Top Ten Least Favorite Knitting Myths!
UPDATE: Since there were so many amazing comments, check out the sequel to this post – YOUR Top Ten Least Favorite Knitting Myths
A few days ago a knitter came into the “Knitting Doctor” (a knitting help session) with a scarf that had gotten off in pattern. I ripped down 5 rows to where the pattern looked like it went astray and then I told her we were going to read her knitting to figure out what row she was on so we could get her back on track. I started to read the row on the needle and I saw that the second stitch was unworked. I told her that can happen when she pulls her work off the needle to rip, she had dropped a stitch and so when she put all the loops back on, what she had was a slipped stitch, no worries, we’ll fix that.
I read the knitting and checked the pattern – no match. I tinked back one more row and again the second stitch was slipped. I asked her if she was following the pattern exactly (it had a selvage edge created by slipping the first stitch purlwise). She said yes, she was keeping a selvage edge and working the pattern. Again the row did not match anything. I said “are you sure you weren’t slipping the second stitch?” Again, she swore she was “keeping her selvage edge and following the pattern” . . . then the truth came out . . . she said she means, not counting the two stitches she added. She said she did what she always does, she adds two stitches to the pattern, “you know, a selvage edge.” A bit baffled I counted her stitches – yup, 26 stitches on the needle, 24 in the pattern, WHICH WAS WRITTEN WITH A SELVAGE EDGE!!!!
Turns out her friend told her that in knitting you “always” add two stitches to every pattern. So . . . the helpful designer had written a scarf with a slipped stitch selvage edge, which she was doing on the second stitch, since her friend told her that helpful (read – crazy) bit of advice.
This leads me to my Top Ten Least Favorite Knitting Myths (some real, some fanciful). Please read in the voice of David Letterman.
Top Ten Least Favorite Knitting Myths
#10: You always add two stitches to any pattern!!
(Note: The designer helpfully thought of the edge so you don’t have to – that sounds like a TV commercial.)
#9: If you become a spinner and make your own yarn . . . you will buy less yarn
(Note: There’s no way to sugar coat this – THIS IS A LIE. You will simply have more yarn. The yarn you spin and the yarn you continue to buy, AND you will have less time to knit this yarn, since you now spin. Welcome to the rabbit hole.)
#8: It’s always better to create an SSK by slipping the first stitch as if to knit and the second stitch as if to purl
(Note: This is one of the least offensive myths on the list. It’s good hearted. It does create a nice flat SSK by twisting the second stitch. However, there are very few “alwaysessss” in knitting or in life. In some lace patterns that have YOs on alternative rows that reveal the base of the SSK, it doesn’t look great. Moral of the story – by wary of “always.”)
#7: Knitting is hard
(Note: the number of times I hear people tell me “I could never knit, it looks so hard, I would not have the patience.” This statement usually comes out of the mouths of brilliant people who have mastered their careers, and in some cases are juggling child care mastery at the same time . . . but somehow two sticks and string seems impossibly intimidating.)
#6: Knitting is easy
(Note: nothing to say.)
#5: You ALWAYS slip the first stitch of every row.
(Note: a cousin to #10 – this one makes me crazy go nuts. It’s spread like wildfire through yarn stores. Although a selvage edge is lovely if that’s your finished edge, if you are knitting pieces that you will be seaming, a slipped stitch in many yarns can makes mattress stitch a sloppy drag.)
#4: If you are a combination knitter you can’t do (fill in blank: lace, double knitting, brioche . . .)
(Note: This is posh & nonsense. I teach combination knitting, and I assure you, there’s nothing that an eastern and combination knitter can’t do. Once you understand the anatomy of your stitches and how to control them, the knitting world is your oyster.)
#3: Knitters are always friendly and kind
(Note: Knitters are human beings – for the most part, therefore, like all human beings, some are awesome and some are . . . well . . . not.)
#2: To get a long tail cast on with an elastic edge, use a larger needle (or dopier still) two needles.
(Note: This is by FAR my least favorite myth, and one that simply will not die. The needle creates the size of the stitch, therefore using a larger needle only creates a first row with taller stitches. The elasticity of the edge would come from how far apart you space your stitches, controlled by the thumb yarn. When doing a long tail cast on, plant your finger on the needle to the left of the stitch you just cast on, to act as a spacer between it and the next new stitch.)
#1: (Paul Shaffer’s drum roll here) KNITTING IS THE NEW YOGA!
(Note: STOP IT. Really, everyone stop saying that. First of all, knitting is not the “new” anything. Knitting is it’s own thing and has been around for quite a few years. Second of all, that pithy little sound bite was first uttered about 10 years ago – I remember first reading it in 2003, so seriously – get a new line. Seriously. I mean it.)
Please share your favorite (or least favorite) knitting myths in the comments. Love to hear them.
For more myth busting, and some awesome knitting tips, check out my new Interweave DVD Patty’s Knitting Bag of Tricks
CLICK HERE for DVD
CLICK HERE for Digital Download
11. “You are knitting the wrong way.” That is, continental vs. English vs. “throwing.” I knit for years as a thrower doing a variety of projects and patterns and then changed to continental doing a variety of projects and patterns. Ultimately, I noticed no change of speed after mastering both methods (though I will admit, knit/purl combos, especially seed stitch, seemed a little more enjoyable with continental. Tell any knitter they are “knitting the wrong way” and risk a needle in your eye.
YES!!!! That makes me nuts. I love knowing lots of ways to make a stitch (Continental, English, Portuguese, knitting backwards, Combination, Eastern etc.) and I’ll use whichever way works best for the project I’m working on. I’LL decide what’s right or wrong for me – thank you very much!
Love your comments on this! I, too, am a continental knitter who also plays with all the other methods you mentioned and have heard it all!
For the longest time I would not knit in public because anyone that knitted would say that I did it wrong because of my technique. I taught myself to knit, and didn’t know anyone who knitted, so I guess I do it oddly.
Not oddly- masterfully! You’re the master of your own creation, right?
I lead a knitting group of ladies at an assisted living center as a volunteer. One of them called me throwing the yarn ‘the stupid way’ to knit. Hard to bite my tongue sometimes.
YES!!!! As a teacher I freaking hate when people say they have been told they knit wrong!!!! I have to go back and say that no your doing fine after their confidence is shot! Frustrates me!!!
If it looks like knitting…………….lol
I am comfortable knitting both continental AND English style (aren’t English, American and throwing the same thing?) and frequently switch within the same row. If I’m knitting cables, I knit English. If it’s straight run, continental. Whatever seems more comfortable at the time. If anyone tells you that you are doing it wrong, tell them you don’t need their negativity.
I’ve been knitting for 30 years+. I studied textiles in college. I design/sew/knit/crochet semi-professionally and I teach them all too. I only stumbled on the fact that there are defined ways of knitting in the last two years. Who cares? I never figured out how I knit. I just do it. To hell with definitions. My sweaters, mittens, hats and etc. still look like sweaters, mittens, hats and etc. I’m totally evil laughing at this post and your genius response. Knit on!
I first learned to throw, then taught myself to pick. It sure makes it easy to do colorwork being able to do both, with one yarn in each hand…
The hard to learn thing was knitting backwards, but doing so makes entrelac much easier and faster, not having to turn the work every time for the short rows.
I actually found continental a little faster, till I matured (read got older) and Arthur-itis reared it’s ugly head.
I knew a knitter in MD, who came in to the shop I worked in regularly and she was knitting the “wrong way” She was self taught and was knitting into the back of the stitch every time. This caused a twist in her stitch, and used up more yarn. But, she finished many fine garments that she wore while listening to people tell her she was knitting the “wrong way” Most of them had several WIPs going at once. I personally told her that she was knitting “her way” I love trying new techniques and methods and, even though I’ve been knitting for 50 years I learned something new just a couple of days ago.
I once got a panicked voicemail from a knitting friend telling me that her knitting project kept getting “bigger.”
My advice: if your knitting project keeps getting bigger, stop knitting. Your piece will now remain the same size.
-L. Waterfield -Knitting Genius
BRILLIANT!
Love your advice! I always tell my sister”don’t try to fix your mistakes.. Stop knitting ”
Wait for me to help..
“Knitting is for old ladies.”
Actually, I’m a middle-aged lady but I learned as a young girl. My husband is a middle-aged man and he learned 2 months ago. There is nothing age-specific about the process (though a bit of coordination helps). And my husband assures me that his dangly bit has never interfered with his knitting.
People have the strangest ideas.
Lmao!!
Ha!
Bwahahaha
I’m 29 this year, have been knitting and crocheting since I was a teenager. I love making handmade things for people – it’s my way of showing I care.
That, and my lace knitting gets tons of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and who doesn’t like an ego boost once in a while?
I learned to knit as a child, because I wanted to make the mittens that my mom always made for us! I never wanted to knit flat, my first knitting goal was seamless mittens on 4dpn! I now do lace knitting for relaxation from by day job as a bridal seamstress. I also crochet, just not as well, as knitting is easier for me, and easier on my now arthritic fingers.
So glad I peed before I read ur post. Bahahaha dangly bit.
I, too, was taught as a young girl (“knitting is for old ladies” – my foot!!). Taught both my boys to knit when they were young, too. You should have seen the looks from my husband when he came home from work to find all 3 of us sitting on the couch knitting!
Pure awesomeness.
Omg that drives me nuts! I’m 23 tomorrow and I learned to knit when I was 15 and I absolutely love it! Why is knitting associated with old? Like everyone is always so impressed that a young 20’s knits and I’m just like why??? Like whether you’re like 5 or 105 knitting is knitting!
Another lie: This is the best way to cast on: (name a cast on here
There is no best, there is only best for a project. The best cast on for a cuff on a man’s sweater (for hunting or camping) is not the best cast on for a lace shawl.
there are over 60 ways to cast on, all are good for something.
I knit combo by preference, i can knit standard continental, but i also knit reverse (or true left handed,) and i can knit Portugues, (but i don’t often- I have arthritis, but its worse in my thumb, so Portugues isn’t a good option!)
There is one cast on that uses 2 needles (in one hand) that does work… Ms Hiatghs, long tail with one needle for the index finger yarn, and a second needle for the thumb yarn… but any cast on that has you cast on over 2 needles held together, is rubbish.
#9. I buy tons more yarn now that I’m a spinner. I buy more quality yarns than I did before becoming a spinner.
I love spinning however it takes “Me” a long time to spin and ply 4oz. I buy yarn to knit large pieces.
“You don’t need to learn to knit if you already know how to crochet. Why do you need to know both?” Why did I learn to drive a manual transmission if I would be driving an automatic? The simple answers of “because I can or I want to” seem odd to a lot of people.
“You don’t need to learn to knit if you already know how to crochet. Why do you need to know both?” — that one kept me from learning to knit for a long time.
I think I was afraid to learn to knit, as if my crochet skills would suddenly vanish.
Now I spin, crochet and knit. I can work with all kinds of yarns. I like it.
Lol right? Or the “well aren’t they pretty much the same?” or “which do you like better?” to which i reply it depends on the project
Thank you for NOT including “knitting is for grannies.” The sexism and ageism inherent in that statement is so egregious that it makes me want to spit. What is worse are the young women who are so adamantly opposed to that statement, not once considering how offensive they are being to older women. The only possible response to it is, “would that I could knit half as well as my granny.”
Brilliant observations.
Blocking fixes mistakes.
I teach a class on blocking (both live and online: http://bit.ly/blockknit) and it has a big “warning” section about how blocking can not solve all ills.
What about the “Never knit your boyfriend a sweater” one? Myth or truth?
Ah, funny you should mention that. I write a knitting advice column for Creative Knitting (it will be announced on Tuesday) and I just got an e-mail asking me for that very advice. Keep your eye out for my upcoming column 🙂
I have knit Christmas gifts for the last four of my sister’s boyfriends and they were all ex-boyfriends before the next Easter. Is four in a row still coincidence? Or does it not count because they were not MY boyfriends? Maybe that’s a different myth??
Someone told me never knit your boyfriend anything. He asked me to make him a hat, so I cast one on. He left on New Years and I just finished it about 2 weeks ago. So (if I ever date again) I will NOT be knitting for a boyfriend ever again.. lol
I have knit things for boyfriends too, I will not be doing it again. It is too sad to see things I have painstakingly, lovingly made, leave with a man who wasn’t worth the time. My brothers love handmade socks and sweaters and they are stuck with me for life!
I made my husband a couple of things before we got married – two toques (beanie hats) with really awesome colorwork on them – one Transformers, one Star Wars.
He never wears them. Might be because it’s been too warm the last little while, but it still makes me a little sad.
Never made anything for any of my other boyfriends, though, probably because I knew they wouldn’t stick around.
Never knit ANYTHING for a boyfriend, until there is a ring on your finger. Words I have sworn by since the Scarf Incident of 1999.
@Ladona, speaking of rings, that must be why I tend to knit something for each of my lovers quite early on in the relationship: the hope that they won’t stick around past their welcome. Unfortunately, in a few occasions it took me several years to get rid of them after I knitted them something.
My husband of 26 years still has a sweater knit by an ex girlfriend… So for the sake of his future wife, don’t knit him a sweater. I honestly think he hangs on to it because he knows, from living with me, how much time and effort went in to making it!
Never knit for boyfriends but I started knitting for my husband soon after our wedding… It’s taken 35 years but I’ve finally knit him a sweater that fits! Guess I’ll keep him!
“You’ll save money making it yourself”. Uh, no. But you’ll end up with exactly what you want.
Ha! I learned to knit because I thought it would be cheaper than buying the $400 shawl. That was a little over a year ago. In the last year, I’ve spent about $1500 on yarn, not including project bags, needles, notions, classes, retreats, and five million cups of coffee at various knit groups. Buying the shawl would have saved me a small fortune, but I wouldn’t have had anywhere near as much fun, I wouldn’t have custom knitwear, and I wouldn’t have all the amazing friends that I’ve made in the last year…and they are priceless.
That’s awesome.
I love this one! If that were the case, I would have spent much less money for baby showers, Christmas presents, birthday presents, etc. I spent about $20 each skein on yarn for my niece and nephew for scarves, hats and mittens that I made them this year for Christmas. I could have bought them a set with the same types of items but then they wouldn’t have something that Auntie made them to keep them warm during this yucky winter weather. I guess if you buy cheap yarn then it can be true but what fun is that?
I knit my grandkids things all the time. Cheaper, not by a long shot. Priceless the look on their faces when they open the packages from grandma.
That said, I’m very picky about who gets my hand knit things. Many people don’t have a clue how much time and money is involved.
So true – a neighbour of my daughter asked me if I could make her a cardigan like one I was wearing, so I priced up just the yarn for her (cheaper acrylics and the good stuff which I prefer working with – merino) after which she said don’t bother….. it is so annoying that people do not appreciate all the hard work that goes into the smallest handcrafted item.
My handicrafts go to only my special friends and family members now 🙂
Think of your knitted dollar as money spent for entertainment. You spend 11 or 12 $ on 2 to 3 hours of movie, suddenly many hours of knitting fun are really a good value.
I believe Elizabeth Zimmerman can get some of the credit for “Always Slip the First Stitch.”
When I cast on in Twisted German/Old Norwegian I use a much smaller needle along with called for needle. Otherwise my loop is so tight it is a nightmare to knit the first row. Doesn’t seem to be problem with other cast on methods.
i love this list of myths. I learned to knit as a combination knitter 60 years ago and have been told hundreds of time that I knit wrong, or weird, or I’ll never be able to finish things or everything will be wonky. Loved your Craftsy class, btw.
Thank you! I’m so glad.
How about the ever popular “you need to switch to continental, you’ll knit faster” or “you can’t knit from a skein, you need to wind it first”.
I don’t see why using two needles to cast on made it on the list. If you’re using a single-strand cast-on, then larger loops = extra length in the strand = more stretch.
Not really. The needle size will dictate the size of the stitch, not the spacing between two stitches. I prove this in my new Interweave DVD, Knitting Bag of Tricks: http://bit.ly/KBT-dvd
I demo casting on the way most knitters do using a US 10.5 (needle 2 sizes larger than I knit with) and the edge is still too tight. All it did was create a larger first row. Then I demo casting on with a US 7 (needle 2 sizes SMALLER than I knit with) in long tail and properly controlling the spacing (a step most knitters skip) which is done not with the finger yarn (the yarn that makes the new loop on the needle), but rather the thumb yarn.
Check it out, you won’t be sorry 🙂
If the yarn somehow *cannot* move from the stitches to the strands between them, then why does backward loop cast on end up with so much space between the stitches? It’s not like people leave a lot of space between the stitches.
Your example of how it doesn’t matter what size needle you use, with a cast on that is not in the condition I gave, is rather irrelevant to trying to claim that needle size can never have an effect.
Because backwards loop is not a completed stitch, so the slack from the loop can go into either side. Long tail is actually a row of knitting, so the fact that the loops are taller, won’t effect it’s spacing.
I don’t understand how what you’re saying is addressing what I said. My comment was ” If you’re using a single-strand cast-on, then larger loops = extra length in the strand = more stretch.” You keep mentioning long-tail, which uses two strands. If that’s your example, and that’s what you can use to argue that needle size is irrelevant, then it’s not going to do anything to convince me that I’m incorrect.
Quite the opposite – if the only example that proves something that is true “all the time” is one that I specifically excluded in my counterexample, I tend to come to conclusion that the counterexample holds, and the really strong illustration just confuses people into thinking that the counterexample doesn’t exist.
Yes, backwards loop is nothing but slack 🙂
I was in fact referring to the most common cast on, and the cast on that this myth is attached to, which is long tail. Sorry for the confusion. I’ve edited the post to mention long tail.
Re: #2, Long-tail cast-on:
Firstly, you’ll need to argue with Elizabeth Zimmermann. Sadly, she’s gone, so that’s going to be a little hard.
Secondly, you’d have to argue with my two Swedish great-aunts and my Swedish grandmother, all of whom tag-team taught me to knit, teaching me the same way they were all taught. Sadly, they’re all also gone, so again hard.
Thirdly, you’ll have to argue with my cast-on edges which do not contain, “big, sloppy stitches.”
Fourthly, you’ll have to consider that EZ, my g-aunts, grandmother and I all knit Continental. Perhaps that makes a difference in the final product, eh?
Fifthly, you’ll also have to argue with Mary Thomas who, in 1938, advocated the 2-needles-held-together method for Continental knitters.
Seventhly, knitters, including me, are an opinionated people.
I always hold 2 needles together when doing a long tail CO. I am a Continental knitter and tend to cast on tight. The two needles seem to work for me and I don’t end up with big, sloppy stitches. When I don’t, my CO edge tends to curve because it’s way too tight. I now just do other COs whenever possible.
I have to admit I always slip the 1st stitch when I’m knitting flat. I like the look of it. My favorite myth is that you can’t stop in the middle of a row. If this were true how would you be able to stop if you’re knitting in the round?
Actually here in Italy people are told to always stop in the middle of the row to prevent stitches falling off the needle.
That’s not a myth! That’s something knitters tell non-knitters to get them to stop telling you to put your knitting down! It can also be hard to stop in the middle of a row if you’re doing a complicated pattern. Insofar as knitting in the round goes, your row would finish where your pattern told you that your row finished 🙂
My friend always knit socks. He used to constantly say to his wife (when she wanted to leave the house, or go to bed), “let me just finish this row”. One day, she looked at him, realized he ONLY knit in the round and screamed “Hey, there IS no end to that row!!”. He just looked at her and said “busted.”
It’s not a myth, really, but my current pet peeve is when someone writes an article about how science has just discovered how good knitting is for all sorts of anxiety, etc., etc.. Like it’s news. Like we need their validation. Meh.
I’m a lefty who knits English and mirror. Does this sometimes make my knitting life a little more complicated? Yes. But do I still make awesome knitted items that garner me lots of compliments? Yes.
So many people–EZ included–tell me I knit wrong. The way I figure, all that matters is the finished product. If you are happy with it, who cares how you got there?
When ever some tells me that they were told that they are knitting wrong I tell them there is no wrong way of knitting as long as you are comfortable with the way you are knitting and your project come out the way it’s supose to egnore these may sayers.
“You can buy that stuff at (insert store name here).” Yes but this is mine and no store can equal my quality or make me feel so confedent.
Also “You have to follow the pattern and match the right size needles perfectly with the yarn or it doesn’t work.” Knitting was created by expermenting, it won’t hurt you.
I work at an LYS and I burst out laughing the second a middle aged woman walks in, realizes it is a yarn shop and says she isn’t old enough to knit. I’m 28 and have knitted for 12 years and crocheted for 20. Does that make me too young to knit?
My pet peeve is when I’m told that if I switch to continental I’ll be able to knit faster. Why would I want to knit faster? enjoy the knitting process and I like to take my time and pay attention to the fabric that is forming row by row or the lace pattern unfold and the fair isle pattern take shape. Knitting is not about instant gratification – at least to me. It’s about the needles and wool or silk and the pattern.
I agree to a point. Indeed, Continental is a more ergonomic way to knit (but so is Lever, and Eastern Uncrossed may easily be the most ergonomic of all). This has effects on the speed of knitting, but also on the strain caused by knitting and on the regularity of knitting. Knitting faster is not a goal in itself (not at least for hobby knitters!), but knitting more regularly and/or with less fatigue and therefore for a longer period of time may certainly be.
Knitting got so much easier once I learned combination. That’s when I got very irritated with EZ and her “better purl”. Someone who hates purling with all her heart is not someone I’m going to consult on purling. I thought I was such a weird individualist until I took Patty’s Craftsy class (amazing, btw), and found out that there’s lots of us who are interested in the stitch and the many ways to form it.
My least favorite myth is that you start with scarves and move onto sweaters. I’ve never made an adult-size sweater, and that’s ok. I enjoy toys, towels, scarves, hats, and everything else there is to knit
when I was 18 I knitted a sweater for an old boyfriend. We were supposed to get married but Life happened and I moved to another country and I never saw him again. Twenty-two years later I found out the old boyfriend kept the sweater in hopes that I would one day come back….
Continental knitting is just intrinsically faster. The is the biggest myth of all. Continental knitters cling to it like members of some cult.
I knit lever style and knit much faster than some of the Continental knitters in my knitting groups, but can’t knit as fast as some of the finger flickers.
The style that’s most comfortable and natural for you will be the fastest way for YOU to knit. Find your own style and speed and ignore people telling you their style is fastest and best. It’s YOUR knitting.
After knitting for 40 + years someone tell you that you should enter a “master knitter program”. I AM a master knitter!! They can’t tell me I’m not!
When someone tells me that the only correct way is their way it only shows how little they know.
#11. Men don’t do that.
I agree with everything written! I recently wrote a similar blog entry on knitting rules and myths! My personal number one pet peeve is telling knitter’s that Eastern stitch mount (leading leg of the stitch) is wrong, incorrect or twisted on the needle. For those who aren’t fond of knitting myths this may be of interest too: http://www.thepurlingcat.com/knitting-rules-knitting-myths/
I teach at a knit shop and I had a student come in proclaiming she wasn’t getting this “new way of knitting” her friends told her she had to do because her way was all wrong. Turns out she was used to knitting continental and they wanted her to throw…I told her that her way was just fine and her friends were crazy. Hehe, people should knit how they want to. The fastest knitter I know knits completely different from everyone else but she pumps out blankets like crazy and I love her for it. The main idea is to love what you do.
Another pet peeve of mine is yarn quality. You get what you pay for. Please don’t come in looking for cashmere at acrylic prices….I won’t be able to help you, it’s just not possible.
My mother-in-law taught me how to knit over 20 years ago–and I just realized fairly recently that there are different ways to cast on and other methods of knitting! I was working on a project and it told me to do something I didn’t understand, so I started searching my knitting books and found all sorts of information I didn’t know before. I’ve been trying more “difficult ” patterns lately, and I’ve been enjoying learning different ways to manipulate the yarn and stitches; funny thing is, I’ve had other people who knit say “that is too hard for me to learn ” and keep knitting in their straight rows!
#4 Once you know which way your stitches go you can do ANY PATTERN…AND I DO!
You simply can’t learn to knit because you are left-handed – that stupid teacher!!!!
Mine is the curse of the boyfriend jumper.
I knitted my husband a jumper…. but he is still here! 😉
Was he your bf or your husband at the time you made the sweater?
My ex-husband took the sweaters with him. Surprising, since he hardly ever wore them.
# 86 (or wherever we’re up to!)
Always teach a left handed person to Knut sitting opposite you so they can mirror what you do!
No!!!!!! That’s not left handed knitting! That’s butt backwards knitting! Knitting is a two handed process, some right handers prefer to hold the yarn in their left had, some in their right. Same with lefties.
Holding the yarn in the right or left has absolutely nothing to do with being a leftie. Whether you knit English or Continental (or Portuguese etc.) the movements are still right-hand-friendly. Some left-handed people do learn to knit in a right-handed fashion because this makes reading patterns easier, some others prefer to completely reverse their knitting (knitting “butt backwards” as you called it, quite irrespectfully) and therefore to reverse all the pattern instructions just to have a set of movements that better fits their manuality. I have personally found that I (as a totally right-handed) can only work English when I knit left-handed: I am totally unable to knit Continental as a left-handed and to knit English or Lever as a right-handed. So sometimes I train working on a piece by knitting English and left-handed. I do knit “butt backwards” and it works beautifully, as long as you can understand a pattern and reverse the instructions in order to make them work.
Regarding buying less yarn if you spin: in my case that has been true, but only because I buy so much spinning fiber and use spinning as a daily workout. Each spinster (the correct job title for one who spins—has nothing to do with marital status) does things somewhat differently, just as each knitter does things a little bit differently.
Another myth: that all knitters are, or should be, right handed knitters. “When doing a long tail cast on, plant your finger on the needle to the left of the stitch you just cast on, to act as a spacer between it and the next new stitch.” That’s going to be really awkward for us lefties. Corollary: That all knitters should be taught right-handed knitting because knitting uses two hands. Right. Just like golf, batting, and tying your shoes. If knitting used both hands equally, why don’t more right-handed people knit left-handed?
“Yarn and needles aren’t handed, so knitting isn’t handed” as a reason to teach left-handed people to knit right-handed. Pencils aren’t handed either but most of us have a strong preference as to which hand we use and many of us also have a strong preference when it comes to knitting. As someone with a dominant left-hand, I couldn’t learn to knit right-handed, and thought I never would knit. Having discovered that it was possible to knit left-handed I taught myself, and the rest, as they say, is history. And I pick, throw and even knit backwards left-handed. Since then I have learnt to knit right-handed, in order to teach others. The mental effort required is immense, which means I’ll only ever demonstrate this method!
Knitting is cheap.
With regard to number seven: Knitting TEACHES patience!
So true! The biggest gift knitting has given me is patience and trust. I never saw that coming. 🙂
Knitting teaches patience? Then I must be doing it wrong. Whenever I get bored by a knit i just rip it and start with something that gives me more pleasure. What I teach in myu classes is that if you need patience to end your knitting, then you do not really love knitting. you may be in love with the idea of knitting, but you do not love to knit. Then pick another craft: it’s OK not to be a knitter, you tried it and it didn’t click, in case you need to do it you know the basics, but you do nt need to be forced into doing something that does not give you pleasure or amuse you.
“You can’t call yourself a knitter because you knit with acrylic”. (YES, that was said to me once, about 10 years ago!! Not sure what the person thought I’d been doing for the previous 40+ years…) I do agree, that one should work with the best materials that one can afford; and if that happens to be the “cheap, big-box store” acrylic yarns, then so be it!!! Besides, those yarns have their place just as the finest merino wools and silks and cottons and etc. do.
Very true and well said. Frankly, I don’t want a blanket that I can’t feel comfortable with when I use it like crazy and then throw in the machines.
It irks me when people say that Continental knitting is left-handed knitting or when people say, “I’m left handed so I can’t learn to knit.” In reality, you use both hands to knit so anyone with two hands can learn, and I’m sure my friend with only one hand could learn, as well.
You don’t need to make agauge swatch or 2-4 rows is enough of a gauge swatch to be able to tell if it’s going to be right.
I used to own my own knit shop and I had more people come in and tell me they’d never knit a gauge swatch and it was a waste of yarn and time or they used to go to a diferent shop in town and the lady that worked there only made them cast on and knit 2 or 3 roes then without measuring it she’d eyeball it and tell them they were fine. I finally had to ask on of them how many sweaters that they’d made for themselves they wee happy with. The usual answer was they always will fit someone, so it was ok, but these women were spending hundreds of dollars on a single sweater and didn’t own one because they never fit them. After teaching them how to make a proper gauge swatch and actually bind it off and measure it ad launder it the way they planned to, and then remeasure they started to develop their own sweater wardrobe. But it was rough going for a while!!
I am a lefted handed mirror knitter i.e. I move my stitches from my right needle to my left, so my left hand does most of the work. Myth, you can’t follow a pattern as written, you have to reverse everything. This is simply not true. The only thing you really need to worry about is boy/girl button band. Pet peeve, people who refuse to belive this.
I knit just like you, and button bands aren’t the only thing. Cables and lace can cause issues if you want them to look exactly like pattern. Also, the placement of asymmetrical elements can cause trouble. For example, I have to cable back when it says front and front when it says back if I want the finished garment to be the same as a righty’s. If I want decreases to lean the same as the pattern, I K2tog when it says SSK and SSK when it says K2tog. It isn’t the end of the world, but when I started out, it took me awhile to figure out why some of my stuff looked a little different.
However, if you don’t mind it’s looking a little different, then there is no problem.
‘seitfelrofgnittink’ is an elist group (or was) that had lots of compensations for left-handed knitters. Stumbled on it when I was teaching myself to knit left-handed so I could help a friend. Hope it is still around for you.
Recently a middle-aged lady told me that she couldn’t knit because she was left-handed, and so had to create her own method of knitting, in order to be able to do it. :/ Not sure what she meant by that, and didn’t want to sound like a know-it-all, so I didn’t say anything…
I actually read in heaps of books, blogs, and even learned in some crafty videos the advice of slipping the selvedge st for neater, easier seaming. I agree that due to the elongated stitches, the mattress st joins end up looking a bit funny and uneven, but I think this isn’t really noticeable when joining on laces edgings, and definitely makes it easier.
I’m a lefty, and we do often have to figure out our own way unless we can find another lefty to teach us, and even then, we are a complicated lot. Since the world is organized for right-handed people, lefties are used to this, and we all figure out our own and different ways of going about things. (Have you ever paid attention to how lefties write? I’ve never seen two of us who do it exactly the same, though there are recognizable styles of pencil-holding and paper-placement.)
I’m left-handed when I write, but I’m much better with scissors in my right hand–an adaptation forced on me by the fact that we had one pair of left-handed scissors but 4 or 5 left-handed students in my kindergarten class. I eat ambidextrous and find myself automatically doing it right-handed when I’m sitting at a table with other people.
However, since I had to more or less teach myself to knit and figure it out through a lot of trial and error, and I like to think I understand how it works a lot better than some knitters who’ve been at it a lot longer.
My fave, ” You do realize that your son isn’t going to wear that, don’t you?” Told to me by an ER nurse (I take my knitting everywhere). I was knitting a cabled scarf. She just about broke my confidence, but I knitted on, and my twenty-something son not only wore that scarf, but asked for a thin wool hat to wear under his bike helmet for the winter. Study what your friends and family like to wear and knit for them!
Tammy- good for you! My daughter has exquisite taste is quite selective about the things her young children wear. I always consult her about color and style by sending her pattern photos from a variety of sweater styles for them. The result is that my grandchildren really wear the things I make them and the finished items are much more stylish then I would have come up with on my own.
“You must have a lot of time on your hands. I wish I had that kind of time to ‘just sit’ “
# 11 Guy’s Doesn’t Knit and if they knit, they’re gay.
Well, you know, I knit, I crochet, I tat, I spin, I love yarn, I’m straight…
I don’t know why a crochet or a knitting needle should have a sexual preference correlation? Do you have sex WHILE knitting or crochet?
Please, fuck off….
As the # 3 myth says, I’m not a Kind knitter
D’ario Woollover
THANK YOU!
I taught myself how to knit and crochet when I was 16. And when I was about 20 I taught myself how to spin.[so much truth in #9] I enjoy working with yarn and creating things to share with the people I care about. Just because I can appreciate the time and skill that goes into making a lace doily, or the fact that I get excited when I fall in love with a new yarn has nothing to do with my sexual preferences.
My knitting (straight) husband and I agree. I swear people look at him like he’s a dancing bear just because he can knit, even though he’s sitting next to me and I’m knitting and that’s considered perfectly normal.
I was wondering if any straight guys would ever comment. I’m sorry for the very late post, but I just came across this. Straight, left-handed, high-strung Driver personality, non-guage knitting male who has knitted a sweater for myself and one as a surprise for my wife. I measured one of her other favorite sweaters and duplicated the dimensions. She has used it regularly for several years. I thaught my children. Regarding guage – there are so many “guageless”, or better termed self-guaging ways to knit dimensionally. The whole idea of knitting toe up is essentially guageless, especially St st, but other work and effort is needed to make sure the finished project works.
Myth: knitting only knit (St st in round garter flat) is boring. I can and have knit fairly complex cables, follow patterns, knit/ purl designs with color, knit invisible designs (only visible perpendicular to work), and when it come down to it, aside from a variety of extra “stuff”, I swear it all seems the same in terms of interest. One clear benefit of only knit, it generally means no pattern, which means it can be followed while drinking a beer and watching a game on any given Sunday.
When you order a kit, it will have enough yarn to finish the item..
You can’t knit continental if you’re right-handed.
My left-handed grandmother taught me to knit as a child and she taught me to knit continental. I stopped knitting for a while but when I picked it back up again, I could only master continental. I had no idea that there were different ways to knit until I went to a yarn store looking for help with a problem I was having and was told that I was knitting wrong because I should knit English as a right-hander. I’ll keep knitting the way I’m comfortable and have been doing since I was a kid on my grandmother’s lap. Thanks!
Elastic long tail cast on – I use a doubled yarn for my thumb yarn. Also adds durability to the edge if needed. Sometimes I use doubled yarn for both thumb and finger yarns and then follow with a purled round (or knit row if knitting flat) for a decorative, elastic edge.
Backward loop cast-on – when working next row (or round), keep tips of needles close together to avoid long slack between sts. I love using this as a provisional cast on where I don’t have to be worried about seeing “crossed legs” of stitches.
ALWAYS beware of any ‘rulisms’ that contain the words ALWAYS or NEVER. (LOL)
Don’t EVER let anyone tell you are knitting the “wrong” way. If YOU are happy with the results, then you did it right!
My feelings exactly! Can’t tell you how many students I’ve had who’ve told me that–and have been embarrassed to show me how they knit (or purl). Saw the Norwegian purl done for the first time by someone who told me that. I was fascinated and she was amazed that she taught ME something.
Two more myths that won’t die:
You can’t felt in a front load washer.
You can’t take knitting needles on an airplane.
I’ve done both many times! How do these persist?????
knitting needles on airplane; depends on airport. When I went to London (granted, it was 2002) I was able to take my dpns on my flight there. However, the London folks wouldn’t let me take my needles. They said I could mail them to myself. Wasn’t in the mood, told them it was cheaper to buy new ones, took the needles out of the sock I was knitting and gave them to the security agent. I’m usually nice, but sometimes…..
I think the myth that won’t die, is not being allowed to take needles on planes in the US or leaving from the US. FAA regulations, clearly state knitting needles are a okay: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/transporting-knitting-needles-and-needlepoint
Where the trouble lies is when you’re flying home from another country, you are no longer under FAA regulations. I even had my clover yarn pendant taken away in Dublin!
# whatever.
If you make it it should be cheaper.
Love it when people ask me to make something for them and then are shocked that it “costs so much”. .
Left-handed people can’t learn to knit from right-handed knitters, or have to do everything backwards, or can’t knit… I’ve heard lots of variations on this one, most after I taught my left-handed self to knit. I had one awful moment when we joined the knitting guild and I wondered what I’d done to my right-handed daughter, but she and I both knit just like everyone else.
I was about to post just that!
The myth that left-handed people have to knit backwards in a “left-handed way”!!!
As in moving the stitches from the right needle to the left needle, working the stitches on the back of the work, instead of moving them from the left needle to the right needle working the stitches in the front of the work.
All I know is the first time someone mentioned “spin class” I got really excited…until I realized what they meant.
this ain’t a myth but it drives me crazy when people see my finished work and say “hey you should sell that!” People have no concept of the money for quality heparin and the time invested. I enjoy gifting items. It’s not about making a profit!
I’ve asked many different knitters if they can teach me to knit, and they were all glad to help. When they find out I’m a lefty they cringe….why can’t they teach me??
I’m so sorry. I teach lefties all the time. There’s no one way to teach a lefty as, everyone is different. When I teach a lefty I can demo making my right hand like stone and show all the movement in the left hand. The reality is, once you get started, you’ll find both hands moving. Some lefties I’ve taught prefer to control the yarn with their left hand but have the empty needle in the right hand, others end up being more comfortable controlling their yarn with their right hand. No two knitters are the same. It’s a skill to teach, and teach people in a way that works for them. Try contacting your local yarn store or a knitting guild to see if there’s a professional teacher. Don’t come in with any set expectations of the “right” way to do it. Ask the teacher to show you continental, english, knitting and purling backwards. Check it all out and practice. Your hands will tell you what’s best for you. I teach a huge varieties of knitting styles and methods in my Craftsy class. Use this link and you’ll get 50% off: http://www.craftsy.com/alternative. Good luck and DON’T give up!!
My little sister who is left handed also wanted to learn to knit. I found a way to teach her even though I’m right handed. I put up a mirror on the table in front of me and instead of watching me, she watched my reflection. It took some time but with a lot of patience she got the hang of it and is now a proud knitter.
I “pit-knit” and am constantly being gawped at whenever I knit outside the house. I am constantly being told that I am knitting strangely (ie. I’m not doing it right!). I knit very quickly with a needle stuck under my arm and the yarn wrapped in a complicated manner around my right index finger. My grandma taught me and my aunt knits the same way. We all knit very quickly which is great as I sell knitted items! Apparently this style of knitting originated in the Scottish island fishing communities and my family were from Grimsby (a trawler town) on the English east coast so that may be the connection! My mum was a very quick knitter but in the continental style which I can only do at a push. I have been photographed and filmed whilst knitting at festivals……… Obviously I’m doing something very strange! Are there any other “pit-knitters” out there?
One of my favorite students, Anna, knits on long straight needles with one under her arm. She’s Italian. I also had another woman in class who knit the same way, her mother was born in Poland.
I’m a pit knitter also…and if I had taken time to record all the comments I have gotten thru the years, I’d have to rent a shed to store them. I even saw an article about how securing a straight needle under the arm was “wrong” and just evidence that knitting everything on circs was a better choice…and in a well known magazine by a famous designer who was doing a needle review.
In truth, the lady who taught me had a good point…holding the needle securely in place (as compared to letting it go between sts as many throwers do) may result in a more even knit fabric. Note I was careful to say “may”…tee hee! But it works for me.
Also that people think that because I knit I must have a ton of sweaters & baby blankets at home. No & no. I’m only on my third sweater. And why would I have a stack of baby blankets? I don’t have kids.
Or that “one must knit with wool. Unless one is making dishcloths.” Thank you but I like my cotton sweater.
Another one is ” your either a blanket knitter, a sock knitter, or a sweater knitter.” *face-palms* who comes up with this stuff?
Btw love your craftsy class, it was really helpful.
Thanks so much!
Concerning combination knitting, there is one thing you cannot do: if you are knitting e g seamed sweater with stitches that needs to be crossed on the right side, purling the combination way you will not get crossed stitches on the front side and if you try to knit through the back loop in purling the stitches on the front side will be crossed in different directions. That is one direction knitting and the other direction when purling.
Any ideas/input on this would be most welcome.
By crossed, do you mean making twisted stitches. The direction you wrap your yarn is what seats the stitch, and working it through the trailing leg is what twists it.
Ok so what am I missing here in regards to left handed people learning to knit. I’m a lefty and knit English style the way most people do who knit English. I don’t understand the difference do to the fact one has to use both hands to knit.
I also crochet which is a little trickier due to the fact I do crochet “lefthanded” as I hold the hook in my left hand and working yarn in my right. Since I like to make lacey types of things in crochet it makes for a challenge with certain stitches.
I learned to knit when I was 10, from the Junior Red Cross, working with kids during WWII, English style. I knit that way till I was in my 20s, learned Continental, kept both styles going until I had surgery on my left hand, and crocheting(since I was 3 1/2) and Continential made my left palm cramp bad, so went back to throwing until my hand recovered a few years later. Now I still throw, but sometimes Continental, whichever works for the project. At 82, it depends on how my fingers work, mostly. Not much crocheting, tat with a needle instead of the shuttle, but work at knitting mostly. Lace is my favorite, and also machine knitting.
Ah, you just reminded me of another knitting myth “Machine knitting is cheating”. I love the knitting machine. It’s a totally different art, and it happens to take skill!
If you’re knitting, you must be pregnant. Why else would you do it? Honestly. I was accused of being pregnant, while sitting on board a dive yacht, sitting in the sun, knitting a sock, and wearing a revealing swim suit, which clearly showed that I was NOT pregnant. When I asked why he thought I was pregnant, he said it was *because* I was knitting. Really? Snort.
Knitting is for girls!
Bologna! I’m a man, I’ve been knitting for over 30 years and I am fantastic at it. It was invented by men and ladies saw how great it was and took over.
My favorite: oh, you should totally sell that, you’d make a fortune! No I wouldn’t. And you, person who suggested I do that, would never buy it if I sold it for what it was worth!
You’ve got that right Liz. I have heard that very same line so many times and usually the person that says ”you should sell what you make” wouldn’t pay the price either.
If I started selling this stuff, it’d no longer be fun. I do this to relax – deadlines are far from relaxing.
It’s different when someone requests I make them something and offers to reimburse for supplies, but for the most part I won’t make to sell.
Ah, you’ve hit upon every professional knitwear designer’s struggle. I’m still trying to find my balance with that one!
This isn’t a myth so much as a pet peeve. So many knitters focus on their knitting speed or lack thereof. Knitting isn’t a race to the finish line. Knit for the pleasure of the experience and savor it. After all if you’re in that much of a hurry for a pair of socks, you can just go to a store and buy them. If what’s most important to you are speed and volume of output, maybe you should put down the needles and buy yourself a knitting machine.
Knitting is for old ladies ! or Aren’t you a little young to be knitting !
As if there’s a specific age requirement in order to knit. I learned how to knit almost 42 years ago at the ripe ”old” age of 9 and still going strong.
‘I’m a knitter’….. ME: what is your favorite thing to knit?….. OH you know, scarves, washcloths, …..ME:.
I can help you if you want to branch out a little.
What like from a pattern or worse yet a chart? I can’t do that!
Missing so much! I offered!
New knitters can’t knit ________ (lace, cables, sweaters). New knitters can knit anything they want to,,, it’s all just knit and purl.
I’ve been a knitter since age 10, i am 60 now. But when I was 37 I was in motorcycle crash and broke both arms. Left arm much worse than the right. Not a good day. When I got my right hand out of the casts, I “invented ” armpit-knitting. Cast on with one hand, hold one needle under the armpit of the still casted arm and knit with the other. I knit scarves for my doctor, and the nurse who helped recast my arm every week. Since then I’ve continued to enjoy every minute I knit. Because I can.
Yep, professional knitters all over Europe have knit that way for years. Very efficient!
In Italy we have this odd myth according to which you can only knit on circulars with the Continental method and on Straights with the English method. No othre knitting techniques are kept in account (despite the fact that thereare large chunks of Italy where people knit Portuguese or Lever). I often try to shake up this myth by revealing that I neither knit English nor knit Continental, being an Eastern knitter.
The knitting myth that drives me nuts is the one that says “men can’t knit or should not knit, it’s a women’s art” historically men have always knit and had a hand in knitting and the process of fiber prep. I get tired of someone asking a knitting related question and then ignoring your answer or writing it off because you are a man how could you possibly know the answer. As a knitting and spinning teacher as well as a designer and technical editor I can tell you that I know my art and know it well and I might even be able to answer you or help you solve your problem in a way that others might not be able to. You should always be open to learning no matter who the teacher is. I have been in yarn stores where the owner has told patrons to ask me because I could explain it better than she could, you should see the looks that that gets.
I’ve found one myth in your selection, sorry =)
I mean this:
“if you are knitting pieces that you will be seaming, a slipped stitch makes mattress stitch a sloppy drag”
— that’s not true. Of course, if one will sew taking a half of a slipped selvedge stitch, then yes, the seam will end up terrible. That’s why one should sew between slipped selvedge and a first regular stitch.
And of course the decision should take all the conditions into account (type of stitch pattern, weight of yarn, size of project, etc. etc. etc.)
Even sewing the “traditional” mattress (in the running bar between two stitches), you get a loose seam, as you will only have on bar for every two rows.
I Eastern Knit after years of Combination, and I can tell you, my number one pet peeve is someone coming up to me as I KIP and say, quite loudly, “You’re doing it wrong.” Of course, when I ask them, politely, in which way I am doing it wrong, as my stitches all seem to be as the pattern calls for or as I wish them to be, they never can quite point out exactly where I’m going wrong.
It doesn’t matter how you get your knit or purl stitch.
My favorite: you can’t use a sewing machine to assemble your sweater. Your knitting won’t look as good, your knitting will get bound/snagged in your machine, the item will fall apart…
I HATE hand sewing, and almost always use a machine to assemble sweaters. Yes, the seams look different from hand-sewn seams, but they don’t look ugly. And nothing I’ve machine sewed has ever fallen apart. (Things I’ve seen by hand, though…)
Patty, yes I meant twisted stitches (sorry), but the point is that if you also use the combination way on the purl side even when knitting in the trailing stitch, on the front the twisted stitches will have different directions of the knitted legs. The leg is one way knitted and opposite when you have purled. So being consistent with a combination knitting does not work. (This is the reason I do not use patterns with twisted stitches unless it is in the round).
I knit patterns with twisted stitches and combo all the time. No need to restrict yourself. That’s just one of the quirks with combo. When you work many different patterns (in the round, garter, seed, moss etc.) you will be faced with altering the usual way you wrap or the usual leg you enter. Once you learn the ways to control your stitches with the direction you wrap and the leg you enter, there’s nothing you can’t do in combo. If you’re interested in exploring it more, here’s a 50% off link to my Craftsy class: http://www.craftsy.com/alternative
Sorry, Patty, but no, it’s not feasible to have a single bar between a slipped selvedge stitch and a regular fabric — as you said, it’s connected to two rows 😉
99% of my seamed projects have slipped selvedges, and no single mattress seam ended up loose. I, in fact, am pretty proud of my seams, specifically on a reverse stockinette. I have pictures, if you wish =)
I’m so glad you are happy with your seams. That’s the whole point, there can be no “always”. What makes it a myth is the word “always”. For many teacher / designers out there we prefer the clean look of mattress stitch without a slipped stitch selvedge (here’s a really clear picture from Ysolda Teague as to why. The left side of the pic is with a slipped edge: https://pattylyons.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/static1.squarespace.jpg), but you can find others who love it. The point that I am making is the “always” in knitting teaching is something to be very wary of.
That’s why I knit in so many different styles and methods, because I can take out the right tool for the right job.
As to your question of the running thread, yes, although technically there are two bars, they end up occupying virtually the same space, and with finer yarns, it’s as if it’s one bar. So for 10 rows instead of having 10 evenly space running threads to go up and down into, you have 5 large spaces with 2 very close together running threads at the top of each large space: https://pattylyons.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_3247.jpg
Keep seaming the way that makes you happy! That’s the whole point! I think a Tuesday Tip photo spread on mattress stitch is in my future 🙂
I enjoy the time I spend knitting, but if I hear one more person tell me that I can “whip out those scarves, socks, sweaters, etc. in no time, I might just “whip out” their face! Just kidding – sort of. . .
“I can’t knit, I’m left-handed.” Ugh.
Agree with number 5, unless you are knitting with Russian technique. Seen many tutorials and have the book to find this is consistent.
I disagree about slipping the first stitch. I colleague taught me this a few years ago, and I’ve been doing it since. The last sweater I made was SO much easier to seam, and really came out perfectly.
Knitting (or sering, or crocheting) is an inexpensive way to clothe your family. HA!
My favorite: Oh wow you should quit your job and open an Etsy store for your knits. You’ll make so much money. Yeah…not quite.
I very much disagree with #2, I cast on that way (the dopier still two needles), and teach that way because I am a tight knitter, and many beginners are as well and that allows them to be able to easily knit into their first row. It doesn’t make it more elastic, and it doesn’t look sloppy. I’ve knitted this way for years, and am a ‘professional’ sample knitter and have never had complaints about my co edge looking sloppy.
Hope I’m not repeating anyone, but Continental is faster and more efficient. I’ve mastered Picking, Throwing, Lever Knitting and Portuguese style knitting and all have their pros and cons. For me Lever knitting is fastest and therefore the most efficient way to knit…usually. It depends on what I’m knitting. Also, I would never tell another knitter that their results would be the same as mine.
#3 for real. Who hasn’t had a run in with the knitterati
I knit Continental (I think) because the book I taught myself with said it was faster than other ways. But then I knit too much at one sitting and strained Something Important in my left index finger, so I really need to learn another style. That was 15 years ago, and my finger still isn’t the same.
I also consider knowing only one way to knit a bit of a failing on my part – no one else around me knits the way I do, so I can’t help them. And I would like to be able to knit with a yarn in each hand. And as I said, I have ergonomics to consider
Oh, and the spinning myth – I *do* buy less yarn! But I just cataloged my fiber stash on Ravelry and I have over 130 items. We even have a room in our house called “The Fiber Room”.
And if you want to get really weird looks, gentlemen, try *spinning* in public!
I TOTALLY agree with the need / desire to have more than one knitting tool in your tool box, that’s what my Craftsy class, Improve Your Knitting: Alternative Methods and Styles is all about. Here’s a 50% off link: craftsy.com/alternative
For spinning, my favorite moment, was when my pal brought her spinning wheel to knit night in a bar. THAT was awesome!!
“I could never make “, spoken by a knitter. NONSENSE! If you can cast on, cast off, knit, and purl, you can make any darned thing you want to.
I also teach knitting. What i have to explain over and over is edges stitches. Unless you work in the round, you always have edge stitches. What you do with it is your choice. You can knit it, you can slip it.
I have started to call it sewing stitch when it is a piece that will be sown and edge stitch when it is not sown.
AND it is never part of the motif if it is to be sown.
“I’ll take up knitting when I’m older and have more time” You never get more time. Knitting gives you the freedom to take time. Start now and enjoy the time you have… be great at it by the time you’re “older”
I think that everything said made a great deal of sense.
But, think about this, what if you typed a catchier title? I ain’t suggesting your content is not solid,
however suppose you added a title to possibly grab people’s attention?
I mean Top Ten Least Favorite Knitting Myths! – Patty Lyons |
Knitting Teacher is a little vanilla. You should glance at
Yahoo’s home page and see how they create news titles
to get viewers to open the links. You might add a video or
a pic or two to get people interested about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it might make your posts a little livelier.