbie ! 
hee hee
I learned English and every now and then will knit Cont but then switch back. I know that I need to stick with it longer (like for a whole dishcloth) but it seems that when I finish a row I switch back on the next row without realizing it.
IMO, I honestly don’t think any one way is better but agree that it is useful to know many different ways.
Wow, I didn’t expect such response!
Thank you all for your input!
I really don’t mind my throwing style that much as I am very comfortable.
I probably wouldn’t ever know the difference, were it not for the internet. Seeing how others do it though, made me realise it can be done more efficiently/faster! So I just want to learn it.
I had my knitting with me at work today and my Irish client whom I know to be a knitter was asking about the project I’m working on. I’m doing 2 toe up on 1 circ magic loop.
I whatched her doing some knitting last time she was in and was quite impressed. She holds her yarn in her right hand but doesn’t throw, but rather shifts the yarn using her right index finger, much like you might do in continental…
Anyway, she wanted to understand what I was doing with the magic loop so I had her do some stitches her way meanwhile I showed her what I’ve been practicing to learn conti.
It was fun!
I’m gonna keep at it and one day I’ll be a pro!
Thanks again
Most of us throwers' don't reallythrow’ the yarn. What’s shown in a lot of how to videos, with the hand leaving the needle completely is not what we do. Mostly just skim the needle with the right hand, while flexing/flicking out the yarn with the index finger. That comes with practice, so just keep practicing… 
Right on. She is more of a flicker…and by huge contrast I am straight up a thrower with the whole arm and shoulder! Just seems like alot of movement for such a small stitch, hence my desire to learn something new! = )
Whether you decide to continue on with learning continental or keep practicing english until you too become a flicker either way experience and practice should increase your speed. Just remember though it will cost you more in yarn as you finish projects faster.
I’m a die hard English knitter. Other than for color work I see no need to learn continental. I don’t “throw” my yarn. my elbows are both comfortably at my side, shoulders don’t move and the yarn is controled by my index finger with a minimal of movement.
My suggestion is you work on keeping you body more still and knit with your finger not your entire body. Neither english or continenetal is going to be fast if you are using your entire upper body.
There, that’s it! Only through the Net have I come to realize that English knitting doesn’t have to be the full-body contact Olympic sport it is around here. The books I tried to learn from (no videos back in 1970 or so) all showed the same movement the local knitters use–just about drop the needle, throw the yarn with the whole right arm, use the right wrist to twist it around the needle, pull the stitch off (and I mean PULL) and give the yarn a sharp yank with each stitch to “set it on the needle”. Some of the old knitting projects I find at Goodwill and such are stiff as cardboard from the incredibly tight gauge. For instance, there’s a cuff from something that came in a bag of yarn. It’s worsted weight, probably acrylic, 6 stitches to the inch…and that’s one of the softer ones. I can’t find the one swatch to measure it right now, but it will literally stand up by itself. There’s no way I can knit that tight or pull the yarn that hard with every stitch. Not surprisingly, most knitters don’t finish a lot of projects and spend a lot of time comparing notes on carpal tunnel surgery, frozen shoulder manipulation and cortisone shots. How on earth do things like that get started?
IMO, I honestly don’t think any one way is better but agree that it is useful to know many different ways.
Again, this has been a really interesting thread to read. We’ve done it before, and I’m sure we’ll do it again, but everytime I learn something new.
I’ll never be as fast, but now I want to learn Irish Cottage knitting.
As far as English vs. continental, continental works best for left-handed me. English just feels clumsy.
I was in the waiting room knitting while my sister was in surgery and there was another lady knitting herself. She told me that English style will kill my elbows and should consider learning continental. I didn’t feel like I was killing my elbows at all and felt quite relaxed. This puzzled me so much. Everyone here says that whatever style fits you best is the one you should go with. I would like to try continental style because it does seem like it’s more efficient.
Pertaining to whole arm/shoulder movement in english style…
How on earth do things like that get started?
I dunno, it could be that in the how to videos that show completely letting go the needle it’s hard to slow down to show how the yarn wraps around the needle and through the stitch. Or the people who make them are really continental knitters and don’t know english well or that’s the style they were taught. There’s a couple video on YouTube that show a much more efficient way to knit english and it’s similar to how I do it.
I originally learned to knit the continental way many years ago. I grew frustrated with it and quickly put the needles down. Recently I wanted to try again but was convinced I needed to learn the English style. I found someone to teach me and I hated it. It seems so awkward compared to continental. As someone else mentioned there is no right or wrong way. The tension gets better as you practice. To me that was the biggest problem. I love the videos on this site that help show me the stitches. I don’t know any knitters in my community that knit continental so I rely on the videos to help me. I am still a beginner but love it and will keep going forward.
I’m new to this forum, so hello fellow knitters!:waving: I’ve been a knitter for about 8 or so years, and I’ve always used the English method, using my wrist and hand to throw the yarn. On a whim I decided to look up the Continental method, because I’d heard that it was much faster than the English method. Let me tell you, I’ve watched videos and read instructions and looked at diagrams and I CANNOT knit Continental whatsoever. The working yarn keeps scooting off my fingers no matter how many times I wrap it around my five digits, and the tension in my stitches gets all messed up. HOW ON EARTH can anyone knit that way??? Anyway, I’m definitely going back to English so that I can actually get something done! 