Knitter's POLL

That's the way I do it, too.

Higs, Katherine

lol! It seems I'm the odd one out. I'm left handed, but am fairly ambidextrous when I knit. If I'm doing a project that's just a straight stockinette stitch (k1 row, p1 row and repeat), I'm generally too lazy to bother turning the piece around, and I'll just knit Continental one way and English the way back. It may not be the industry standard, but it looks fine, works for me, and my stitches are conveniently the same tension either way. I'm working on a pair of socks at the moment, I prefer to work on them inside out, and all the new work goes onto the right hand needle. I really only have the time to work on them at the gym, while I'm doing the exercise bike. I've gotten a few odd looks, but it really makes the

15-20 minutes fly!

My knitting is even more disreputable than just Continental. I understand it is called Eastern Uncrossed. I learned from a TV show back in the mid 60's. Some have said it was probably EZ on a PBS show, but needless to say, when I learned her way, I never looked back at the tedious method I had been using before. I am ALWAYS being told I knit wrong as my stitches do not sit the same as others' do. But it comes out the same and is so easy. I never can understand why people have trouble purling in Continental. I need to teach them how to do it EUC and they will never complain again.

Hugs, Susan

All it takes is trying.

I'm totally inconsistent, but I usually knit English style. I taught myself continental and switch back and forth from one to the other at irregular intervals. I've also experimented with Portuguese hooked knitting needles and holding the yarn around my neck, throwing it with the left thumb, which makes purling easy and knit stitches difficult. I like experimenting.

When I knit flat instead of in the round, I knit continental and purl English (American), because my purling is so loose when I try to purl in continental style.

=Tamar

Correct. Knitting sticks are sticks that have a small hole in the end to hold one end of a dpn. The knitting stick is fastened to your belt (apron string) somehow, to hold the dpn so that you can free your right hand to manipulate the yarn. The left hand moves the left needle to put the old stitch over the tip of the right dpn. The right hand flicks the yarn around the tip, and the left hand moves the left needle up and over the tip of the right needle to form the new stitch and also to knock the old stitch off the left needle.

=Tamar

That's not continental. That's knitting backwards, which is a neat technique but most people don't bother to learn it.

Continental is still worked right to left, it's just that the yarn is manipulated with the left hand instead of the right hand.

=Tamar

Sounds like it is actually a version of the English method, or my version is close to it, minus the holder for the right-hand needle (yarn in right hand, right needle-butt against right hip/leg area). Anyone know where there are any pictures of knitting sticks in action? I've heard of leather knitting belts, but couldn't quite see how to use one with a standard (non-dpn) knitting needle with flat end.

-- Carey in MA

Uhhhh? Thanks - I think?!?!

I suspect that this is something I need to see rather than read, but I do appreciate the response. I will ask around and see if someone here can show me.

I knit with the yarn in my right hand which is the way it was shown in the book I used to teach myself a very long time ago. However, I don't let go of the needle with my hand and "throw" the yarn with finger and thumb as I have seen some English knitters do. Carrying the yarn over the end of my right index finger, I just slide my hand slightly toward the needle tip and lift my finger a bit to make the stitch.

Having heard many times that continental knitting is faster, I signed up for a class fall so I could learn from an experienced teacher rather than try to teach myself. After 3 sessions and a completed hat, I could see no benefit to converting to continental. Not only was it much slower for me, it produced less even knitting.

A question for Noreen: what is the purpose of your poll?

The cat won't let me knit, so I'll post instead.

I knit English most of the time. I find it has better tension for color patterning and textured knits. I use Continental for single color 'power knitting'. I've tried alternating Continental with English, to relieve strain on my hands when knitting. It works, but the tension isn't consistent between the two of them.

Dora

Just curiousity, Jan... and if you've been here awhile, you'd know that I've always been the one to start good topics with long threads.... Noreen

Well, if you use a Russian join, you can get a real long thread out of several short ones. ;-))

-- Carey in MA (think I'd better head off somewhere else; getting plain old silly out of nowhere....)

rotfl Noreen :D

YW> Curiousity query!! Do you knit Continental/German or YW> English/American?

Most of the time English/American, because it's what I learned. Continental/German for the other color in Fair Isle, though, but every time I pick up the work I have to pay careful attention so I remember precisely how to do it.

Charlton

As a kid I learned to knit the English way (yarn in the rigth hand), and I still prefer to do it that way. I stick the right needle under my arm to hold it steady when I trow the yarn, or rather turn it around the needle tip with my fingers. I can do both methods , and I know continental should be faster but I drop a lot of stitches when I knit this wa, so in the end it is even slower. I only do it with short needles or circulars, because I can not hold them onder my arm.

Ria

Ria

I learned how to crochet first, with the yarn held in the left hand, so that's how I knit when knitting by hand, so I guess that's Continental. It wasn't explained in the Coats & Clark "How To" book that there were different methods available. That was my first book, good for learning some crochet, knitting, embroidery, and I think even tatting instructions. I haven't pulled it out in a while, but I've kept it all these years.

As for knitting faster, when I want to do that, I use the knitting machine. When I'm not in a hurry and/or want more portable projects, I do it by hand.

Leah

I can knit either , depends on the project I am working on.

There is a discussion of knitting sticks with pictures in my blog

my knitting stick, I had some problems with tension as I moved from oneneedle to the next. Now, I knit the first 3 or 4 stitches on a new needlecontinental style, then place the needle in the knitting stick. This seemsto be a better way to go around the corner. As my knitting stick technique improves, I am regrinding my DPN to have shorter, sharper tapers at the points.

Aaron, great blog, but for some reason I was unable to view any pictures, however, I found the description of the Peruvian knitting stick reminded me of my cross-stitch sti-on-it frame. Happy knitting!

-- Carey in MA