A few years ago, prompted by a class on Craftsy, I ventured off the beaten track and tried my hand at Continental knitting. I had read that it is easier on the hands and faster than English knitting. All this was true. Unfortunately it took me a long while for my stitches in Continental to be a regular as my stitches in English. Thus I was not able to immediately apply the new method to the projects I was already working on.
In fact it turned out that the only way I could make Continental work for me was to do everything the instructor on Craftsy said not to do, such as wrapping the string around my finger to control the tightness. Really I think I might have picked up the skill quicker if I'd had less 'instruction.'
Meanwhile, I'd also heard of a thing called "Portuguese Knitting" and had vowed to learn that skill once I could afford the Craftsy class. There was no need to wait though; The two videos below were more than sufficient to teach me all I needed to know. The first video teaches how to do a knit stitch; the second, how to do a purl stitch.
It took me about two minutes of watching the video to "get it." I started out first on some scrap yarn, but quickly moved to my major project.The knitting was coming out fine and there was no need to spend more time practicing.
One thing I do recommend is to get a Portuguese Knitting Pin. Because while you can wrap the yarn around the back of your neck, this makes it hard to pick up and put down your knitting at a moments notice, especially if you have long hair.
If you are learning to knit for the first time, I highly recommend that you start with the Portuguese style. It will save you having to learn it later when your hands start aching or you want to knit faster.
Showing posts with label Knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knitting. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Unitarian-Universalist Minister's Stole
This is the stole I knitted for our minister, Dana Worsnop.
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| BackView |
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| Detail of the bottom front |
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| Front view |
Saturday, November 24, 2012
knitting instructions - easy baby bib
Use a needle size that will give you a tight weave, so food doesn't leak through.
cast on 36 stitches. This is for a small bib - adjust the amount for a larger one.
rows 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9: knit
rows 2,4,6.8 & 10: knit, adding one stitch at the second stitch and the next to the last stitch.
knit until bib forms a square, then decrease two stitches every other row, the same way you increased at the bottom, until you are back to 36 stitches.
On the next row, knit 1/3 of the way in (in this case, 12 stitches), cast off the middle 1/3 of the stitches, and knit the last third.
On next row, continue to decrease until you have 1 stitch. Transfer the stitch to a crochet hook and crochet a single chain tie, stopping when the tie reaches 10 inches. cut yarn and weave excess yarn into tie with a yarn needle.
Knit the remaining side the same way.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
from previous blog. Category: knitting
26/02: Next knitting pattern
Found this pattern on Tricksy Knitter, and like before, adjusted it so the floats are no more than three across. This is the most ambitious I've done yet.
04/02: hearts pattern.
Here's the pattern I created for the next part of my blanket. I took a pattern on the Tricksy Knitter site and modified it so that it would only have 3-stitch wide floats in back. I don't want there to be a lot of loose threads if it's for a baby.
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