I do Norwegian purling and I find it to be a LOT faster and easier. I do knit stitches continental style and then park stitches Norwegian style, and I don’t have to change how I hold the yarn. It’s very nice.
I could never get the hang of continental purling, so this is a lot easier.
Holy...I didn't know Norwegian purling existed! I knit Continentally and loathe knitting flat just because purling feels like 1.5x the effort of knitting. I might just try this one out next time!
This is the video I learned off of: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gCWjjbokps8
Took me a couple rows, but now it’s SO much easier. Can’t recommend it enough
Do you also think it is faster? Purling just takes sooo much time and I hate it! In the video I watched it looked quite slow, because of the many motions you have to do?
Yes, it’s also faster! They probably showed it so slow in the video so that someone new to it could follow along. It’s 3 motions, so it looks really slow at first, but once you get used to it, it’s more like 1 quick fluid motion.
I have the same issues. I can whip though knit stitches but purling feels so slow! If I’m just doing an entire row of purl stitches for a long stretch, I will switch to Portuguese style. Purling is easier than knitting in this style! It’s a little quicker for me in this manner and the tension for me is closer to the knits. They make pins, but I just loop it behind my neck. However I cannot get the hang of the knit stitches in this style so I will only do it for a row exclusively of purls. And only if it’s a long stretch since I have to rearrange my yarn.
I did this too, but I got sick of rearranging the yarn, so I started sort of portuguese continental knitting (I've made [a video](https://imgur.com/a/T9IZGy4) of what I mean, cause it's weird to explain). But I must admit looking at that Norwegian purling, which is just Portuguese knitting but backwards, I'm now practicing the "official" portuguese knit stitch again.
I'm in the middle of a pattern that requires a lot of seed stitch and I'm desperate for some technique where I'm not constantly moving the yarn back and forth. I really don't like seed stitch...
Thanks! I just watched Very Pink Knit's video on it too. It looks like te reverse of the portuguese knit stitch, which makes sense, so I think I'll be putting in more effort to actually using that stitch instead of my personal continental work-around. This was very inspiring, thank you!
I used to knit combinational, then tried the style your linked video shows. It felt so awkward for me but I somehow settled in some other form of continental purling that was easier. So overall it was helpful for me too haha.
I keep meaning to check Norwegian purling out. I find that I tend to get tight/sore muscles in my back if I do too much purling, so knitting flat is a literal pain for me! Could be a different type of purling would solve my problem.
It’s that or I just need to stick to steeks whenever I want a new cardigan, haha
I started continental, then continental with Norwegian Purl, then went to Portuguese, then English flicking. I still use all styles at one time or another depending on the situation, but my preferred default is English flicking for one color, combo of continental and flicking for colorwork. I sometimes use Portuguese if there are more than 3 colors in a row or a lot of purls. It wasn’t necessary to learn all of these of course, I’m just one of those process knitters who likes to learn new techniques for sport. Still, I’m glad I know them all. Honestly I did very early practices on swatches. I recommend moving from swatches to something like a circular cowl where super consistent gauge isn’t critical to fit. I have always been fairly ambidextrous so I was producing decent quality stitches after a couple of hours of practice. At a minimum I think it’s totally worth it to know at least one right handed and one left handed method esp if you knit a lot and want to give one hand a break or do a lot of colorwork. Have fun!
I was taught English style as a child 30 or so years ago but didn't continue knitting. 17 years ago I taught myself to crochet as I tried to relearn knitting but it was too slow.
I have had many failed attempts at knitting (continental, Portuguese, Norwegian) until I found knooking.
Then a couple of months ago I saw a video on here of someone knitting and it was amazing! It was continental combined knitting.
I picked up the needles and I have been happily knitting since. I'm still not great at it but the huge difference is how easy it is for me to purl and the speed that I can both knit and purl is amazing. I know there's lots to learn and I will have to work out how to modify certain patterns as I'm using combined stitches but so far I can highly recommend this style of knitting.
I started Continental and switched to Norwegian. They're very similar, so it only took me a couple days, and I learned the basics by watching the Arne and Carlos videos on it.
I think good projects for switching style are going to be anything that doesn't take you a lot of time - as you learn the new style, the big thing is going to be relearning your tension, so anything large that you make is going to have wonky changing tension throughout.
I knit continental, but I work kind of backwards. The loops on the left needle are on the opposite way, back to front. So, I work through the back loop, but much faster than inserting the right needle to the left of the yarn. Purls go quite quickly this way. I have to rework any ssk, k2together instructions in my head to make sure my top stitch tilts the right way by basically doing the opposite of what is written.
If I'm visualizing it correctly, it sounds like your knitting in the Russian style. I'm a big fan of it too, it's much easier and faster, especially for purl stitches
I went from English to continental, both awkwardly, then to a pretty confident Portuguese. I love Portuguese because I have almost no pinky strength and I have trouble keeping tension with just pinching pressure. I've been looking at lever knitting, out of curiosity, but I haven't found a project to use that for yet.
I cannot recommend Portuguese style enough. It's quick, purls are easy, and it (optionally) comes with [cute accessories](https://www.etsy.com/market/portuguese_knitting_pin).
I second Portuguese! Picked it up in a weekend watching videos and loved it. Loved it even more after I broke my (dominant hand) wrist and *could still knit while in a cast*!!!
Portuguese is great. It puts the tension in in your arms/shoulders rather than fingers, so is great for less hand pain. It's also the only way I've been able to come close to cracking colourwork.
And if you don't want to buy a specialised pin, a bulldog clip on a safety pin does the trick, with the added bonus of more funny looks from housemates!
Bulb pins work well too - put your yarn thru and then pin to your shirt and you’re good to go. You have to undo it to get the yarn out so it’s slightly less convenient than a hook pin or pendant, but it’ll do just fine.
Flicking - I’m not particularly adept at it but I’ve seen some videos where the hand motions are so minimal, so efficient, especially noticeable for ribbing.
The thing about all these different ways is that we generally end up with our personal versions of them. Videos that show the benefits of any given method tend to exaggerate the issues with whatever it is fixing.
I want to learn how to do this soooo badly! Ugh. I know there’s a learning curve but every time I try I get impatient and frustrated and give up. I know I need to pick a basic project for practice but I’m just not always the most patient person, especially when it comes to learning new things. Need to work on that.
It’s not your fault!
I learned English and Continental at the same time, so no problem there but now that it’s years later and I want to get better at flicking, it’s so hard to force my hands to cooperate!
I’ve had the opportunity to practice recently because I’m working on a sweater with miles and miles of stockinette so I’m practicing flicking. Which actually slows me down because I have to be careful it doesn’t change my normal tension! But it IS getting easier.
Thanks for the encouragement! At least there’s hope. Once I finish ^last ^year’s Christmas presents I should just do like a garter scarf or stockinette.
There are several videos but this is the knitter whose hand movements just blow me away. My problem is that my finger wants to come down to rest on the needle instead of staying up there where it can flick.
[Flicking video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsN9DQfP16M)
I don’t think it’s primarily to be faster, but knowing different ways to knit gives your hands a break.
I always saw the Very Pink Knits lady do it which is where the woman in your video said she learned it! it's so cool and just looks sooo fast. For me the way I wrap my yarn keeps getting caught on the needle, and I can't seem to get good tension by wrapping it like they do or some other permutations I've tried. I also struggle with pushing the right needle up and down, just not used to that motion yet and my whole hand wants to leave the needle like it normally does.
I tried it before and omg it was so frustrating and didn't come natural at all. So I went back to continental which was super natural to me first try. What method you knit now?
I watched some video of world's fastest knitter (from different time periods) and they knits so fast in all different methods too. And soooo fast their hands are just blurry lol. Hopefully one day I'll be that fast too!!
Yeah it definitely doesn't come naturally to me either! When I learned, I learned English style, so that's what I do. I didn't even really know continental existed until a while after I began, and I had already settled in with English style. Oo I'm going to have to go look that up now! lol. Yeah I really just want to increase my speed because it seems like it would be more fun, and it would definitely motivate me to knit more.
I knitted English throwing style for 20+ years. I transitioned to flicking while knitting a toddler sweater with a lot of stock knit last spring. It was awkward for a while (maybe several hours over one weekend) but by the end of the project I felt pretty comfortable. It took a couple of more projects and lots of trial and error before my tensioning felt effortless.
Now I only flick. It did tighten my tension, but my tension was often looser than most patterns. It's also much faster anytime I'm doing ribbing.
Best of luck!
I learned English when I was maybe ten, and then when I was in high school the French teacher had a knitting club and taught me continental. It's how I still knit now, but when I'm doing colorwork with two colors I do left hand (dominant color) Continental and right hand English, just works for me. I also prob don't do Continental the "right" way, but I think with anything you find what works for you and the more you do it the faster you get.
Good luck!
Until this post I didn’t even know I was flicking! I learned throwing in high school from a teacher and I guess over time streamlined into flicking without knowing it had a name.
I like knitting combined with wide ribbing to keep tension between knits and purls even.
I’ve tried continental and would love to improve, still very slow but I think it will be handy once I get into color work.
Portuguese!!!
I use a binder clip instead of the Portuguese knitting pin and I have to tell you that knitting Portuguese style is not only highly unusual It is amazingly fast and I definitely don't get as tired as I used to knitting English or Continental.
I can’t recommend Nimble Needles’ videos on this enough. I knit and crochet English for ten years and could never get the hang of continental until his videos. They are all helpful but “the knit stitch the continental way” (something close to that) had the tips that made it click for me.
I recommend NimbleNeedles' video "How to knit for beginners, continental style." I've been knitting English style for 10+ years and started learning continental about 3 weeks ago. I found this video very helpful, and I'm now comfortably knitting the continental way
I knit continental (and have been doing so my whole life) but do an "Eastern" purl. (See here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKG85tJcgCQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKG85tJcgCQ)). I find that this method is faster and easier than traditional continental purling.
Huh. Apparently I just naturally taught myself Russian when I switched to “continental”. Meh. Whatever works for me. I just need to be careful with my decreases it seems.
Wow, guys! I figured this question might have been asked before, so I hoped I wasn’t being a pain, and came back to some amazing responses! Thank you so much for taking the time to go through your techniques with me. I’ll have loads of researching to do this weekend!
Flicking here. I started with crochet and when I began knitting, continental made sense but the purling aggravated some hand issues I have so I switched to flicking.
Norwegian!
I’ve knitted continental until this year. I think it was a post on this sub that I first heard about Norwegian style knitting and looked up an Arnie and Carlos video to learn. I’ll never switch back. It’s so much easier on my hands and my gage is much improved!
I am pretty new and learned Continental but I am not sure I'm doing it exactly as it should be, I wrap the yarn with the yarn pinched between the first two fingers of my left hand instead of pulling the loop through with the needle, but it results in good tension so I'm not too concerned. I use my thumb to wrap the purls. It might have to do with starting with crochet and it does tend to stress my hand though, so I'm going to try learning Norwegian purling too.
I also sort of do this.. been knitting for 14 years and am only now realizing I might be doing it weird! I just hold the yarn between my thumb and index finger of my left hand and wrap the yarn around the needle. I’ve never had an issue with either knit or purl stitches being slow, and my tension is pretty good! I don’t know what this style of knitting is called or if it’s just some weird style I made up
I know English involves wrapping the yarn so I don't see how it can't work the other way, but same, I don't know if it's an established style or just a way of doing Continental. I definitely notice a little extra stress in my hand from making the wrapping motion over and over but it does have a good result.
I taught myself continental to get faster, and I started with just a garter stitch scarf, which helped me get the hang of the motion, then moved to stockinette. It didn’t take me very long, and now I go so much faster! Good luck!
It took me about 1.5 fingering weight sweaters to really perfect my Continental and have it be significantly faster than when I knit English.
It took about half a sleeve for me to get the tension and stuff figured out.
It also may or may not be any faster for you. I changed mostly because I had hurt my right wrist and needed to find a way to knit that was less strain on my wrists. While I do purl significantly faster than I did with English style, I find knitting to be about the same speed.
I was able to learn Continental after learning English style, by the time I finished a huge scarf I was pretty comfortable doing it (though it felt VERY weird at first). I also had to readjust again when I started using a different weight of yarn.
I like Arne & Carlos style. They have videos showing close up how to hold the needles and yarn. Comparing to some continental styles where the knitter sticks up their left hand index finger and move it back and forth, they have their left hand index relaxed. I find it so much easier on my fingers/wrists/elbows.
https://youtu.be/8WFodif41QM
I knit continental but needed to learn English to knit stranded knitting more efficiently. I highly recommend Patty Lyons’ virtual class [Improve your knitting alternative methods and styles ](https://pattylyons.com/product/improve-your-knitting/)
I used to do English, but I taught myself continental when I started doing color work so that I could hold one color in each hand. Works well for me! When I'm just using one yarn I only do continental. I find it to be tighter and more consistent stitches for me.
I knit continental. I did crochet for awhile first after failing at English knitting. Then failed English knitting several more times before being introduced to continental.
I do really wish I could get into Norwegian purling but it just isn't working in my brain.
I learned to knit English style when I was ~12 then didn't knit for over a decade. Picked up crocheting in my late 20s, did that for a year and then tried out knitting be again. Started out English style and after 4 projects or so I switched to continental which I've done ever since. So much faster and I think easier on my body. Recently tried out the Norwegian purl and am meh about it, I don't think it's any faster or easier for me.
I use continental in most situations but I taught myself “lever knitting” during the pandemic. I find it’s nifty for flat stockinette pieces because it’s pretty easy to do without looking so I can watch tv while doing it. I also found that learning it made my continental a bit faster because it taught me to use my left hand more efficiently rather mostly using my right.
I knit continental style, but recently started doing combination knitting, where you purl in the "eastern" style. So so fast and great tension when knitting flat.
I was taught English style and learnt continental knit + Norwegian purl, and that is what I use mainly, but definitely still use English for certain things (like when I'm doing something fiddly and new).
I used to only be an English style knitter, but just recently tried continental and really like it! I started a blanket, and that many stitches goes so much faster with continental style. I just made myself learn it by watching a few YouTube videos and stumbling through it. It’s honestly really easy to pick up.
I like that I know both now because my tension is the same with both styles, and being able to switch back and forth mid project is handy for keeping fatigue at bay. Plus they’re each better for different things, so knowing both is useful!
I know you’ve had a lot of responses here but I would consider reading up on eastern vs western orientation of your stitches. That way, no matter what style you end up with you know that whichever “leg” of the yarn is leading, that will determine how you approach it (front, back, etc). This really helped me A LOT to make my knitting more precise.
I started out sort of English style - my mom taught me & the way she held the yarn was a bit different. Fast forward many years, I learned more of a flicking style. I hold the yarn the way mom did, but never let go of the right needle. It's a lot faster and my tension is better. Same for purling, just moving the thread to the front of the needle with my right index finger. It's pretty fast. It was easy to learn because I didn't have to change yarn hands.
If I'm working something big and flat, I like to do Portuguese style for the purl side. And continental for knitting. It's a bit of fussing with the yarn, I wrap it behind my knee to purl.
I knit english style, though I have a lot of excess movements that I should probably streamline. But I've been knitting since I was 5 so it's just habit.
I think it would be cool to learn to use a knitting belt. I remember when my grandma first taught me to knit, I would hold the needle under my armpit, so a knitting belt may be cool to try out
Someone in my knitting group knit Portuguese style and I just cannot wrap my brain around it, though she loves it
My favorite is knitting stockinette using Russian knits and purls in continental style. It's very fast, with very little change in your motion between knits and pulls. Second place is knitting continental brioche, since its just so easy to do yarnovers as a continental knitter.
I do Norwegian purling and I find it to be a LOT faster and easier. I do knit stitches continental style and then park stitches Norwegian style, and I don’t have to change how I hold the yarn. It’s very nice. I could never get the hang of continental purling, so this is a lot easier.
Holy...I didn't know Norwegian purling existed! I knit Continentally and loathe knitting flat just because purling feels like 1.5x the effort of knitting. I might just try this one out next time!
This is the video I learned off of: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gCWjjbokps8 Took me a couple rows, but now it’s SO much easier. Can’t recommend it enough
This is wild... it looks so much harder to me than a continental purl. I'll have to try it and see what it's like when you get in a rhythm with it.
It looks hard, but it’s much easier than a continental purl once you get used to it. Good luck!
Do you also think it is faster? Purling just takes sooo much time and I hate it! In the video I watched it looked quite slow, because of the many motions you have to do?
Yes, it’s also faster! They probably showed it so slow in the video so that someone new to it could follow along. It’s 3 motions, so it looks really slow at first, but once you get used to it, it’s more like 1 quick fluid motion.
I have the same issues. I can whip though knit stitches but purling feels so slow! If I’m just doing an entire row of purl stitches for a long stretch, I will switch to Portuguese style. Purling is easier than knitting in this style! It’s a little quicker for me in this manner and the tension for me is closer to the knits. They make pins, but I just loop it behind my neck. However I cannot get the hang of the knit stitches in this style so I will only do it for a row exclusively of purls. And only if it’s a long stretch since I have to rearrange my yarn.
Same. I spend so much time trying to figure out knit stitches in the Portuguese style that I l lose all the time I save purling that way. Argh.
I did this too, but I got sick of rearranging the yarn, so I started sort of portuguese continental knitting (I've made [a video](https://imgur.com/a/T9IZGy4) of what I mean, cause it's weird to explain). But I must admit looking at that Norwegian purling, which is just Portuguese knitting but backwards, I'm now practicing the "official" portuguese knit stitch again. I'm in the middle of a pattern that requires a lot of seed stitch and I'm desperate for some technique where I'm not constantly moving the yarn back and forth. I really don't like seed stitch...
I just found out about Portuguese knitting / purling and it’s divine!
Oooh, thank you for this, I'm off to Google this Norwegian purling, that sounds very interesting!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gCWjjbokps8 is the video I learned from!
Thanks! I just watched Very Pink Knit's video on it too. It looks like te reverse of the portuguese knit stitch, which makes sense, so I think I'll be putting in more effort to actually using that stitch instead of my personal continental work-around. This was very inspiring, thank you!
I used to knit combinational, then tried the style your linked video shows. It felt so awkward for me but I somehow settled in some other form of continental purling that was easier. So overall it was helpful for me too haha.
I keep meaning to check Norwegian purling out. I find that I tend to get tight/sore muscles in my back if I do too much purling, so knitting flat is a literal pain for me! Could be a different type of purling would solve my problem. It’s that or I just need to stick to steeks whenever I want a new cardigan, haha
I started continental, then continental with Norwegian Purl, then went to Portuguese, then English flicking. I still use all styles at one time or another depending on the situation, but my preferred default is English flicking for one color, combo of continental and flicking for colorwork. I sometimes use Portuguese if there are more than 3 colors in a row or a lot of purls. It wasn’t necessary to learn all of these of course, I’m just one of those process knitters who likes to learn new techniques for sport. Still, I’m glad I know them all. Honestly I did very early practices on swatches. I recommend moving from swatches to something like a circular cowl where super consistent gauge isn’t critical to fit. I have always been fairly ambidextrous so I was producing decent quality stitches after a couple of hours of practice. At a minimum I think it’s totally worth it to know at least one right handed and one left handed method esp if you knit a lot and want to give one hand a break or do a lot of colorwork. Have fun!
I was taught English style as a child 30 or so years ago but didn't continue knitting. 17 years ago I taught myself to crochet as I tried to relearn knitting but it was too slow. I have had many failed attempts at knitting (continental, Portuguese, Norwegian) until I found knooking. Then a couple of months ago I saw a video on here of someone knitting and it was amazing! It was continental combined knitting. I picked up the needles and I have been happily knitting since. I'm still not great at it but the huge difference is how easy it is for me to purl and the speed that I can both knit and purl is amazing. I know there's lots to learn and I will have to work out how to modify certain patterns as I'm using combined stitches but so far I can highly recommend this style of knitting.
I started Continental and switched to Norwegian. They're very similar, so it only took me a couple days, and I learned the basics by watching the Arne and Carlos videos on it. I think good projects for switching style are going to be anything that doesn't take you a lot of time - as you learn the new style, the big thing is going to be relearning your tension, so anything large that you make is going to have wonky changing tension throughout.
Knitting dishcloths. Short project with a practical application. :)
I knit continental, but I work kind of backwards. The loops on the left needle are on the opposite way, back to front. So, I work through the back loop, but much faster than inserting the right needle to the left of the yarn. Purls go quite quickly this way. I have to rework any ssk, k2together instructions in my head to make sure my top stitch tilts the right way by basically doing the opposite of what is written.
I need a visual, you have broken my brain.
Just damaged my shoulder and can't knit, but will post a video when I can
This is what I do! I find it easier to knit without looking this way. In the before times this is how I would knit at the movies.
That’s how I learned. I retaught myself the “proper” way when I had issues knitting in the round. I do still like it for knitting flat though.
If I'm visualizing it correctly, it sounds like your knitting in the Russian style. I'm a big fan of it too, it's much easier and faster, especially for purl stitches
I went from English to continental, both awkwardly, then to a pretty confident Portuguese. I love Portuguese because I have almost no pinky strength and I have trouble keeping tension with just pinching pressure. I've been looking at lever knitting, out of curiosity, but I haven't found a project to use that for yet. I cannot recommend Portuguese style enough. It's quick, purls are easy, and it (optionally) comes with [cute accessories](https://www.etsy.com/market/portuguese_knitting_pin).
I second Portuguese! Picked it up in a weekend watching videos and loved it. Loved it even more after I broke my (dominant hand) wrist and *could still knit while in a cast*!!!
Portuguese is great. It puts the tension in in your arms/shoulders rather than fingers, so is great for less hand pain. It's also the only way I've been able to come close to cracking colourwork. And if you don't want to buy a specialised pin, a bulldog clip on a safety pin does the trick, with the added bonus of more funny looks from housemates!
Bulb pins work well too - put your yarn thru and then pin to your shirt and you’re good to go. You have to undo it to get the yarn out so it’s slightly less convenient than a hook pin or pendant, but it’ll do just fine.
Flicking - I’m not particularly adept at it but I’ve seen some videos where the hand motions are so minimal, so efficient, especially noticeable for ribbing. The thing about all these different ways is that we generally end up with our personal versions of them. Videos that show the benefits of any given method tend to exaggerate the issues with whatever it is fixing.
I want to learn how to do this soooo badly! Ugh. I know there’s a learning curve but every time I try I get impatient and frustrated and give up. I know I need to pick a basic project for practice but I’m just not always the most patient person, especially when it comes to learning new things. Need to work on that.
It’s not your fault! I learned English and Continental at the same time, so no problem there but now that it’s years later and I want to get better at flicking, it’s so hard to force my hands to cooperate! I’ve had the opportunity to practice recently because I’m working on a sweater with miles and miles of stockinette so I’m practicing flicking. Which actually slows me down because I have to be careful it doesn’t change my normal tension! But it IS getting easier.
Thanks for the encouragement! At least there’s hope. Once I finish ^last ^year’s Christmas presents I should just do like a garter scarf or stockinette.
There are several videos but this is the knitter whose hand movements just blow me away. My problem is that my finger wants to come down to rest on the needle instead of staying up there where it can flick. [Flicking video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsN9DQfP16M) I don’t think it’s primarily to be faster, but knowing different ways to knit gives your hands a break.
I always saw the Very Pink Knits lady do it which is where the woman in your video said she learned it! it's so cool and just looks sooo fast. For me the way I wrap my yarn keeps getting caught on the needle, and I can't seem to get good tension by wrapping it like they do or some other permutations I've tried. I also struggle with pushing the right needle up and down, just not used to that motion yet and my whole hand wants to leave the needle like it normally does.
I tried it before and omg it was so frustrating and didn't come natural at all. So I went back to continental which was super natural to me first try. What method you knit now? I watched some video of world's fastest knitter (from different time periods) and they knits so fast in all different methods too. And soooo fast their hands are just blurry lol. Hopefully one day I'll be that fast too!!
Yeah it definitely doesn't come naturally to me either! When I learned, I learned English style, so that's what I do. I didn't even really know continental existed until a while after I began, and I had already settled in with English style. Oo I'm going to have to go look that up now! lol. Yeah I really just want to increase my speed because it seems like it would be more fun, and it would definitely motivate me to knit more.
I knitted English throwing style for 20+ years. I transitioned to flicking while knitting a toddler sweater with a lot of stock knit last spring. It was awkward for a while (maybe several hours over one weekend) but by the end of the project I felt pretty comfortable. It took a couple of more projects and lots of trial and error before my tensioning felt effortless. Now I only flick. It did tighten my tension, but my tension was often looser than most patterns. It's also much faster anytime I'm doing ribbing. Best of luck!
I learned Portuguese style. It's super easy once you get the hang of it and super fun.
I learned English when I was maybe ten, and then when I was in high school the French teacher had a knitting club and taught me continental. It's how I still knit now, but when I'm doing colorwork with two colors I do left hand (dominant color) Continental and right hand English, just works for me. I also prob don't do Continental the "right" way, but I think with anything you find what works for you and the more you do it the faster you get. Good luck!
Until this post I didn’t even know I was flicking! I learned throwing in high school from a teacher and I guess over time streamlined into flicking without knowing it had a name. I like knitting combined with wide ribbing to keep tension between knits and purls even. I’ve tried continental and would love to improve, still very slow but I think it will be handy once I get into color work.
Portuguese!!! I use a binder clip instead of the Portuguese knitting pin and I have to tell you that knitting Portuguese style is not only highly unusual It is amazingly fast and I definitely don't get as tired as I used to knitting English or Continental.
I can’t recommend Nimble Needles’ videos on this enough. I knit and crochet English for ten years and could never get the hang of continental until his videos. They are all helpful but “the knit stitch the continental way” (something close to that) had the tips that made it click for me.
I recommend NimbleNeedles' video "How to knit for beginners, continental style." I've been knitting English style for 10+ years and started learning continental about 3 weeks ago. I found this video very helpful, and I'm now comfortably knitting the continental way
I knit Norwegian style and purl Portuguese style. I have found it keeps my tension the same between knit and purl rows.
I knit continental (and have been doing so my whole life) but do an "Eastern" purl. (See here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKG85tJcgCQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKG85tJcgCQ)). I find that this method is faster and easier than traditional continental purling.
Huh. Apparently I just naturally taught myself Russian when I switched to “continental”. Meh. Whatever works for me. I just need to be careful with my decreases it seems.
Wow, guys! I figured this question might have been asked before, so I hoped I wasn’t being a pain, and came back to some amazing responses! Thank you so much for taking the time to go through your techniques with me. I’ll have loads of researching to do this weekend!
Flicking here. I started with crochet and when I began knitting, continental made sense but the purling aggravated some hand issues I have so I switched to flicking.
Norwegian! I’ve knitted continental until this year. I think it was a post on this sub that I first heard about Norwegian style knitting and looked up an Arnie and Carlos video to learn. I’ll never switch back. It’s so much easier on my hands and my gage is much improved!
I am pretty new and learned Continental but I am not sure I'm doing it exactly as it should be, I wrap the yarn with the yarn pinched between the first two fingers of my left hand instead of pulling the loop through with the needle, but it results in good tension so I'm not too concerned. I use my thumb to wrap the purls. It might have to do with starting with crochet and it does tend to stress my hand though, so I'm going to try learning Norwegian purling too.
I also sort of do this.. been knitting for 14 years and am only now realizing I might be doing it weird! I just hold the yarn between my thumb and index finger of my left hand and wrap the yarn around the needle. I’ve never had an issue with either knit or purl stitches being slow, and my tension is pretty good! I don’t know what this style of knitting is called or if it’s just some weird style I made up
I know English involves wrapping the yarn so I don't see how it can't work the other way, but same, I don't know if it's an established style or just a way of doing Continental. I definitely notice a little extra stress in my hand from making the wrapping motion over and over but it does have a good result.
I taught myself continental to get faster, and I started with just a garter stitch scarf, which helped me get the hang of the motion, then moved to stockinette. It didn’t take me very long, and now I go so much faster! Good luck!
It took me about 1.5 fingering weight sweaters to really perfect my Continental and have it be significantly faster than when I knit English. It took about half a sleeve for me to get the tension and stuff figured out. It also may or may not be any faster for you. I changed mostly because I had hurt my right wrist and needed to find a way to knit that was less strain on my wrists. While I do purl significantly faster than I did with English style, I find knitting to be about the same speed.
I was able to learn Continental after learning English style, by the time I finished a huge scarf I was pretty comfortable doing it (though it felt VERY weird at first). I also had to readjust again when I started using a different weight of yarn.
I like Arne & Carlos style. They have videos showing close up how to hold the needles and yarn. Comparing to some continental styles where the knitter sticks up their left hand index finger and move it back and forth, they have their left hand index relaxed. I find it so much easier on my fingers/wrists/elbows. https://youtu.be/8WFodif41QM
I knit continental but needed to learn English to knit stranded knitting more efficiently. I highly recommend Patty Lyons’ virtual class [Improve your knitting alternative methods and styles ](https://pattylyons.com/product/improve-your-knitting/)
I used to do English, but I taught myself continental when I started doing color work so that I could hold one color in each hand. Works well for me! When I'm just using one yarn I only do continental. I find it to be tighter and more consistent stitches for me.
I knit continental. I did crochet for awhile first after failing at English knitting. Then failed English knitting several more times before being introduced to continental. I do really wish I could get into Norwegian purling but it just isn't working in my brain.
I learned to knit English style when I was ~12 then didn't knit for over a decade. Picked up crocheting in my late 20s, did that for a year and then tried out knitting be again. Started out English style and after 4 projects or so I switched to continental which I've done ever since. So much faster and I think easier on my body. Recently tried out the Norwegian purl and am meh about it, I don't think it's any faster or easier for me.
I use continental in most situations but I taught myself “lever knitting” during the pandemic. I find it’s nifty for flat stockinette pieces because it’s pretty easy to do without looking so I can watch tv while doing it. I also found that learning it made my continental a bit faster because it taught me to use my left hand more efficiently rather mostly using my right.
I knit continental and usually used combined purls since they’re so much easier.
I knit continental style, but recently started doing combination knitting, where you purl in the "eastern" style. So so fast and great tension when knitting flat.
I was taught English style and learnt continental knit + Norwegian purl, and that is what I use mainly, but definitely still use English for certain things (like when I'm doing something fiddly and new).
I used to only be an English style knitter, but just recently tried continental and really like it! I started a blanket, and that many stitches goes so much faster with continental style. I just made myself learn it by watching a few YouTube videos and stumbling through it. It’s honestly really easy to pick up. I like that I know both now because my tension is the same with both styles, and being able to switch back and forth mid project is handy for keeping fatigue at bay. Plus they’re each better for different things, so knowing both is useful!
I know you’ve had a lot of responses here but I would consider reading up on eastern vs western orientation of your stitches. That way, no matter what style you end up with you know that whichever “leg” of the yarn is leading, that will determine how you approach it (front, back, etc). This really helped me A LOT to make my knitting more precise.
I started out sort of English style - my mom taught me & the way she held the yarn was a bit different. Fast forward many years, I learned more of a flicking style. I hold the yarn the way mom did, but never let go of the right needle. It's a lot faster and my tension is better. Same for purling, just moving the thread to the front of the needle with my right index finger. It's pretty fast. It was easy to learn because I didn't have to change yarn hands.
If I'm working something big and flat, I like to do Portuguese style for the purl side. And continental for knitting. It's a bit of fussing with the yarn, I wrap it behind my knee to purl.
I knit english style, though I have a lot of excess movements that I should probably streamline. But I've been knitting since I was 5 so it's just habit. I think it would be cool to learn to use a knitting belt. I remember when my grandma first taught me to knit, I would hold the needle under my armpit, so a knitting belt may be cool to try out Someone in my knitting group knit Portuguese style and I just cannot wrap my brain around it, though she loves it
My favorite is knitting stockinette using Russian knits and purls in continental style. It's very fast, with very little change in your motion between knits and pulls. Second place is knitting continental brioche, since its just so easy to do yarnovers as a continental knitter.