Knitting with one needle under arm

That is my style. I couldn't change. I also can only use long needles.

My mother knitted with her left needle under her arm. She was from Yorkshire. I used to knit reasonably competently and was able to flick the wool forward without taking my right hand off the needle though never mastered tucking in the left needle.
I was never as fast or as expert as my mother though and right up to her death would often visit with a complicated pattern that had "gone wrong" in some way I couldn't fathom. She'd correct it in a trice, even in her 80s.
RA has put a stop to my knitting though in the last ten years. That and not having anywhere to take my mistakes for correction!

The best knitter I ever saw used to tuck one of his needles under his arm. His work was amazing! I don’t think that I could manage it, as I prefer short needles. I’ve never been able to wind the wool round the needle without letting go, either. How do you do that, ladies?!

If ever we were shopping for new living room furniture, my criterion was always whether I could knit comfortably in the chairs - I would sit in them in the showroom and mimic the knitting action to test them out and many an armchair was dismissed no matter how comfortable it was otherwise.

(I must have looked batty, sitting there doing my invisible knitting )

I have just started to use the Knitpro needles too. I’ve seen people knit with a needle under the arm - I was brought up in East Sussex - but it’s not something I do. As no one really wants knitted jumpers in my family I now knit for a couple of charities which provided tiny garments and blankets etc for premmie babies or angel babies, and these only need short needles. Def couldn’t tuck one of those under my arm!

I was taught like that - Northeast born - and always did until I had a bodged knee replacement and spent a lot of time on the sofa with my leg up.
I used 16" needles and held the wool in my right hand and the right needle under my arm. I could knit quite fast but couldn't manage at all with shorter needles.
On the sofa I sat with my right side against the back and just couldn't knit so tried circulars.
I couldn't manage them at all until I tried knitting Continental style. This was a revelation and I found it easy to adjust as I am a crocheter too holding the wool in my left hand. Now I don't knit any other way and my sanity was saved when I could get my knitting fix whilst stuck on the sofa.
Perhaps you could ty that Streaky if you crochet? The movements are quite similar.

I knit with one needle under my arm and my mother spent years trying to get me to change but it didn't work. So it is something I apparently have taught myself. I do not though take my hands off the needle which is what slows things down.
Could you perhaps try sitting on a cushion so that your arm is now higher and above the arm of the chair.?

ty = try.

I taught myself to do continental knitting using circulars when I was well past fifty. You can do it!

I’ve always knitted with one needle under my arm .
A friend saw me doing this and thought it was really funny so I tried with the needles both in front of my lap .... really slowed me down !
I suppose if I persevered it would become faster bit I went back to the way I was taught as a child.

I had Shetland friends who both used knitting belts and no pattern! They could look at someone, assess how many score of stitches they would need and off they went. Beautiful jumpers just grew in their hands and they talked - very quickly - in dialect the whole time! Amazing to watch. Don’t know if anybody watched The Island Doctors but the nurses there were knitting Shetland pattern hats for a fundraiser and they didn’t seem to have a pattern either.

I don’t but managed to do it for plain knitting when steering a narrow boat ?. It might be hard for you to do it the other way but sure you could get used it.....

I'm with you Luckygirl. Right thumb under the needle and just flick the yarn over with your rh fingers. If you can't tuck your needle under your arm use shorter needles - easier to control.
If I need to buy needles, I always go to charity shops. You have to ask as they don't have them on show. Apparently the are classified as weapons! I usually find the size I want and the charity benefits. Will have to wait now until lockdown ends.

That's the way I was taught to knit too. I used to sit on the couch to do it.

I tried to knit with the needles under my arm, it was how my mother and grandmother used to knit. I just got myself into an awful fankle, so found my own way to knit. My tension was good, and I used to knit plenty. My thumb is now arthritic so just can't do it.

I knit with shorter needles, I find long ones are cumbersome. It may be hard to try and change the way you knit, usually, if your m um taught you, mum always knows best. good luck

I always knit with left needle tucked under arm, as taught be Mum and Gran in NE England. Can't manage with shorter or circular needles, feels very awkward. Find crochet more convenient these days.

I'm another 'under one arm knitter' - the RIGHT arm in my case. I've tried a couple of other methods - including the ones where both needles are 'above your thumbs' and 'both needles under both arms' - but just can't get on with either of those. I'm now 69 and been knitting since my mid teens - so no point in changing now.

And I've lost track of the number of times that I've 'had-a-go' at knitting with a circular needle - just doesn't work for ME. I guess that I just like the extra stability of the needle under the arm.

Regarding crochet, I just find it IMPOSSIBLE to hold the hook and yarn in the 'proper way'. I hold the hook and control the yarn with my right hand ..................... putting the yarn around the hook, as if I'm knitting.

For anybody who struggles to learn to crochet, I'd suggest giving my method a try - it controls my tension and works up VERY quickly .

I’ve always knitted with the right needle under my arm. I’m right handed. I’ve tried circular needles but find my tension is all over the place. I’m knitting a 2 ply shawl on 5.5 needles with 432 stitches per row and for light relief ? Christmas stockings with a brick pattern in Aran for a children’s hospital. Like the OP I’ve had to change seats to knit.

I'm a needle under the arm knitter. I can knit with the dog sitting on the chair beside me. I developed knitting like this when I was 15 and travelled in a very old train to work every day, with 6 or 7 other girls in one compartment.

I have gravitated to using mostly circular needles (used as you would two straight needles) as I sit right by the arm of the sofa and long straight needles keep bashing into it and its gets annoying. I use straight needles to cast on though.

This is the way I knit too. I use long kneedles and the left one underneath my armpit. You can knit very quickly this way. I couldn't knit on short needles as I've seen some people do I wouldn't get anything finished. I would try and sit at an angle in your new chair so that you can continue knitting in the way you know how.

Buy a new armchair? It seems you chose one unsuitable for your needs. Who's in charge here, you or the furniture?

I always knit with long needles with one tucked under my right arm. It is how i learned when I was a little girl.
My friend who grew up in London says it is a northern way . She uses short needles and holds them in her hands .
I can do that but am much quicker the other way....but my needles bend eventually ?

Streaky, I don't know whether you have space for a small "nursing chair" it's a low upholstered chair without arms. I almost bought one myself last year when I was knitting what was called a "coffee shop shawl" just a fancy name for a modern shawl. I had extra long needles and they drove me mad knocking against the arm of my sofa. Sitting in the middle was uncomfortable so halfway through I tried switching to a circular needle. The problem with those things us that the needle part is vert short so difficult manipulate. After one very long row I switched back to the long needles and had to sit on a dining chair. I was very glad when that shawl was finished. Would still like a nursing chair if it wouldn't make my sitting room too cluttered.
Never seen the needle under the arm method but Im going to check it out on YouTube.