I haven't used a sheath, but have used a knitting belt. IMHO, it is a nice bit of knitting tradition to know/use if you are a knitting history buff, or want to demonstrate knitting techniques used for production knitting in the Yorkshire Dales and Shetland Isles, not something that I use in every day knitting. My suggestion would be to try to find a copy of "The Old Hand Knitters of The Dales"
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and/or "Knitting by the fireside and on the hillside": A history of the Shetland hand knitting industry c.1600-1950. Both books are now OOP, but contain pictures of knitters using both knitting belts and sheaths.To approximate how the belt or sheath worked, tuck the left knitting needle firmly under the left arm to hold it, freeing the left hand to manulipate the yarn in conjunction with the right. It also helps knowing now to "flick" the yarn with the tip of the index finger instead of moving the whole hand/arm to loop the yarn around the working needle, flicking the yarn is the same motion that is used in two handed stranded knitting. Essentially, you would be re-learning to knit.AFAIK, there are no places on line that have any information on the use of either the sheath or the knitting belt.Hope this information is usefulDA
Thanks, you have helped a lot. I have an idea what I am up against to learn the sheath. I might get annoyed and use the sweater machine I purchased a while back.
It is kind of like the sheath. Once you learn to use it properly it is great.
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It took a couple of months for me to figure out how to use the knitting sheath. Now, I am way faster with the sheath, than without. It is better than tucking a needle under the arm. It also allow me to knit things that I can not knit without it.
I will get my wife to take some pictures put up a blog post > >> Besides Aaron who has tried to help Katherine and myself.
Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...
I found that I needed 5 x 16" needles to caste on and then do a twist free join for my gansey. After I got into all the cables, then 5 x 12" needles were more easier. For hats, socks, scarves, mittens and what not, the 5 x12" or even 5 x 9" work just fine. With a good strong sheath, and tight knitting so the needles do not fall out, you can also work with many shorter needles, such 7 x 10" needles. Then, you can have one needle for every stitch panel. I think that the longer (12 to 16 inch)steel needles made from music wire have the best spring action resulting in the best knitting action.
Working on 4 needles and a knitting sheath is very clumsy (when sitting) - you need 5 needles so the knitting can flex and fit in your lap. Four needles do work if you are standing or walking, but who knits while walking anymore?
The sheath or pouch stabilizes the 5 needles so it is not as floppy and spider-like, as 5 needles and no pouch or sheath.
Using a knitting sheath, it is possible to lounge at almost any angle and still knit by adjusting the location of the belt and the angle of insertion for the knitting sheath. For example, with better knitting sheath technology, I am back to knitting in my overstuffed leather recliner.
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