Knitter's POLL

I'll start, and include the 'story' behind it...

My gramma taught all four of her girls (my mom and aunts) to knit Continental style. My Aunt Marie had a very good friend, Gwen, who was from the UK, who told her that 'her way' was 'so much easier' and proceeded to teach Marie the English method. Marie picked it up, and proceeded to teach her sisters this way. The only one who never changed was my aunt Katherine. Mom changed, and Helen, who never really knit 'much' also changed. So, when I learned, Mom taught ME the English way... she actually forgot 'how' to knit Continental/German (!!) well.... a few years ago, when mom shattered her wrist (seven places!) she couldn't knit. She eventually, as a lot of you know, DID crochet again, but bemoaned that knitting seemed out of reach... I made it my business to learn Continental, and re-taught my Mom during a visit up-north, and neither of us has looked back! Hugs, Noreen SO, my answer is: Continental!!

Hey, Noreen!

I was taught the English method ... especially the "throw" part ... which required letting go of the needle and moving my entire arm for the simple task of a yo!!

Now that I've retaught myself, I did first try working the yarn with my fingers only and holding it in the right hand, i.e., English; but I just couldn't get the hang of it.

I'm now working Continental ... though I hadn't a clue there were names for these methods. I just copied what people were doing in pictures I found on the 'net.

Eve :o)

English method: yarn in right hand, throwing over right needle, right needle-butt standing against right hip/leg area. I'm right-handed, left-eyed, and can't manage two needles and a piece of yarn in the air all at the same time.

-- Carey in MA (working on a vest on 2 needles, and deciding what to do on the knitting machine next, after a good stash reorg....probably not any time real soon)

I was taught crochet by a sweet old lady who lived up the road from me growing up. I was eight years old, and extremely shy. She taught me to hold the yarn in the left hand and the hook in my right. I was crocheting like a champ, thanks to her tutelage. She was quite advanced in years at that time (25 years ago), so I doubt she is with us any longer. I still miss her, and wonder if Gramma Johnson (everyone in the entire town called her that) is still trucking away upstairs, with her beloved F hook....

When I decided to teach myself knitting a few years later, I set my hands as if I were going to crochet, with the yarn in my left hand. I couldn't get the hang of using those two needles, so I gave up. I picked up knitting needles again almost a year ago to the date, and tried to remember what I had tried to teach myself all those years ago. I did figure out how to do something that looked like knitting, so I thought "I got it!" Wrong. I was doing some crazy stuff! The regular knit stitch was done through the back loop somehow, and purling was done as if you were doing a normal knit stitch! I bought a book not long after, and discovered my errors. I never looked back.

I attempted to teach myself the English style so I could teach either one (when I was roped into teaching scarf-making classes last summer. SUMMER!?!), but it was so odd and awkward having to let go of a needle, that I gave up on that.

Continental. It's oh so much faster. For me, at least.

Anastasia

--who is one quarter of the way done with the edging on that NYCO Magickal Shawl! Whoo hoooooo!

The working yarn is in my left hand--does that make it "continental"? It is wrapped around my left index finger to give some tension (before I learned how to do that, I worked the yarn with left thumb and index finger, retaining the grasp on the needle with remaining fingers--it was slow, and my gauge was very loose). This finger manipulates the yarn.

Georgia

Continental. Like the other Continental knitters who have replied, I find it so awkward to let go of the needle.

Hi,

I learned to knit the English way as that's the way my Mom did it. I'm a lefty who knits and crochets the right hand way. I don't know if I could do it the Continental way or not. Maybe some day I'll give it a try.

Hugs,

Nora

I was taught first the english way which I do most of the time.

I was then taught by the MIL the continental way and do that sometimes when I want to be different than everyone else.

I learned the continental method so that I could do two handed fair isle which means no twisting of the yarn.

Darlene in Toronto

I learned the English way but I'm trying to learn contintental at the moment for variety!

Liz

I knit with thread in right hand , but i do not throw it , i sort of go easy and quickly with mt hand ,,, and ps i was taught it was the French way ,,,,So much so that whenever i knit in the train many ladies automaticly assume i was born in Marokko, or Algier .. mirjam

I knit the English way and I've been curious about the Continental way, but so far I haven't felt like going through the process to learn.

I want to learn fair isle knitting so I'm thinking that it might be easier to learn the continental way after I teach myself how to do fair isle.

If only the projects would be finished as soon as you learn a technique

- then I would know so many more techniques :)

BB

Yes!

I learned to knit English style, and I was slow! Later, this RCTY group encouraged me to knit contental style, and I started knitting much faster. Now, I am learning to knit with a knitting stick, forming the stitches with my left needle and holding the yarn in my right hand. Knitting sticks were (long ago) used by professional knitters both In Europe and in GB.

My results to date: When I knit loosely, (soft modern fabrics, ie worsted on > US #6 ) Continental is much faster. Particulularly if using circular needles. And, I sure like the safety and convience of circular needles. If you are following the needle guide on the yarn band, then Continental is the way to go.

If I was knitting very tightly (ie worsted weight at 7 spi on US#1) then English style gave me better control over yarn tension over an extended period of time. (With the continental method, my hands get tired and my tension varied over a period of time.) I also liked English for twisted stitches. Now, I have abandoned English style for use of a knitting stick with DPN.

Sunday, I moved my gansy onto a BRAND NEW pair of Addi Turbo circular needles so I could take it with me to a Lunar New Years celbration that I knew would involve hours and hours of sitting around at my SIL's talking. I had 42 inchs of fabric on 31 inch needles, and the effort to move the stitches around around the cable was so great that I seriously bent those new, very slippery needles. I knit contintental syle, and in a few hours, my gauge slipped from 7 to 6.9 spi. Yesterday my gauge was back at 7. Thus, this gansey now has built in accommodation for a (future) beer belly. Maybe instead of blocking it with steam, I will just put it on, then sit back, and try using splashes of ale to spot shrink it.

The effort to move the fabric around DPN used with a knitting stick is significantly less. However, there is delay and increased effort in switching from one DPN to the next. I do not know why, but the effort to move from one needle to the next seems to be much greated with a gansey than with say, socks. This needle transfer effort reduces DPN's total advantage over circular needles.

Aaron

Lol. This sounds exactly what I do so I guess I use the English method too. The fews times I've tried to knit with everything in the air just resulted in a bunch of stuff getting dropped. Pam

I was taught English and that is what I usually do. I have figured out how to do continental (I think, anyway, as I followed online directions and it seemed to work) but it is still a little awkward for me though surprisingly I seem to be able to get about the same tension. I do a fair amount of two color knitting (usually patterns from Dale) but I haven't mastered the yarn in each hand method some have referred to here. I am sure that is faster than the way I do it English style (though that works for me).

both

I knit English style ,and crochet holding yarn with my left hand and crochet hook in right hand. I would love to learn the other ways of knitting.

Stella

English.

Higs, Katherine

Hi Stella,

That's how I crochet too and had to try some knitting to make sure and yes I do it the English way.

Hugs,

Nora

I knit English but do not let go of the needle to make a stitch. I just extend my index finger to put the yarn around the needle tip - is that "throwing"?

I used to be much faster than I am now (playing sport and breaking 8 fingers, and then getting old will slow anyone down). Like many who learn one method very early, I have so far found it impossible to work out continental knitting (and have no-one to show me) but I will get there one day!

What are knitting sticks? I am assuming that they are not DPNs.