Hehe, just decided to make the switch to continental knitting and so far I can just tell it’s going to be a LOT more efficient!
Which reminds me, I have so many FOs I need to get around to posting… hopefully that amount will increase substantially now that I don’t have to let go of my needles!
Way to go!
I taught myself continental when I was making a ribbed scarf because I hate the having to move the yarn back and forth repeatedly. I still revert to old familiar english a lot of the time, but knowing both is a handy skill!
Good for you! For me continental felt much more natural from the start since I had been crocheting for years. I hold the yarn the same way for crocheting or knitting.
I’ve tried and tried but just can’t seem to get it down. I doesn’t feel comfortable at all!
I’ll give it another shot at some point, because, like you mentioned, I know it would be more efficient!
I switched too - all because of ribbing and letting go of that right needle. My tension is so different though. How are you winding the yarn through your fingers?
I don’t know that continental is more efficient, you can become more efficient at english style too.
I only use it for two color stranding work – the purling drives me nuts otherwise. Which is weird, because when I go between crocheting and knitting, it’s much easier for me to crochet with the yarn in the left hand. Go figure.
Congratulations on learning a new skill. But I need to point out that neither method is inherently “faster” than another. In fact the worlds fastest knitter (it’s on you tube I believe) knits English.
What is important is what you enjoy and feel comfortable with. I knit with both hands when doing stranded work, which is most of the time. But when knitting with a single strand I knit using my right hand, and I don’t ever let go of the needle. It has more to do with how you hold the yarn in your fingers than what side it’s on.
So the best way to knit is neither English or Continental but it’s the method you enjoy.
GinnyG: When you knit English, how do you hold your yarn? I would like to knit English (because my tension is better) without removing my hand from the needle, but I can’t figure out how to hold the yarn. I’ve tried to search the archives here because I know this has been discussed before. I even tried searching on Youtube for a video (I think the term used was flicker or something like that.) So far, though, I’m not finding what I need to learn how the yarn is held in the right hand so that you don’t have to let go of the needle.
It’s how I have always held my yarn, a long time ago someone was talking about right handed knitters “throwing” their yarn and I thought it was the most puzzling thing I had ever heard-couldn’t figure out what they ment.
Then I took a knitting class and watched how other English knitters do it and knew what they ment. I have never “thrown” my yarn. I knit only with circular needles, hold my elbows close to my side and the needles close to my body. the yarn is wrapped around my little finger then around my index finger to maintain tension. I hold the needles with my thumb and second finger (if knitting with two colors the second color is wrapped around pinkie and index finger of the L hand). All the yarn movement/wrapping is accomplished by moving my index finger, my thumb and second finger never let go of the needles.
Does that make sense?
I don’t totally let go of the needle, but kind of skim my hand along it; I stabilize it with my left thumb and finger. I put up some pictures last week that show how I hold the needles, I’ll see if I can find that post.
Here it isand I thread the yarn through my fingers, not wrapping around any of them. That way it flows and I just have to flex open my right index finger to wrap it.
Here’s a couple videos from You tube that are similar to how I knit, search on ‘english style’ or ‘throwing/thrower’ rather than ‘flicker/flicking’.
Knitting english
YouTube - English Style knitting
YouTube - I’m a Thrower
Very interesting!!!
For me, continental just seems faster - maybe it’s because as a child I used to crochet so it’s already ingrained in my brain? I wrap the yarn once around my pinky and then drape it over my index finger (on the left hand of course). When I knit English sytle I wrap around my pinky and then grasp the yarn in the first fold of my right index finger - which gets very painful after hours of knitting!!! I guess that could also be why continental seems faster to me - way fewer breaks! (Not to mention I think I’m doing the new style more ‘correct’ than the other)
It’s funny the “fastest knitter in the northwest” has a shop downtown here … I’ve yet to be in to meet her as her shop was the closed on my yarn buying day, but my friend Jo says she’s a lovely woman :o)
See if you draped the yarn over the top of your index finger knitting english, you wouldn’t get a sore finger. I have crocheted too though I think I learned to knit first and found I couldn’t hold the yarn in the same way. And I’ve tried knitting combo/left hand and I can’t hold the yarn either way. I have to just let it slide through my left hand, kind of holding it against the needle, over the index finger, otherwise it’s just way too tight.
I taught myself to knit Continental style and for me it is less awkward and more comfortable. After you get used to that, look at the videos for Norwegian Purl…no bringing the yarn to the front…just an idea.