Continental knitting demo

wow, i feel like I came to class in the middle of the semester.

I'm a new knitter, learned by throwing, with a few arthritis problems, tho' minor. Your way of holding the yarb makes the sense However, I must be a major klutz. I'm having trouble coordinating my fingers and controlling tension. I'll keep plugging away at it. Thanks!

I throw, I do Continental, and I do reverse-perl (that is, I knit BACKWARDS to perl a long row). I'm an international knitter. :)

You know, I appreciate your video. I think it's clear and well photographed. But, I guess this version of continental knitting is not for me. My index finger sometimes gets a cramp, and I thought this method would alleviate that.

I still gets a cramp trying to maintain some tension, and I can't control my stitch size.

Of course, it doesn't help that we left-handers not only have to reverse everything you say, but also re-interpret the pictures you present.

Then again, we're used to it.

If your left finger is cramping, it is likely you are holding it too high u, which ruins the hand geometry, and makes your finger try to fix it. try lowering it. Make sure your right hand forefinger gets on every finished stitch, so when you pull the yarn through your left hand, it glides through. It's hard to give you tips without seeing you, but try keeping your left hand forefinger from drifting up toward the ceiling. Best of luck.-Lorilee

Years ago, before internet, when there weren't any knit shop classes, etc. my fingers were stiffening with arthritis so I tried different things and I figured out how to knit this way. For a long time, I thought that I had invented a new way to knit :>{} Thank you for confirming that this method results in a much looser stitch that requires dropping down two or more needle sizes to get the right gauge. I thought loose stitches were an error in the way I was doing it.

I totally agree that continental is faster, more efficient and smoother, but your examples of the throwing style do not really represent how quickly a person can knit this way...

I have friends who throw beautifully. I admire it. I stink at throwing and freely admit it- not trying to make it look bad here on purpose. Really. Apologies to graceful throwers. When I used to throw, I planted needle in leg-pit and could be speedier.

Never knew that "throwers" could be sensitive about the efficiency of that method. Whew!

They're really not so sensitive. Knitters are a gracious bunch. I don't think everyone should knit this way. I do think everyone should knit....what a world that would be.