I have carpal tunnel and sev arthritis in my thumb ,right hand, so purling is painful. I often Portuguese purl which is fast, butmost of the time when i knit( continental) when i get to the end of the row I dont turn my work. I put the yarn in the right hand and just knit back...its purling if you do it from the other side, but backwards or maybe lefty knitting??? It took me a couple days of practice, but now I do it as fast as a right to left knit row. Its been years now and its just habbit!
1) When I use Portuguese knitting I bring the yarn up the right side of my neck and around to the left and tension with my left hand. This requires minimal movement from the thumb to flick the yarn around the needle. 2) See Arne and Carlos TH-cam videos on Norwegian knitting for very fast minimal movement style of knitting. I found it very helpful.
Great! And portuguesian knitting was my safior for knitting! Now l purl insideout and my wrong side of knitting is outside when l purl my pullovers etc. But when knitting "normal" l knit the lever style. This leds me knitting efficiant , fast, easy and comfortable, although l'm disabled with/by my hands and fingers! So if l can, then only by these two kinds of knitting! It's so cool that there are so many different styles how to knit!
Can you film a video expanding on/showing what you began saying at 18:30, where a backwards purl requires you to knit a certain way when you come back around the needle?
Hi. I don't have a video on that, but I was referring to what happens when the yarn is wrapped around the needle backwards. Some people prefer to wrap the yarn backwards for purling to make the purl stitch quicker, which causes the new loops to sit twisted on the needle. To correct the orientation of those stitches, you have to work them through the back loop to untwist them. That method is not incorrect, as it does work, but it adds another step to the following row. I hope this helps!
Hi. Yes, my course teaches a technique that holds the yarn in the left hand. When the yarn is held in the left hand, the angle and position of the working yarn requires less motion to make the stitches than if the yarn is held in the right hand. The method is not the type of continental knitting that is typically taught, though. The finished stitches are the same, of course, but the motions used in my course are designed to use as little motion of the hands and wrists as possible. I hope this helps!
Hi! I can't say for sure whether the Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method would help decrease arm and elbow pain, as I am not an expert on the muscles in the hands and arms. However, it is possible for pain in the arms and elbows to be caused by the tightness and motions used in the hands and wrists. The method in the course is designed to minimize hand and wrist motion and keep the hands and wrists as relaxed as possible. So I don't know if that would decrease the pain or not, but if you decide to give it a try, please let me know if it helps you. Thanks!
I know this is a 3-year-old video but I have a lot of trouble not with my hands but with my tops of my forearms elbow and shoulder especially left side I can do Continental English as well as Portuguese and I find that the Portuguese so far has been the easiest on my body however maybe I'm not holding the needles or something properly so if you have some suggestions or if this is something you have experienced as well I would greatly appreciate some input thank you
Hi. If you're experiencing hand, wrist, or elbow strain while knitting, the first thing I would suggest considering would be your knitting tension. If the knitting is a little tight, and the stitches fit snugly around the needle, they will not slide as easily across the needle. That can cause the knitting to be more tiring for the hands and wrists. Here's a video on knitting tension that might be of help: th-cam.com/video/7qBK-K5qqaI/w-d-xo.html
@@YayForYarnthank you I will check the video out some have told me that I was too loose others say to tight and yes my stitches don't drag very well at all regardless of wood or stainless steel needles I do have to constantly shove them
How common is lever knitting because I'm Belgian and everyone around me uses lever knitting, one of (if not the official) fastest knitters today is a Dutch woman who does lever knitting and be seen people in Scotland and England do it so I just assumed that people online don't put the needle under their arm because they film their knitting but they would otherwise but everytime I hear it mentioned it's shown as a "trick" more than the "norm"
Lever knitting is not super common in the US. It can be a very fast knitting method. The main reason I choose not to use it is because I like knitting on circular knitting needles, so there is no long needle shaft to put under the arm. It does seem to work well for those who do use lever knitting, but that method is not taught in the US. If I were to go to the library and randomly select 20 American 'learn to knit' books, the chances that any of them would teach or mention lever knitting are very small. It seems to be more common in Europe, though.
@YayForYarn I've never seen it taught either, books over here just don't show that much how to hold the needles and I have a friend who is old enough to have been taught to knit at school and her teacher mocked here for putting her needle under her arm. I think we tend to knit that way because it's still very common for people over 30-40 to have been taught knitting at home I guess it's still something that has been passed down orally from generation to generation and that we do from memesis. I'm also switching to more circular needles - I mainly knit in the round whenever possible and circular needles allow for more mobility - I found that "parlor" knitting (holding the needle like a pen and working English style) works for me to some degree but it requires needles to be a bit longer than the ones I have and it's excruciatingly slow
Would taking the course be appropriate for a total beginner at knitting? I know very, very little. But i want to start out with a good foundation and this seems like it.
Hi Julia! I'm so sorry for the late reply. If you know the very basics of how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off, then you could start this course. The course does not explain how to do those basic tasks for an absolute beginner picking up needles for the first time, but it does explain in detail how the stitches are formed with The Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method. I would recommend checking out these tutorials before beginning the course, though: yayforyarn.com/count-knitting-stitches/ yayforyarn.com/count-knitting-rows/. I hope this helps!
Hi. I don't recommend plastic needles, as they tend to have more friction and limit knitting speed. However, if you like metal needles, these are my favorite: th-cam.com/video/Jdc32wYgJxs/w-d-xo.html I hope this helps!
Ok I purled my stitches backwards the whole time without knowing. I come from crochet and that felt very natural. Never realised that this causes a twist.
Hi Donna! The ergonomic technique taught in my course uses both hands, but uses the left hand a bit more than the right. So if you're a lefty, I don't think it would need to be changed for a left-handed person. However, if you want to knit in the opposite direction, from left to right, you use the ergonomic method that way by watching the video lessons in the mirror to reverse the videos. That would use the right hand a bit more than the left, though. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any more questions. :)
Hi Sara! There is not a left-handed version of this course, because the motions in this method use both hands pretty equally. So it doesn't matter which is your dominant hand, as the work is evenly distributed between both hands. I hope this helps!
Hi! I would guess that the pain you are experiencing is likely caused by either the motions you're using to make the stitches, or the way you hold your yarn and needles. There are lots of different techniques out there, but many of them use motions that require one hand or one part of the hand to do most of the work. The method I teach in my course keeps both hands relaxed, with very little movement, and uses a slight sliding motion with the whole forearm to make the stitches without putting too much strain or motion on the hands and wrists. I think the ergonomic technique could help you if your pain is caused by the motions and hand position (rather than some type of preexisting injury or painful condition in the hands.) Some students with existing hand conditions have said that the motions in the course have made their knitting easier on their hands, but I cannot guarantee that the course would eliminate pain if you already have something like arthritis or carpal tunnel. If you decide to try it out, and if you run into anything that doesn't quite work for you, I am happy to help you adapt the method to work best for you if needed. Please let me know if you have any questions about the course or the technique. :) Happy Yarning!
@@YayForYarn I liked your reply because of the closing words. When my children were small, they used to say I was yarning when I crocheted. Memories lol 💙❄
I have carpal tunnel. Compression gloves do help me but I tend to not use them because I get a surge of pain when I take them off. Maybe mine are too small/tight?
Hi Debi! It may be that the gloves are too tight. Are they one size fits all, or do you have to go by the width of the hand to choose a size? The ones I have are the type where you measure your hand to know which size to get, and they are comfortably snug, but not real tight on my hands. That may or may not be the cause, but perhaps you could try a different sized glove to see if it still causes the same problem. I hope this helps!
They are the Lion Brand ones and I have small hands. But they do tend to swell so that’s probably what’s happening. I think I’ll try mediums although they are a bit loose at first. Thank you.
Do you know any lefties who have taken this course willing to review it? I know how to knit left-handed using a variation of the English style and am concerned that I would have to relearn it using a mirror image of my knit stitch.
Hi. All of the reviews for the course can be viewed here: yayforyarn.com/eskm-reviews/ None of the reviewers have specifically mentioned whether they are right or left handed, but I would be happy to help answer your question to the best of my ability. Most knitters, even if left-handed, knit from right to left, but there are a few left-handed knitters who knit from left to right. The technique in this course knits from right to left. In which direction do you currently knit?
@@YayForYarn I knit left to right. I am relearning how to knit. So far, all I've done is knit (and re-knit) a scarf using just the knit stitch. I am using the English style but wrapping the yarn with my right hand. I don't know how to knit right to left except by knitting right-handed. I tried that but couldn't control the needles. I experimented with the Continental style but was gripping the needles too tightly and my hand kept cramping. I've gotten better with not gripping the needles so tightly but I'm still getting hand cramps which is why I am interested in your class.
I think I misunderstood. By "moving from right to left" you mean transferring the stitches from the right needle to the left, correct? In which case, yes I move from right to left. I thought you were talking about the individual stitches.
By knitting from right to left, I mean that you insert the right needle into the next stitch on the left needle, knit through that stitch, and then slip the new stitch to the right needle. This is the direction that the course videos demonstrate. Right-handed knitters typically work this way, and some left-handed knitters also work this way. If you knit where you insert the left needle into the next stitch on the right needle, knit through it, and then slip the new stitch onto the left needle, then you are knitting in the opposite direction from the course videos. If that is the case, the course could potentially still be of help to you, but you would need to play the videos on a portable device (laptop, tablet, phone, etc) and set the device in front of the mirror so you could watch a flipped / mirror image version of the lessons in the mirror.
Hi. While there isn't anything wrong with using bamboo needles, if you want to knit faster, I would not recommend them. Bamboo needles tend to have more surface friction, which does not allow the stitches to slide as quickly. For the fastest speed, I recommend a slick needle, like steel, nickel, or laminated birch. (Laminated birch needles have a slick coating on them.) I hope this helps!
Girl you just saved my life. When I tell you my hands were having the workout of their life before I watched this video 🥵 I just started knitting exactly a week ago but I already knew how to crochet 🧶
Hi! I personally think the slickness of the needle depends most on the material it is made from. The nickel-plated needles shown in the video are pretty slick, and great for speed if you're comfortable keeping the stitches on the needles. The square needles in the video are laminated birch, which is my favorite needle material. They allow the yarn to glide quickly, but have just enough grip to keep the stitches on (as long as the stitches aren't super loose). I also have regular round circular needles in the laminated birch, and I have not found a difference in the slipperiness of the needles between the round and the square. However, even on a slick needle, dropped stitches can be avoided by making sure the new stitch is sitting on the right needle before the old stitch comes off the left needle. (This trick is built into the motions I teach in The Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method.) I hope this helps!
Yay For Yarn thanks for the reply. I just started knitting and only have bamboo needles. They looked like they might hold on better just bc of the shape. Im a tight knitter (too tight) but was wondering if there were any other benefits to the shape. I enjoyed the video!
I have carpal tunnel and sev arthritis in my thumb ,right hand, so purling is painful. I often Portuguese purl which is fast, butmost of the time when i knit( continental) when i get to the end of the row I dont turn my work. I put the yarn in the right hand and just knit back...its purling if you do it from the other side, but backwards or maybe lefty knitting??? It took me a couple days of practice, but now I do it as fast as a right to left knit row. Its been years now and its just habbit!
That’s how I be doing it 😂but it can be hard to read patterns sometimes for me 😅
1) When I use Portuguese knitting I bring the yarn up the right side of my neck and around to the left and tension with my left hand. This requires minimal movement from the thumb to flick the yarn around the needle. 2) See Arne and Carlos TH-cam videos on Norwegian knitting for very fast minimal movement style of knitting. I found it very helpful.
Great! And portuguesian knitting was my safior for knitting! Now l purl insideout and my wrong side of knitting is outside when l purl my pullovers etc. But when knitting "normal" l knit the lever style. This leds me knitting efficiant , fast, easy and comfortable, although l'm disabled with/by my hands and fingers! So if l can, then only by these two kinds of knitting! It's so cool that there are so many different styles how to knit!
I LOVE the square needles, for me my stitches are more even and it is easier for me to pick up the finer yarns
I’m learning to knit and i love these tips....thank you so much😊
Can you film a video expanding on/showing what you began saying at 18:30, where a backwards purl requires you to knit a certain way when you come back around the needle?
Hi. I don't have a video on that, but I was referring to what happens when the yarn is wrapped around the needle backwards. Some people prefer to wrap the yarn backwards for purling to make the purl stitch quicker, which causes the new loops to sit twisted on the needle. To correct the orientation of those stitches, you have to work them through the back loop to untwist them. That method is not incorrect, as it does work, but it adds another step to the following row. I hope this helps!
Super helpful! Thanks for sharing. My aching hand thanks you too
Thank you so much for these tips. 😀 i love knitting but am.sad about my sore thumbs.
Your handsl are beautiful.🧡
Text neck also common from looking down.
I subscribe to your channel because of your organized clear clips...what every you cover
Very informative! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video.
Look up Shetland knitting with a knitting belt. Takes the weight of the knitting away from your hands and arms and to your waist.
Great advice! Thank you.
is the knitting course you offer only continental style, that the yarn would be in the left hand?
Hi. Yes, my course teaches a technique that holds the yarn in the left hand. When the yarn is held in the left hand, the angle and position of the working yarn requires less motion to make the stitches than if the yarn is held in the right hand. The method is not the type of continental knitting that is typically taught, though. The finished stitches are the same, of course, but the motions used in my course are designed to use as little motion of the hands and wrists as possible. I hope this helps!
What about arm pain? I have struggled with pain so bad I had to quit for years - shooting pain from my elbow to my wrists, cracking, popping etc.
Hi! I can't say for sure whether the Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method would help decrease arm and elbow pain, as I am not an expert on the muscles in the hands and arms. However, it is possible for pain in the arms and elbows to be caused by the tightness and motions used in the hands and wrists. The method in the course is designed to minimize hand and wrist motion and keep the hands and wrists as relaxed as possible. So I don't know if that would decrease the pain or not, but if you decide to give it a try, please let me know if it helps you. Thanks!
Could come from neck from looking down.
Would climbing gloves do ❤ my hands and fingers are small
Thank you, most helpful 🐈
In your course do you teach continental knitting? I wanted to learn that.
Hi! Yes, the course teaches a variation of continental knitting that is easier on the hands and wrists. I hope this helps!
I know this is a 3-year-old video but I have a lot of trouble not with my hands but with my tops of my forearms elbow and shoulder especially left side I can do Continental English as well as Portuguese and I find that the Portuguese so far has been the easiest on my body however maybe I'm not holding the needles or something properly so if you have some suggestions or if this is something you have experienced as well I would greatly appreciate some input thank you
Hi. If you're experiencing hand, wrist, or elbow strain while knitting, the first thing I would suggest considering would be your knitting tension. If the knitting is a little tight, and the stitches fit snugly around the needle, they will not slide as easily across the needle. That can cause the knitting to be more tiring for the hands and wrists. Here's a video on knitting tension that might be of help: th-cam.com/video/7qBK-K5qqaI/w-d-xo.html
@@YayForYarnthank you I will check the video out some have told me that I was too loose others say to tight and yes my stitches don't drag very well at all regardless of wood or stainless steel needles I do have to constantly shove them
How common is lever knitting because I'm Belgian and everyone around me uses lever knitting, one of (if not the official) fastest knitters today is a Dutch woman who does lever knitting and be seen people in Scotland and England do it so I just assumed that people online don't put the needle under their arm because they film their knitting but they would otherwise but everytime I hear it mentioned it's shown as a "trick" more than the "norm"
Lever knitting is not super common in the US. It can be a very fast knitting method. The main reason I choose not to use it is because I like knitting on circular knitting needles, so there is no long needle shaft to put under the arm. It does seem to work well for those who do use lever knitting, but that method is not taught in the US. If I were to go to the library and randomly select 20 American 'learn to knit' books, the chances that any of them would teach or mention lever knitting are very small. It seems to be more common in Europe, though.
@YayForYarn I've never seen it taught either, books over here just don't show that much how to hold the needles and I have a friend who is old enough to have been taught to knit at school and her teacher mocked here for putting her needle under her arm. I think we tend to knit that way because it's still very common for people over 30-40 to have been taught knitting at home I guess it's still something that has been passed down orally from generation to generation and that we do from memesis.
I'm also switching to more circular needles - I mainly knit in the round whenever possible and circular needles allow for more mobility - I found that "parlor" knitting (holding the needle like a pen and working English style) works for me to some degree but it requires needles to be a bit longer than the ones I have and it's excruciatingly slow
Would taking the course be appropriate for a total beginner at knitting? I know very, very little. But i want to start out with a good foundation and this seems like it.
Hi Julia! I'm so sorry for the late reply. If you know the very basics of how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off, then you could start this course. The course does not explain how to do those basic tasks for an absolute beginner picking up needles for the first time, but it does explain in detail how the stitches are formed with The Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method. I would recommend checking out these tutorials before beginning the course, though: yayforyarn.com/count-knitting-stitches/ yayforyarn.com/count-knitting-rows/. I hope this helps!
What kind of circular metal or plastic needles do you recommend?
Hi. I don't recommend plastic needles, as they tend to have more friction and limit knitting speed. However, if you like metal needles, these are my favorite: th-cam.com/video/Jdc32wYgJxs/w-d-xo.html I hope this helps!
Ok I purled my stitches backwards the whole time without knowing. I come from crochet and that felt very natural. Never realised that this causes a twist.
How hard is it to adapt the ergonomic knitting to left handed knitting?
Hi Donna! The ergonomic technique taught in my course uses both hands, but uses the left hand a bit more than the right. So if you're a lefty, I don't think it would need to be changed for a left-handed person. However, if you want to knit in the opposite direction, from left to right, you use the ergonomic method that way by watching the video lessons in the mirror to reverse the videos. That would use the right hand a bit more than the left, though. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any more questions. :)
I’m left handed. Is there a left handed version for the knitting course?
Hi Sara! There is not a left-handed version of this course, because the motions in this method use both hands pretty equally. So it doesn't matter which is your dominant hand, as the work is evenly distributed between both hands. I hope this helps!
I get pain in my left hand while knitting. Would your course suit me in helping to alleviate some of the pain I'm experiencing?
Hi! I would guess that the pain you are experiencing is likely caused by either the motions you're using to make the stitches, or the way you hold your yarn and needles. There are lots of different techniques out there, but many of them use motions that require one hand or one part of the hand to do most of the work. The method I teach in my course keeps both hands relaxed, with very little movement, and uses a slight sliding motion with the whole forearm to make the stitches without putting too much strain or motion on the hands and wrists. I think the ergonomic technique could help you if your pain is caused by the motions and hand position (rather than some type of preexisting injury or painful condition in the hands.) Some students with existing hand conditions have said that the motions in the course have made their knitting easier on their hands, but I cannot guarantee that the course would eliminate pain if you already have something like arthritis or carpal tunnel. If you decide to try it out, and if you run into anything that doesn't quite work for you, I am happy to help you adapt the method to work best for you if needed. Please let me know if you have any questions about the course or the technique. :) Happy Yarning!
@@YayForYarn I liked your reply because of the closing words. When my children were small, they used to say I was yarning when I crocheted. Memories lol 💙❄
Whether aluminium needles be more ergonomic??? Whether the yarn slides over very easily??
Aluminum needles are okay, but the yarn does not slide on them quite as quickly as nickel or steel. I hope this helps!
Can I use aluminium needles??
Thank you so much for this information. I have purchased the full finger comprehension gloves.
I have carpal tunnel. Compression gloves do help me but I tend to not use them because I get a surge of pain when I take them off. Maybe mine are too small/tight?
Hi Debi! It may be that the gloves are too tight. Are they one size fits all, or do you have to go by the width of the hand to choose a size? The ones I have are the type where you measure your hand to know which size to get, and they are comfortably snug, but not real tight on my hands. That may or may not be the cause, but perhaps you could try a different sized glove to see if it still causes the same problem. I hope this helps!
They are the Lion Brand ones and I have small hands. But they do tend to swell so that’s probably what’s happening. I think I’ll try mediums although they are a bit loose at first. Thank you.
Do you know any lefties who have taken this course willing to review it? I know how to knit left-handed using a variation of the English style and am concerned that I would have to relearn it using a mirror image of my knit stitch.
Hi. All of the reviews for the course can be viewed here: yayforyarn.com/eskm-reviews/
None of the reviewers have specifically mentioned whether they are right or left handed, but I would be happy to help answer your question to the best of my ability. Most knitters, even if left-handed, knit from right to left, but there are a few left-handed knitters who knit from left to right. The technique in this course knits from right to left. In which direction do you currently knit?
@@YayForYarn
I knit left to right. I am relearning how to knit. So far, all I've done is knit (and re-knit) a scarf using just the knit stitch. I am using the English style but wrapping the yarn with my right hand. I don't know how to knit right to left except by knitting right-handed. I tried that but couldn't control the needles. I experimented with the Continental style but was gripping the needles too tightly and my hand kept cramping. I've gotten better with not gripping the needles so tightly but I'm still getting hand cramps which is why I am interested in your class.
I think I misunderstood. By "moving from right to left" you mean transferring the stitches from the right needle to the left, correct? In which case, yes I move from right to left. I thought you were talking about the individual stitches.
By knitting from right to left, I mean that you insert the right needle into the next stitch on the left needle, knit through that stitch, and then slip the new stitch to the right needle. This is the direction that the course videos demonstrate. Right-handed knitters typically work this way, and some left-handed knitters also work this way. If you knit where you insert the left needle into the next stitch on the right needle, knit through it, and then slip the new stitch onto the left needle, then you are knitting in the opposite direction from the course videos. If that is the case, the course could potentially still be of help to you, but you would need to play the videos on a portable device (laptop, tablet, phone, etc) and set the device in front of the mirror so you could watch a flipped / mirror image version of the lessons in the mirror.
Whether bamboo needles be more ergonomic? Can I knit faster with bamboo needles??
Hi. While there isn't anything wrong with using bamboo needles, if you want to knit faster, I would not recommend them. Bamboo needles tend to have more surface friction, which does not allow the stitches to slide as quickly. For the fastest speed, I recommend a slick needle, like steel, nickel, or laminated birch. (Laminated birch needles have a slick coating on them.) I hope this helps!
Can I use aluminium needles??
Girl you just saved my life. When I tell you my hands were having the workout of their life before I watched this video 🥵
I just started knitting exactly a week ago but I already knew how to crochet 🧶
Are square needles any different in terms of slickness and dropping a stitch?
Hi! I personally think the slickness of the needle depends most on the material it is made from. The nickel-plated needles shown in the video are pretty slick, and great for speed if you're comfortable keeping the stitches on the needles. The square needles in the video are laminated birch, which is my favorite needle material. They allow the yarn to glide quickly, but have just enough grip to keep the stitches on (as long as the stitches aren't super loose). I also have regular round circular needles in the laminated birch, and I have not found a difference in the slipperiness of the needles between the round and the square. However, even on a slick needle, dropped stitches can be avoided by making sure the new stitch is sitting on the right needle before the old stitch comes off the left needle. (This trick is built into the motions I teach in The Ergonomic Speed Knitting Method.) I hope this helps!
Yay For Yarn thanks for the reply. I just started knitting and only have bamboo needles. They looked like they might hold on better just bc of the shape. Im a tight knitter (too tight) but was wondering if there were any other benefits to the shape. I enjoyed the video!
With Continental purling I push my middle finger down.
Could a man able to knit???
Of course. I've known several men who enjoyed knitting. You can do it!