Continental Knitting Two Ways // Technique Tuesday 

Hear, hear! I "think" I knit Russian and continental mix. I only think.

For yourself

When teaching someone, I make it clear that there are other ways to do the deed and whichever way they find easier is the one they should use. I am only proficient in 'throwing' so can't easily teach continental. But let them know about RU-vid and how to Pause and Slow the video. I'm still having problems with continental - which is annoying for me because I'm used to being ambidextrous - and can't seem to do both hands for knitting or crocheting or a sewing needle.

@@Marny5580 I learned continental after developing tendinitis, but I still sometimes, and with certain yarns, struggle with continental - for eg., I’m currently knitting a pattern kit for a summer ‘T’ using a 100% silk yarn, and cannot control tension at all using continental, but no problem with English ‘throwing’.

So true. I wrap the yarn the reverse of most English knitting and it’s been called “weird”. No, it’s the way that’s most comfortable for me.

I have arthritis in my hands too- I do stretches for rock climbers 😂 and it helps! I do several stretching exercises for my hands before I start fiber working and I’ve found less fatigue and less swelling in my knuckles. I also tape my really bad knuckles up with kinesio tape- it’s a stretchy sticky tape they use in PT. There are tutorials online for different ways to tape different body parts. It’s worked wonders for my knee after surgery, my toe that doesn’t bend and my carpal tunnel! All my best! Don’t forget to take breaks. ❤❤

What does a small town have to do with how you knit?

@@brittanyking7705 : If it's a very small town there's a good chance the local Mrs Know-It-All is going on about how she's knitting the "wrong" way. If it's a small-ish town there's a good chance that the knitting teachers all have the same technique (and may not be aware of other techniques or may, dare I say it, be prejudiced against them).

Me too! 😊

Me too. It's getting easier...particularly purling.

That's ironic, because I was the only knitter in a family of proficient crocheters. My grandmother taught me English-style knitting as a child because I wanted to make a Dr. Who scarf, but I quickly lost interest, and found that I was never interested in crocheting despite seeing my grandmother, mother, and, eventually, my sister crocheting away in the evenings. I picked knitting back up in my late 20's and became quite good at it through the repetition of basic stitches. (I made LOTS of scarves in either garter or seed stitch. For years.) While back home visiting, I asked my mom to teach me crochet basics because I wanted to learn to crochet some jingle bell Christmas ornaments, made by her and my grandmother, which I had loved as a child. They involved single, double, and triple crochet, so I was crocheting a sampler of sorts to get those stitch techniques down before moving on to the bell. Even though I was new to crocheting, I was Really pleased with my sampler - which was looking great because managing my yarn tension had already become second nature. My mom, however, completely fixated on the way I was holding my yarn - telling me repeatedly that it was "gross". While she didn't necessarily say it in a nasty way, her criticism was repetitive even though I pointed out that if my tension was good, it didn't really matter how I held my yarn. I wasn't transitioning correctly from one round to the next, consistently throwing my little bells off-kilter. I knew the problem was that I wasn't recognizing the correct stitch to work into, and I repeated asked her how to identify which stitch I should work into. But instead of explaining, she would just grab it from me and crochet it for me, saying, "THIS is how you do it." Which, in hindsight, may have been why I was never interested in crocheting years earlier - it would have increased her criticism and impatience with me... As a child, I didn't have a choice about being a target. But as an adult, I just very quickly decided, "Nope. Not interested anymore." I actually didn't mean this to turn into a diatribe about my mother, but here it is. You never know when a burst of introspection will come over you, and I've learned to let them breathe. 😄😊😊

@@Stretch1003 i can totally identify. My moms a little bit the same about sewing. Shes like master level garment making, custom alterations, wizard repairs, perfect elaborate halloween costumes, quilting and shes just gosh darn good at everything but theres a good reason i chose yarn so that we can still be friends lol

I just love the diversity of knitting stlyles! Dealing with personalities is a whole different ball of yarn, haha. Regardless, It reach a few classes with my C and K crowd and I always say, don't sign up with preconceived notions about right and wrong, we are on a journey, BTW check out Portuguese knitting for an eye opener and Russian knitting as well.

@@Stretch1003 Thank God that my mother never attempted to teach me how to knit or crochet, or I would not be any good at either!

I do the same. I close fist continental knit and purl Norwegian.

I'm so glad you liked it! I hope you find it helpful in your knitting journey. :-)

It’s called Norwegian style. Check out Arno and Carlos videos

I’ve attempted the open hand method of continental knitting and it just does not work for me. The closed hands, needles loosely held, with yarn tensioned from my pinky finger, work for me.

I knit mixing Continental and English.

@@barbarapinto2305 My mom was Norwegian and taught me, it's different for sure and hard to break the habit having learned at 6yrs old. Wen Scott is right, do what's comfortable and tension achievable.

@@barbarapinto2305oh interesting. My mom who’s Swedish taught me. I always thought I was knitting wrong. Now I know it’s just another style

This is what I encourage crocheters to do! Try continental style first! I didn’t learn how to tension my yarn in my right hand. Then I learned crochet and enjoyed that, then learning continental was a breeze.

I am a crocheter who could never make peace with knitting (dropping loops is so scary) I feel like this style is gonna make more sense for my hands

Same here. I have to keep letting the yarn go to re tension it and can’t get a proper flow. Also not sure that my right index finger is up for all that work! Fun to try and to gain another skill though.

Interesting, bc it’s the purls that I’m fast with and slow with the knits. I knit the same way except I use my left thumb to kinda push the right needle up a bit so it’s closer to the yarn as I throw it.

⁹

YES! Open is so unnatural for me

Glad you mentioned this.

ooh i will look into that! love arne and carlos 🥰

@@welpppppppppppppp ... So simple, and less strain on the hands... ie, no finger in the air! lol

Recently discovered Norwegian purling and I LOVE IT!!!

I’m a closed hand continental knitter and don’t purl in the way shown or the way Arne and Carlos do it. I wrap the yarn the other way so the movement is really small. To keep 1x1 ribbing neater I can do this with the yarn in back.

Amazing tutorial

I did a video on Norwegian purl many years ago. :-)

I'm so glad things finally clicked for you. I was a thrower for more than 20 years before I gradually shifted (over the course of 4 years) to Continental. I still use my original method in some situations, but because it didn't work well for knitting in the round (I keep a long straight needle anchored when I throw), I needed to add another style to my repertoire.

Yes, I'm having a heck of a time purling with the continental hold. Knitting has become pretty quick and easy as a novice knitter, but the purling... 😳😑🤷🏼‍♀️

Have you found a trick for closed handed purling that works for you? I’m working on it, and so far the best I can do is to hold the yarn between my left index and thumb, and the needle between my other three fingers, but it feels too laborious- I’m new to continental because the efficiency appeals to me, but this new way of purling is very difficult.

I’ve tried a few ways, but my most comfortable…I’ll try and describe it as well as I can! I tension the yarn as i normally do, then I rest the left needle against 4 fingers (pinky up to index finger), and hold the yarn in front, resting against my work with my thumb (so it comes over my index finger, then under my thumb). Then I insert the right needle through the stitch, and then rotate the needle down under the yarn while also bringing the yarn over it using the thumb and index finger of my left hand. Once the yarn is wrapped over the needle I bring my left hand back down to the original position, with the yarn between it and the work, keeping the tension while i bring the yarn through the stitch and off the left needle. I hope that makes sense! Edit: if I’m going quick enough even just lifting my thumb off the yarn is enough to get it over the needle, then I just press it back on the yarn once I’m ready to pull it through the stitch :)

@@fayeeify I’ll give it a try- thank you so much!

I will never understand people who tell others that they are knitting or crocheting "wrong," just because the other person does it differently than they do.

There is no one "right" way of knitting. I'm sorry that you were made to feel inadequate, simply because of a difference in knitting style. The important thing is to find what works for you, keeps you comfortable, and produces results that you like!

If you're happy with your knitting speed, it's comfortable, and you get the result you want, then you're doing it right! :-)

For some people, that is true. Others find the introduction of a second needle makes it harder, so they will adopt a different knitting style. And for those who start out knitting like this, it can make crochet easier to get started.

I’m having a struggle with that, too!

Me three. I can sort of do continental with bigger needles and yarn in slow motion.

@@CarinaPiersay It's so worth the trouble. Then, if you ever do double knitting, it will be a breeze.

@Lorraine Hutter I really think I do. I get bored because English style goes so slow. I think it’s just a matter of having the patience to see it through, practice and let it evolve.

Changing styles once you have learnt one does take time and frequent short practises as you are changing or adding to a brain pattern -allow 6 weeks with regular practise. I use continental predominately as that is what my mother and grandmother did but school it was English - so it I seldom finished anything and it was in my late teens that I completed something of my own choice in my own style. English is great when frequently colour change and I now have a combination of English and continental if working in two colours. The advantage of continental is that it is more wrist and less arm so if you having elbow/shoulder issues you can continue knitting by switching styles.