My (right) pinky hurts when I knit for more than a few minutes at a time; usually I just stretch, take a breather and go back to it, but I was wondering if there was a better way to hold the needles. I have been experimenting with ways to hold them, but none of them is as fast as the way that hurts (until you take into account the rest periods).
I’ve heard of flickers and throwers, but I don’t know what the difference is, and I was wondering if there was a better way.
More information: I knit English, I think? With the work on the left needle and the yarn in my right hand. I tend not to drop the thread, but that means that I’m supporting the needle with my pinky/ring finger and moving it with my thumb/forefinger.
I would suggest that you just keep doing what you have been with experimenting with different positions … you just have to find what works for you.
Everyone holds their needles a little bit differently. For example, both my mother and I knit English but I tend to hold my right hand needle very loosely with my right hand on top of the needle (not really sure how to describe it :teehee: ) while my mother supports the right needle from the bottom, resting it in the “groove” between her right thumb and forefinger.
It just depends on what is comfortable for you. Also, keep in mind that while you knit the fastest with your current method (because that’s what you’re used to), as you practice with a new position you will get faster as you become more comfortable with it. I would suggest perhaps focusing on finding a position that is comfortable for you and allows you to knit without pain … speed will come with time!
I knit english and support the R needle between the L thumb and index finger while I’m making the stitch. If you do a search on Youtube for throwing or english you’ll find dozens of different ways people hold their needles, maybe one works for you.
I’m doing a very simple garter stitch scarf, and practicing ways to hold the needle. I’m going to have to go back at least a row or two, since it looks like when I pulled the needle out a little, the stitches went back on the wrong way. Is this it? Or did I turn the needle the wrong way when I was trying to “snag” the thread? (I was admittedly trying to hold the needle differently, and would just like to know what I did wrong.) There are no gaps, no drops (at least, there are no “ladders”), and no slipped stitches. When I’ve dropped a whole row (or more) before and redone it, it doesn’t look twisted.
I did searches for about 10 things before I posted, btw, and all of them came back with irrelevant returns. I don’t know what to search for. Twist comes back with cable instructions, for instance. Slip, stitch, fall, and pull come back in so many results as to be impossible to sift through, and I did read an entry or two about redoing a row; however it was about DPNs and I’m knitting flat.
[COLOR=“Red”]Also my right ring finger feels like a riot is going on between the bones and the tendons[/COLOR]; maybe I’m developing a muscle but it feels very painful, sore and achy. I’m holding the needle WRONG :doh: and I don’t know how to do it right. I can’t keep the thread at ALL tight if I use the flick stitch, (putting it on my forefinger?) and I invariably end up supporting the needle with my ring finger and pinky if I try “throwing” (I think that’s what it is, when I use the thumb/forefinger to push the thread up).
When you re-inserted your needle some of the stitches may have been twisted the wrong way. There is a video here that shows you how to recognize when your stitches are not oriented properly, and how to fix them. There are also some good tips on fixing other mistakes as well.
