I’ve always wondered about the differences between continental / German knitting (left-handed) and English knitting (right-handed). I was taught continental / German knitting (being German that obviously makes a lot of sense). It was only when I came to England in 1996 I noticed that there are other ways of knitting, including what seemed to me a rather more complicated way of knitting, which involved rather a lot of moving around.
Naively, I always believed that my way of knitting (German / continental) was quicker and much more time efficient. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that apparently it is, Wikipedia states: “Continental knitting is preferred by professional hand knitters, as it is the more efficient method, requiring the shortest number of specific hand-motions per stitch.” Over on Ackwood’s YouTube channel is a great video demonstrating the continental technique:
English knitting on the other hand, according to Wikipedia is sometimes referred to as picking as “the yarn is held in the left hand and the motion of bringing the yarn forward with a needle held in the other hand” seems like picking it through. And over on LindsayLew’s YouTube channel a good example of British knitting:
I can’t say that I’ve ever tried using anything else than my German knitting technique, especially as it is so easy to learn. Just check out how easy it is in on TECHknitting. Now it would be interesting to hear what your thoughts are about the different kinds of knitting. Which one do you favour?
