I learned English style. Then tried continental as adult, except purling is more awkward for me. So I knit continental, but wrap the purl stitches backward and correct as I knit the next row.
I knit by the right-handed throw style. I am a cable knitter and if I throw the yarn counterclockwise on all stiches, I get an ugly too-lose stitch in the last stitch of stockinette before the transition to reverse stockinette. I had to resolve this by purling with a clockwise throw, then on the next row the knit stiches are knit in the back to reverse out the twist and the throw is counterclockwise. This evens out the tension in the transition between stockinette and reverse stockinette.
It's fascinating to learn about these techniques, and take away their respective advantages. I learned continental style, later started Norwegian purling, and am now excited to improve my English throwing in a colorwork piece (holding one color in the right and one in the left hand)
I learned at 11 years of age, English knitting but in my early 30’s wanted to try 2 colored knitting and learned how with 2 hands, each one carrying a color. Now I use my right hand for purls and my left for knit stitches. I change around some, depending on the pattern. Ribbing is much faster with Continental knitting.
It definitely makes colourwork a lot more efficient, almost like a dance with your fingers. It sounds like you found a method that works for you, and that’s great! I switch styles between projects, and have to remember to write down what I’m using at the start.
My mother taught herself to knit in the late 1950s with instruction from an (American) women’s magazine. It was English style, and that’s what she taught me when I was about 5 years old. Fast forward some 60 years to me teaching myself Continental style with the help of YouTube videos. After about 2 years of practice I’ve finally got my tension consistent enough that I can switch back and forth between the two with no detriment to my fabric. I still don’t have the same muscle strength in my left hand that I do in my right, so I can’t knit Continental for as long as I can English but it’s enough that it gives my hands a break and I can knit longer and with less strain.
All of this is to say that the more knitting techniques you have at your disposal, the more you prolong your knitting life. I only wish I had figured this out earlier, and that there was more encouragement from teachers and leaders in the field to encourage it.
That's amazing that your tension is equal in both styles, for me my English knitting is always a bit tighter.
You're absolutely right, the more diversity we have in what we're doing, the more sustainable it is both for our minds and bodies.
We often hear "Once you try this you will never go back to doing it the old way!", and I'm not a fan of that kind of rhetoric. Progressing in our skills is often more about breadth than a straight line forward.
I am left-handed and self-taught, it would be great if the pattern designers consider us as well and write the instructions, explanations and descriptions as hand neutral ones. Around ten percent of people are lefties, and it's really not cool to exclude us. Knitting Continental style btw...
Very interesting! I don't knit a lot but reading this has made sense of some of the problems I occasionally hit and possibly why. I am right handed and so is my mother. My grandmother, however and my aunt were left handed. Given that they taught my mum who then taught me, it explains why we're much slower than they were and possibly why I knit inside out in the round. I don't know why it's taken so long for me to realise this, given that I also sew some embroidery stitches & techniques left handed style but with the needle in my right hand!
There’s something I wondered as I was reading your very interesting article. The idea is how much your dominate hand affects the style of knitting you use. I taught myself how to cast on and to use a knit stitch. At the time. I followed the instructions but just picked up the needles and yarn based on comfort. My knitting never progressed due to my lack of interest. Years later, I enrolled in a class. The instructor told the class to pick up the needles and cast on if you knew how. The instructor looked at my knitting and said, “You knit Continental.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I held the needles and yarn based on how it felt comfortable and “natural.” I am right-handed but left-hand dominate. I also sight with my left eye despite it having the worse vision. Here’s a question for you: do you think a knitter would change from the style they were taught if it felt uncomfortable and how much do you think the brain determines which style a knitter ultimately uses? Thanks for another interesting article!
Thanks for sharing, it's really interesting how you naturally gravitated to Continental style.
I'd say most knitters, especially those taught in person by a family member, focus on replicating the other person's technique as closely as possible. When we're first learning a physical skill, we can't always tell which parts of the setup are essential and which are just quirks of the person teaching us. I remember obsessing over how I tensioned the yarn, getting frustrated when it wouldn't stay wrapped around my pinky. Eventually I realised the knitting worked fine either way, tensioned on my pinky or my ring finger. If I hadn't figured that out, I probably would have given up.
To your question about switching styles when it feels uncomfortable, I think most knitters wouldn't switch entirely unless they actually knew both styles existed as options. Without that awareness, discomfort just gets absorbed into small adjustments within the style they were taught, tweaking grip, tension, finger placement, rather than a full switch. Switching means relearning the whole motion from scratch, so it tends to only happen when someone hits a wall like you nearly did, or gets exposed to the other style early enough that their first one hasn't calcified yet.
In general, both English and Continental knitters come in both dominant hands. Knitting uses both hands actively either way, just with the effort distributed differently between them. So I don't think the brain predetermines which style is "right" for us, it's just very good at refining whatever we land on until it works.
It is fun to try different styles of knitting. Knitting back on a straight piece, left to right, is a handy skill too. I did do some small pieces of twined knitting. It's very elastic. The problem is that commercial yarns are spun in the wrong direction for the technique. Best to spin your own and it is slow to do.
I thought about mentioning knitting backwards, but it was already getting quite a lot for one post! I like to do this if I’m working short rows over a small number of stitches.
Twined knitting is actually one of the reasons I wanted to learn to spin. I also find when I’ve tried nålbindning my yarn often untwists, too.
Yeah nalbinding is tricky too. I think you can still get the right yarns in Norway. Knitting back is handy when you do colorwork on a piece worked flat, like above the armhole on a vest.
I knit English but don't tension the yarn in my hand. I only touch it to wrap the needle. I guess it's a form of throwing. I have never had problems with tension even as a beginner. I learned this from my Scots grandmother.
I learned the English style. It seemed less complicated than the continental style. However, there is a beauty with the way the hand’s movement and how the thread is held in the continental style.
Thanks. It sounds like how you knit is what some people call Irish cottage style, or pit knitting. It’s also quite a common style in the UK, at least among older generations.
I think you’re completely correct about there being regional variations within small areas, and I believe this was even more the case before national education got involved. On the one hand, it’s great that knitting was taught in schools, but on the other hand it’s a shame that all of these differences may have been lost.
I learned English style. Then tried continental as adult, except purling is more awkward for me. So I knit continental, but wrap the purl stitches backward and correct as I knit the next row.
This pretty much sums up my story! Once I found Combined Continental knitting, it felt like everything clicked into place.
I knit by the right-handed throw style. I am a cable knitter and if I throw the yarn counterclockwise on all stiches, I get an ugly too-lose stitch in the last stitch of stockinette before the transition to reverse stockinette. I had to resolve this by purling with a clockwise throw, then on the next row the knit stiches are knit in the back to reverse out the twist and the throw is counterclockwise. This evens out the tension in the transition between stockinette and reverse stockinette.
That's so interesting! I have noticed these loose stitches in my own work too, so maybe I will try out this tip.
That sounds like the best of both worlds!
It's fascinating to learn about these techniques, and take away their respective advantages. I learned continental style, later started Norwegian purling, and am now excited to improve my English throwing in a colorwork piece (holding one color in the right and one in the left hand)
Yes, I love color work holding one color in each hand.
I learned at 11 years of age, English knitting but in my early 30’s wanted to try 2 colored knitting and learned how with 2 hands, each one carrying a color. Now I use my right hand for purls and my left for knit stitches. I change around some, depending on the pattern. Ribbing is much faster with Continental knitting.
It definitely makes colourwork a lot more efficient, almost like a dance with your fingers. It sounds like you found a method that works for you, and that’s great! I switch styles between projects, and have to remember to write down what I’m using at the start.
My mother taught herself to knit in the late 1950s with instruction from an (American) women’s magazine. It was English style, and that’s what she taught me when I was about 5 years old. Fast forward some 60 years to me teaching myself Continental style with the help of YouTube videos. After about 2 years of practice I’ve finally got my tension consistent enough that I can switch back and forth between the two with no detriment to my fabric. I still don’t have the same muscle strength in my left hand that I do in my right, so I can’t knit Continental for as long as I can English but it’s enough that it gives my hands a break and I can knit longer and with less strain.
All of this is to say that the more knitting techniques you have at your disposal, the more you prolong your knitting life. I only wish I had figured this out earlier, and that there was more encouragement from teachers and leaders in the field to encourage it.
That's amazing that your tension is equal in both styles, for me my English knitting is always a bit tighter.
You're absolutely right, the more diversity we have in what we're doing, the more sustainable it is both for our minds and bodies.
We often hear "Once you try this you will never go back to doing it the old way!", and I'm not a fan of that kind of rhetoric. Progressing in our skills is often more about breadth than a straight line forward.
I am left-handed and self-taught, it would be great if the pattern designers consider us as well and write the instructions, explanations and descriptions as hand neutral ones. Around ten percent of people are lefties, and it's really not cool to exclude us. Knitting Continental style btw...
I know there are some designers who specifically make instructions for left-handed knitting, but yes it’s not common.
Very interesting! I don't knit a lot but reading this has made sense of some of the problems I occasionally hit and possibly why. I am right handed and so is my mother. My grandmother, however and my aunt were left handed. Given that they taught my mum who then taught me, it explains why we're much slower than they were and possibly why I knit inside out in the round. I don't know why it's taken so long for me to realise this, given that I also sew some embroidery stitches & techniques left handed style but with the needle in my right hand!
There’s something I wondered as I was reading your very interesting article. The idea is how much your dominate hand affects the style of knitting you use. I taught myself how to cast on and to use a knit stitch. At the time. I followed the instructions but just picked up the needles and yarn based on comfort. My knitting never progressed due to my lack of interest. Years later, I enrolled in a class. The instructor told the class to pick up the needles and cast on if you knew how. The instructor looked at my knitting and said, “You knit Continental.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I held the needles and yarn based on how it felt comfortable and “natural.” I am right-handed but left-hand dominate. I also sight with my left eye despite it having the worse vision. Here’s a question for you: do you think a knitter would change from the style they were taught if it felt uncomfortable and how much do you think the brain determines which style a knitter ultimately uses? Thanks for another interesting article!
Thanks for sharing, it's really interesting how you naturally gravitated to Continental style.
I'd say most knitters, especially those taught in person by a family member, focus on replicating the other person's technique as closely as possible. When we're first learning a physical skill, we can't always tell which parts of the setup are essential and which are just quirks of the person teaching us. I remember obsessing over how I tensioned the yarn, getting frustrated when it wouldn't stay wrapped around my pinky. Eventually I realised the knitting worked fine either way, tensioned on my pinky or my ring finger. If I hadn't figured that out, I probably would have given up.
To your question about switching styles when it feels uncomfortable, I think most knitters wouldn't switch entirely unless they actually knew both styles existed as options. Without that awareness, discomfort just gets absorbed into small adjustments within the style they were taught, tweaking grip, tension, finger placement, rather than a full switch. Switching means relearning the whole motion from scratch, so it tends to only happen when someone hits a wall like you nearly did, or gets exposed to the other style early enough that their first one hasn't calcified yet.
In general, both English and Continental knitters come in both dominant hands. Knitting uses both hands actively either way, just with the effort distributed differently between them. So I don't think the brain predetermines which style is "right" for us, it's just very good at refining whatever we land on until it works.
It is fun to try different styles of knitting. Knitting back on a straight piece, left to right, is a handy skill too. I did do some small pieces of twined knitting. It's very elastic. The problem is that commercial yarns are spun in the wrong direction for the technique. Best to spin your own and it is slow to do.
I thought about mentioning knitting backwards, but it was already getting quite a lot for one post! I like to do this if I’m working short rows over a small number of stitches.
Twined knitting is actually one of the reasons I wanted to learn to spin. I also find when I’ve tried nålbindning my yarn often untwists, too.
Yeah nalbinding is tricky too. I think you can still get the right yarns in Norway. Knitting back is handy when you do colorwork on a piece worked flat, like above the armhole on a vest.
I knit English but don't tension the yarn in my hand. I only touch it to wrap the needle. I guess it's a form of throwing. I have never had problems with tension even as a beginner. I learned this from my Scots grandmother.
I learned the English style. It seemed less complicated than the continental style. However, there is a beauty with the way the hand’s movement and how the thread is held in the continental style.
Thanks. It sounds like how you knit is what some people call Irish cottage style, or pit knitting. It’s also quite a common style in the UK, at least among older generations.
I think you’re completely correct about there being regional variations within small areas, and I believe this was even more the case before national education got involved. On the one hand, it’s great that knitting was taught in schools, but on the other hand it’s a shame that all of these differences may have been lost.