English or Continental? Pick your poison!

[StumblinMama]

Just curious :shrug Which way do you knit and why?

I learned (finally!) continental because it was easier since I was a crocheter first. After my first failed attempt at learning, it finally makes sense :yes

[mamapotomus]

i was taught continental. my mom tried many time to teach me english growing up and i could never get it. i think i was able to do the continental because i'm left handed. :shrug3

[NovelMama]

Hm, I wonder if I might actually be able to knit if I tried continental. I can crochet pretty well, and I'm left handed...

[StumblinMama]

Alison, I wonder if this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY) would help you. She explains/demos it very well :yes

[jenn3514]

Thank you for that video! I've tried knitting and haven't been able to make it work. That video makes sense to me. (I also crochet left handed)

[katiekind]

So far, mainly English. Recently learned the continental style, and I love it and use it a lot, especially just to give my hands a break, but I have trouble controlling the evenness of the tension--I hope I'll get there.

[Wonder Woman]

definitely Continental - I tat, I crochet a little, and Continental makes so much more sense to me :tu
Kathy, my tension is *incredibly* tight when I knit English - when I knit Continental, I only have to go up 1-2 needle sizes to get gauge :giggle

---------- Post added at 11:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------

oh - obligatory other? You can choose from French and Portugese (http://www.andreawongknits.com/) knitting as well :grin
French knitting covers two techniques - one, knitting w/spools, two, knitting similar to English, but with the right needle held like a pencil. It's faster than English, slower than Continental. :glasses

[RosalieMarie]

I picked other. I knit weird. :giggle

[StumblinMama]

definitely Continental - I tat, I crochet a little, and Continental makes so much more sense to me :tu
Kathy, my tension is *incredibly* tight when I knit English - when I knit Continental, I only have to go up 1-2 needle sizes to get gauge :giggle


Reb! I was hoping you'd pop in. I just bumped your thread with your purling video. That was a lifesaver :tu

[Mother of Sons]

English but I wish I could do continental because it seems like less movement. When I tried it was way too tight and I prefer knotting looser.

I was taught how to knit holding the right needle like a pencil by a chinese woman and I have never seen anyone in any method knit faster than her. it was amazing! I liked it but again, very tight knitting.

[Wonder Woman]

Reb! I was hoping you'd pop in. I just bumped your thread with your purling video. That was a lifesaver :tu

:giggle I need to post another one - that way results in twisted rib when knitting in the round :doh :giggle I'm going to use The Boy's video cam and post an update...

[StumblinMama]

:giggle Well it's working for what I need atm so I'm not complaining.

[katiekind]

Kathy, my tension is *incredibly* tight when I knit English - when I knit Continental, I only have to go up 1-2 needle sizes to get gauge

Wow! Well, that is interesting.

[PacisEtAmor]

Continental, it's easier for me since i crocheted first and hold the yarn in my left hand.

[Eowyn]

Continental. I was never taught English, and it now feels counter-intuitive in my hands.

[knitlove]

I first leaned English and thought myself Continental before I was doing a project with a lot of ribbing. I have stayed with Continental because I am much much faster with it.

[MarynMunchkins]

I knit left-handed. It's not exactly what knitting should look like, but it works for me and I've yet to have anyone complain about hand-knitted stuff. ;)

[KnittingHappy]

Definitely English. I'm so left-hand challenged. I've done a couple Fair Isle projects and used Continental for the accent yarn, but it was a huge struggle. My fingers cramp. I've tried Continental numerous times but just can't make it work. My brain just doesn't know how to control my left fingers very well.

I've seen Mary's knitting. Her stockinette is gorgeous! It isn't your average, ordinary ss, it has a twist to it and is soooooo pretty!

[Meli]

:jawdrop you mean there is more than one way to knit (well, I knew about the french spool thing-y). Wow. First new thing I have learned in 2011. I can't get the (continental?) video posted to load to see if it is the same as what i do, so I can't vote.....

[StumblinMama]

I'm loving reading all the responses!

:jawdrop you mean there is more than one way to knit (well, I knew about the french spool thing-y). Wow. First new thing I have learned in 2011. I can't get the (continental?) video posted to load to see if it is the same as what i do, so I can't vote.....

Since you can't see the video, the best way I can describe continental is that the yarn stays on your left side and you "pick" the yarn with the right needle. In English, the yarn is on the right side and you "throw" the yarn over the needle. Does that help?

[tigerlily]

I voted obligatory other.:P~

I do some weird blend of English and Continental, I'm told.

I taught myself English, then taught myself to knit Continental with a little tiny throw from my left hand.:shrug3

[PacisEtAmor]

I voted obligatory other.:P~

I do some weird blend of English and Continental, I'm told.

I taught myself English, then taught myself to knit Continental with a little tiny throw from my left hand.:shrug3

hmmm, that's more of how i do it too. :think

[Tengokujin]

I was taught "english" by my mother way back in the day, but she didn't teach me how to hold the yarn so I could throw the yarn. Her way was to insert needle, hold onto work with left hand, and wrap yarn with right. Really slow and the reason that I didn't knit much as a kid.

Fast forward to adult life, and I had a friend who showed me how to control and throw yarn with my right hand without bringing the knitting to screeching halt. Amazing difference.

I CAN do continental, and I use it to do color work. I basically knit english with one color and continental with the other.

I keep telling myself that I need to just find a TV knitting project and MAKE myself do it continental to work on speed. I get frustrated when my ability makes it slow.

[UltraMother]

Both. I alternate between the two if one hand starts getting tired. I also tend to use continental for speed and english for precision. Mary, I am guessing you do combination knitting? (http://www.grumperina.com/comboknitbackground.htm)

[backtobasicsmum]

I taught myself continental...it made more sense to me, as I learned crochet first. :yes


:jawdrop you mean there is more than one way to knit (well, I knew about the french spool thing-y). Wow. First new thing I have learned in 2011. I can't get the (continental?) video posted to load to see if it is the same as what i do, so I can't vote.....

www.knittinghelp.com (http://www.knittinghelp.com) has tons of videos showing different stitches, in either English OR continental. That is how I taught myself. :)

[MarynMunchkins]

It looks like it, but I still knit from my right needle onto my left. :). My brain just works backwards. ;)

[Meli]

well in that case I knit English!

[Mama Rophe]

Both! I can do ribbing and circular knitting faster continental and everything else I do english. It's just as fast for me either way.

[Kindle Mama]

I only learned continental :) English seems much more difficult to me :)

[JenLovie]

I learned English and have only attempted Continental once. It was so frustrating and slow. I want to learn Continental because I know it works better for ribbing, but I don't know if I can handle the initial frustration.

[Punkie]

I can do both, although I only use English if I'm doing color work. Continental is SO much faster, plus I learned it first, plus I crocheted for years before I learned to knit. :P~

[RubySlippers]

I learned English from a book, but I threw the yarn weird. It was painfully slow and I would twist and drop stitches all the time.
Then I learned about continental online (those knittinghelp videos are awesome!) and finally felt the SPEED and satisfaction of knitting.
Continental is more intuitive to me anyway since I am a crocheter. :)