English vs. Continental
As a knitting instructor, I hear a LOT of things. Stories and gripes about husbands, wives, the dog, the cat, the emotional support chicken (it’s a thing), and just life in general. Knitting opens the door to so many conversations. Believe it or not, sometimes the tables even turn towards knitting.
Sarcastic tones aside, the conversations that come up in knitting groups, community chats, KALs, and technique classes are so interesting and educational - I soak them up like a sponge. It’s through many of these discussions that I’ve gained insight into what knitters like/dislike, want/don’t want, and need/don’t need from knitting patterns. It’s really the catalyst for how Knit Sisu patterns are formed, and classes are taught.
One topic that comes up often is the English vs. Continental knitting debate. Which one is better for the hands, better for the yarn, easier to do, and - winning the MVP award - which one is faster.
In going down the rabbit hole of English vs. Continental knitting research, I was surprised to come across many “cons of knitting.” While a whole other blog needs to be dedicated to that awkward sentiment, one facet explained how many people learn English knitting, but Continental is indeed faster. So by the time they get the hang of this age-old craft and fall into a comforting flow of the stitches, they are immediately hit upside the head with a Sorry Charlie Attitude of defeat labeling said knitting students as “slow knitters.”
Having taught many learn to knit classes, I do teach English style knitting (for reference, this is where the working yarn is held in the right hand, rather than the left). The theory - yes, I’m going there - is that while knitting, the working yarn is literally attached to the last stitch on the right needle. So for ergonomics’ sake, the proximity of the working yarn should be closest to where the yarn will be doing its work wrapping around the right needle. In doing this form of knitting - often called “throwing” - there is a more movement in the yarn than the needles; the yarn is moving around the needles to create the new stitch.
Conversely, in Continental knitting, the needles are doing the work. The left hand holds the working yarn still with tension on the left side, and the right needle moves around the held yarn and “picks” it up. This wraps it around the working yarn to complete the new stitch. So really it comes down to the type of movement that’s happening - English uses the right hand to move the yarn, Continental uses the right hand to move the needle.
If you ever want to waste minutes/hours of a day indulging in the English vs Continental debate, you may find social media videos of knitters knitting one way or the other, furiously and cartoonishly making fabric proving one way is faster than the other. I’m sure the fast-forward speed function on social media videos has nothing to do with that. Insert eye-roll here.
This debate does have an answer. Are you ready for it?? And the winner is……
DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!
Yep. Debate Shabate. If you are an English knitter, and that is your natural gait, then that’s what’s fastest for you - and vise versa! Trying to knit the other way - while I do highly recommend trying it - is not going to be faster because it’s not the natural way your hands want to work the craft.
Think of it as trying to write. Are you left-handed or right? Now imagine someone telling you to switch hands because it was better, faster blah blah blah - would you believe them?
Ok, that’s a big parallel, but still one just the same. The point is that the way you knit is the way you knit, and if you like it, and it feels good, and it gets the job done, then that’s that. Embrace your hands, embrace the process, and find the joy in what you are doing. Your knitting is intimate to you and only you.
(All that said, if you’d like a demonstration on either style of knitting - you know, for curiosity’s sake - let me know. I’m happy to show you!)
