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Three Methods to Hold the Knitting Needles and Yarn

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There are several ways to hold one’s knitting needles when you knit. Watching a group of knitters will give you a good example of the many and various ways that people hold their yarn and needles: no two knitters knit in exactly the same way. Also, most knitters are self-taught to a certain extent, so their choices are as individual as they are. However, you can choose the English (throwing) method, Continental (picking)method, or Portuguese (yarn around the neck) style, which are commonly used.

Start by casting on any way that you are used to. Then, pick up the needle with your stitches on it in your left hand, if you are right-handed. (Left-handed knitters will do the opposite throughout.) The most important thing in knitting is the tension you hold the yarn at when you knit; in the English method, you accomplish this by threading the yarn through the fingers of the right hand in such a way that it allows the yarn to move freely through the fingers, while at the same time being not too tight or too loose, and remaining comfortable to you. You can hold the yarn by wrapping it once around the pinky, going under your ring and middle finger, and up over your index finger before knitting the stitch. The individuality of knitters, however, leads to many ways of threading the yarn to achieve good, consistent tension, so you can experiment with threading the yarn through various fingers to get the best result.

The Continental method is similar, but you get the tension from holding the yarn as well as the left-hand needle in your left hand. The right hand holds the working needle and does all the work. The tension can be controlled by threading the yarn through your left hand in the same manner it was threaded through the right hand in the English method, but be aware that this is a very individual part of knitting, so you should try different ways to get the tension control that is comfortable for you.

In Portugese knitting (also called Turkish, Andean or Greek), the tension is largely controlled by running the yarn from the right side of your body, around the neck or through a knitting pin made especially for this technique, pinned to your shirt high on the left side. The stitches are held on the left-hand needle at a comfortable distance from your body.

Now, put the right-hand needle through the stitch on the left-hand needle, and either throw the yarn counter-clockwise around the right-hand needle and pull it through if you are using the English method, or scoop the yarn through the stitch with the right-hand needle if you are using the Continental method. In Continental knitting, you can imagine the tip of the right-hand needle acting as a hand to scoop the yarn. The Shetland Islanders use their armpit or a knitting sheath to hold the left-hand needle immobile, and hold the yarn with their left hand, using the right hand to hold the other needle and scoop the yarn.

To knit in the Portuguese style, you put the needle under the yarn and through the stitch, but then you cross the right-hand needle in front of the left-hand needle – this is where Portuguese knitting differs from English or Continental knitting. Flick the yarn up and counterclockwise around the right-hand needle using your thumb, and scoop the yarn towards you, pulling it through the stitch. In Portuguese knitting, you keep your hands relatively inactive, and use your thumb to create the stitches.

Each method has several advantages. The English style of knitting is easy to learn, and is used my most knitters. Continental knitting is faster and is easy, once you master it. There is less movement required to simply scoop the yarn through instead of wrapping the yarn around the needle before pulling it through. The Portuguese style is much easier and faster to purl than to knit, and it is easier to control the tension. Also, because of the lack of effort in the whole hand, Portuguese is easier to perform for people who have carpal tunnel or arthritis problems.

You are encouraged to try all three methods to knit, and choose the one that is most comfortable to you. Happy knitting!


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