My biggest mistake to avoid is the same in just about any hobby, lifestyle, what-have-you: comparing yourself to others, and more than that, comparing yourself to others' finished product without the context of what it took them to get there. This is so dangerous about social media!
Huzzah! Finally managed the like 😊 I loved your point about being bold. That is very important, and too many people hesitate when impulsivity is called for. Knitting is very forgiving. Mistakes can be fixed, unsatisfactory results can be ripped out, more yarn can be had. If it's supposed to be fun, there's no place for fear (I think).
I used to be a finger pusher fear of loosing stitches possibly. A few things helped. Knit pro zing needles helped me see where the tip is. I tried Symphonie needles too get confident in having my stitchers closer to the needle tips. I feel like circulars may have helped too as if I had more control over my needles.
Thanks for the encouragement about trying challenging patterns! Some designers are so aggressive about pattern difficulty that they come off as discouraging which I find bizarre.
I tried to "like" this but couldn't for who knows what reason. Your points were good ones (I have been guilty of the first). Gold really for beginners 😊
I learned the take a break every 30min the hard way. I knew I should but often didn’t and one day I had shooting pain from my elbow to my wrist and could barely use that arm. I didn’t go to the doctor but I’m pretty sure I gave myself tennis elbow. I had to stop completely for two whole weeks instead of for a few minutes every 30, and it took another month before it felt fully free of discomfort if not 100% fully supported. Always take breaks and if something hurts then absolutely stop! Set a timer if you need to.
I was forced to break my finger pushing habit, when I realized it was just too painful after a hole appeared…. It’s totally possible to change any bad habit.❤
I have been teaching myself to knit since February. I definitely am a finger pusher and now can't seem to stop!!! I think it came from a few things... the tutorials I watched all used the backwards loop cast on which then creates a super tight first row which meant it was hard to get the knitted loop from left to right so I had to push them off (I also think I saw some tutorials that suggested like gently sliding the loop off with left finger so naturally I used my right to help?!) Also if I kept the knitting toward the tip my stitches were flying off so was hard to keep them near the tip. Once I got more control and started using circulars and tried out slicker needles it was easier. But I still do tend to push cuz the stitches just don't move easily unless I'm using super slick needles which then I'm afraid of dropping stitches. Slowly but surely dropping this habit. Great video!!
I am working a bottom-up drop sleeve fingering weight top and I needed to take a break by casting on a pair of socks where I can actually see some progress. 😅At least the top has an engaging stitch pattern that has propelled me most of the way through it instead of plain stockinette.(Vellichor by Andrea Mowry) Fortunately I broke the death grip habit pretty quickly by switching to wood needles early on, that made me less fearful of dropping stitches.I still prefer them for slick yarns. I usually am not a needle pusher but it happens occasionally. And I'm usually not a stitch tugger, but sometimes you need to tug for neatness. Like the first purl after a knit stitch in ribbing. Giving it an extra little tug definitely produces neater ribbing for me. It takes up the extra little bit of slack between stitches that happens when moving the yarn from the back to the front. And tugging on the second stitch on the needle in magic loop can help prevent ladders. If you don't learn to take breaks, you will give yourself a repetitive stress injury that will force you to take a months-long break to heal up. Don't ask me how I know. I love learning new things, so my comfort zone for knitting and crochet is pretty large. The things that still intimidate me are less about learning new skills and more about the time commitment involved, like the fingering weight all-over colorwork sweater that I have had the yarn for over a year now and haven't started. 😅
It is true, sometimes one needs the extra tug or push. It's only when it's every stitch that it can be a problem. And I'm the same in the time commitment! I was sitting on my yoke sweater for at least a year before buckling down to run up that hill.
Yes challenge yourself Because of challenging myself, I managed to surpass what my mother was able to Because she thought they were too hard I’ve lost count of the things I have started frogged use the yarn for something else then saw or heard something and it felt that I was ready to do that pattern that I had not been able to before and that’s where I feel like I’m actually growing in my knitting ability not when I pick up something in I’m able to do it easily but when I’ve stopped the project, then learn something and are able to go back and do it and that’s 50+ years of knitting
Hi Leela! Once again I mistook Leela’s commentary for my own Dexter’s comments about the lateness of kitty breakfast. I agree wholeheartedly about wanting to save people from negative consequences rather than trying to force conformity in knitting style. I’ve taught knitting for years and poking the needle tip with the forefinger is one of the things I often point out. Then I let it go. I gave info and the student made a choice. I agree about not wanting to be the knitting police.
Leela is a cutie. And agree. People knit his they knit. We're not making stockings for the Queen. But, if someone asks me what to do about their sore forefinger I will make a suggestion.
Beginner knitter here, thank you so much for starting off on tension and needle poking. I'm guilty of both and am in process of consciously perfecting my tension. Both tips and things to watch for were useful to me and I will practice on perfecting my craft. I love to make and wear my knit garments so I want them to be as well made as possible since my goal is to wear them to the office.
Thank you and so glad you have found this helpful! That is a great goal for your knitting. I love wearing my hand kits when I'm out and about. Such a great feeling to see yourself in the mirror and think "I made that".
I’m a beginner knitter and really appreciate your video. (And I’m glad I found you!) I’ve knitted a few washcloths, a couple of scarves and a shawl. A friend of mine told me about the Emotional Support Chicken and I thought there was no way I could do it. Well… I’m on my 2nd chicken!! And I’ve learned so much. Thank you for all the advice. (Now to see if you have a video on how to pick up your stitches when they fall off - I have to rip out the entire project and start over when that happens. 😢)
I'm guilty of the right finger push 😂 But not all the time, so I kept a careful watch on myself of when I do it because I was sick of having a sore finger! Turns out I have several circular needles in my collection that either don't have smooth joins between the cord and needle, or they're plastic needles, both of which stop the stitches from flowing properly (I knit with either acrylic or wool; there is very little inbetween). Since discovering this I've been a bit more discerning about which needle I choose to work with, instead of just casting on with the first one of the correct size. (My needles are almost exclusively 24" & 29" so I don't worry about length) Of course that doesn't help in a few sizes where I have exactly 1 needle and it's an annoying one 😂 Oh, and my current active wips are a double-knit scarf (on an annoying needle), a cable and twisted stitch wrap (on a needle that's technically too short for all the sts so that's fun lol), and a Harvest cardigan that I'm knitting in stripes decided by the roll of two (a D10 & a D8) role-playing game dice. We won't talk about the legion of non-active wips 😉
I'm a sock knitter for about 65 years! I cannot get anyone to tell me the advantage of toe up socks? Top down dpn socks can be frogged easily and the heel and toes reknit....do toe up socks just get tossed? My breaks come to me in the form of one or more of my furfolk demanding attention! They take it in turns to bonk my work right out of my hands! Leela is a sweetie...my One Toke void girl is watching this video with me! Just found this site...Liked and Subbed! From Newfoundland!
I prefer toe up socks. Everything with tow up can be done with cuff down, the only real advantage is when playing yarn chicken. With toe up socks you can always finish them earlier.
Also for the second question. with toe up you can cut into you old socks, pick up your live stitches to add a new heal or toe. But if they are that bad I'd usually throw them out.
So my issue with pushing the needles is that if I don’t, my stitches get backed up. As in when I pull my stitch off the left needle, the next stitch doesn’t scoot up to take its place. My tension is pretty good. I’ve been working on it a lot. But I can’t make the stitches flow over the needles like that. I have to bunch them up onto the needle and work 4 or 5, then I can work a few more by pushing the needle to get the stitch off, and then I have to start scrunching again. It’s the main reason I’m so slow with knitting. I have to take SO MUCH TIME to stop, put my needles down, scrunch up the stitches, pick my needles back up, reorient myself, then I can knit like 8 stitches and I have to do it again. This project I’m working now is particularly frustrating, because it calls for 32” circulars. I don’t have 32” but I can do 30”. And even *two inches smaller* the cord is just slightly too long. Which compounds my stitch issue because now I’m also fighting the cord. When I start running out of stitches they get spread out and caught in the slight bend of the cord, increasing the bend *and* increasing tension on my stitches. It doesn’t matter how hard I yank a stitch with my right needle, they won’t go anywhere unless I put it all down and scrunch. It’s absolutely maddening. I have no idea how to fix it or how to make my stitches just flow seamlessly over my needles.
Thank you for sharing! Out of curiosity what material is your needles? One reason I like metal needles is the stitches grow off more easily than bamboo or wood that have more grip b The project I'm working in the video, I do stop during the round sometimes to push the stitches along. But I push from the back instead of my forefinger.
I'm a tight knitter English style and I've never heard of pushing the left needle... I push the right needle with my left index finger. I can see that can be trouble for longer projects with finer needles which I haven't gotten into yet. Also, I don't see how I can't knit continental comfortably but I started yarn crafts with crochet (yarn on my left) 😅
@@CarrieCraftGeek usual right to left... I push it down after wrapping the yarn on the right needle.. Helps me to lock in that stitch faster then pull it off the left needle. Mostly happens if the stitch is pretty tight.
Yarn throwers? Is this is channel for English-style knitters? I only knit Portuguese style (which also means I don't hold the yarn in my right OR my left hand...neither, because it goes around a pin on my shoulder, lol!)
