Yay! Learning to knit continental style 😁

I gave up on the British way of knitting when I was seven, and got my mother to teach me the Continental way. It is faster, easier and better for your wrists.

I am by no means an expert knitter, but my knitting is not bumpy, so perservere.

Or as my Grannie said, " If at once you don't suceed, try, try, and try again!"

Looks great. 👏👏 I usually knit socks the continental way apart from turning the heel. My late MIL was German and knitted that way and was so fast and even.

So as a non knitter what’s the difference ?

Well done! Somehow, as a child I learned continental style, although my mother, who taught me, never knitted that way.

I rarely knit, so am poor at it, but at least I’m fast 😂

I have gone over to the continental way too, Fairycakes in the last couple of years.
Initially, it was because I wanted to improve my fairisle by being able to knit with one colour in each hand. It took a lot of practice, but for me it was the realization that my left hand did most of the yarn work with no problem at all when I crochet that helped me over the mental block of using that hand for knitting too.

Overall I much prefer it now, though I don't enjoy purling in it as much as knitting (especially that awkward first stitch of each purl row!), and I still resort back to my old way on rows that call for a lot of kfb-type increases or other similar things.

Your photo doesn't look bad to me - keep up the good work ☺

BlueBelle

So as a non knitter what’s the difference ?

British style knitters hold the yarn in their right hand and “throw” it over the needle to make a stitch.
Continental knitters hold the yarn in their right hand and “pluck” the yarn with the needle.
As a non-knitter this might not make any sense, but if you try it, it will.

Of course continental knitters hold the yarn in their LEFT hand! ( I blame dyslexic and dyspraxia) but I, do knit in a sort of continental style all of my own.

I'm not looking forward to learning the purl stitch, Oldnproud. It definitely looks more difficult. But in for a penny, in for a pound 😁.

Primrose, my mum's friend is German, and after watching how fast she knitted, I decided to give it another go.

BlueBelle, fancy a new hobby? How's about taking up knitting? 😀

I have tried to do it continental style (oo er, Missus!), but just can't do it. I blame muscle memory, as I can't crochet either - my hands just want to move as though to knit English style, 'throwing' the yarn.

Me too, Doodledog and I never learned to crochet either - I think Brown Owl had to take a couple of aspirins every time she thought of it.
Is the continental way easier on ageing hands?? That would be an incentive.

Very well done Fairycakes !
I think that I'll stick with the British method of knitting !
My German sister in law used to tell me that the German way was superior .
I just watched a YouTube video of Tunisian crochet .
I thought , that's really great I'll be able to do that and then , I looked at the end result - it looked just like stocking stitch and even I can do that basic knit stitch !

I'll take a look!

I've been trying to teach myself a different way to crochet from YouTube, which feels awkward, but it's because my index finger is sore and becoming lumpy

There are loads of videos on YouTube of Continental Knitting if anybody fancies a look.

I want to try and learn the Continental way, as my wrists hurt these days. Just need to find a project and go slowly, and watch some You Tube videos.
Well done Fairycakes.

I wish I knew how to knit any way at all. I was always hopeless at knitting, sewing, crafts and the like. It must be so satisfying and relaxing.

Hi, Esmay, yes, the knitting will look the same, it's just a faster way to knit and it's meant to be less taxing on the joints. I fancied a challenge - and here I am! . Still, I might regret it when I have to learn the purl stitch. It looks much harder than the knit stitch.

I've taken a look and it would be no good for me as it's my index finger which is having problems.

Thank you, everyone for your encouragement. If anyone else fancies having a go at continental knitting, YouTube (as others have mentioned) is the place to go.

This is the tutorial that I am following. I tried others but this is the one that I found easiest to follow:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSaApeG-vY

He's a German knitter called NimbleNeedles, and he has lots of other videos on continental knitting.

flappergirl, have a go! What have you got to lose? . It is relaxing and very therapeutic .

Hi Fairycakes -if it's less taxing on the joints then , it's a great idea !

I'm going to ask my knitting /crochet genius friend about it at craft group .

I'm in the middle of another project and I've strained my thumb joint .

Esmay, it's worth having a look at it. It might work out well for you. I have just started learning the purl stitch today. It was difficult at first but it's getting easier. I have mild arthritis in my fingers so I am hoping the continental style of knitting will be less taxing. I hope your thumb joint feels better soon.

Coming from an East coast former fishing town I grew up seeing the Scottish fisher girls walking round town knitting I doubt anyone could go faster never seeming to even look at their work I m guessing they knitted the British way
I used to be a good crocheter but can’t follow a pattern now it’s really annoying I made my girls lovely white silk christening dresses can’t even make a daisy now…. I have tried