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by: Mercedes Aspland
In this article we are going to give you some tips and advice on how to hold
your work when knitting. It includes some general advice as well as some of the
common problems people face and what to do if you are left handed. It is very
important to hold your knitting in the right way, both for the quality of the
work and also for your comfort.
General Advice
There are some common things to think about when you begin knitting and if you
follow them they will significantly help with your comfort:
1. Make sure you sit in a comfortable position and are not slumping, this will
help to make your knitting a much more pleasant and pain free hobby.
2. Light is very important. Make sure you have enough so that you do not need to
strain to see your work. The darker the yarn the more light you will need to see
accurately.
3. Remember to relax. The needles should sit comfortably in your hands and you
do not need to grip them tightly.
4. Make sure both hands are working and that you are not leaving it all to one
hand or the other.
5. To make life easier you should keep your thumbs and fingers as close to the
tips of the needles as possible. This will mean that they only need to move a
small distance and so keep work to minimum.
6. Keep your stitches as close to the tips of the needle as possible without
dropping them. This will enable you to prevent stretching of the work and also
make life easier when performing your stitches.
Common Problems
There are a number of things that many people suffer from and so it is important
to consider them so that if you do experience them you are able to correct them.
1. Working Slowly - many people find that they work very slowly and this can be
due to a number of reasons including the fact that your fingers and thumbs or
the stitches are too far away from the tips of the needles. Also you may not
have the needles under full control or you could be doing all the work with only
one needle. Finally it could be the equipment you are using and the tips of the
needles are very long and blunt. Keep an eye on how you are working and if any
of these apply to you then adjust your style to improve the situation.
2. Dropping Stitches - this is something that a lot of beginner knitters suffer
from and it can be caused by holding the stitches too close to the tip of the
needle or the fact that your knitting is too loose. You can also drop stitches
if you do not keep both needles in your hands all of the time. You should also
look at how you are holding the right hand needle. Problems can be caused if you
hold it like a pen and all the stitches are bunched up close to the tip.
3. Left Edge too Long - some people may find that the left edge of their work is
longer than the right edge which can cause big problems when you are making a
garment. This is often caused by a lack of control when you start your purl row
as it is not as easy as knit. The best way to counter this is to pull the first
purl stitch tighter. If you get this on the other edge as well then apply the
same rule when you start your knit row.
4. Purl Stitches too Big - some knitters find that their purl stitches are
larger than their knit stitches which can give a stripy look to their work. You
should spend time practising tightening the purl stitches and loosening the knit
ones for a more even effect. Also if you are working in stocking stitch you
could use a small needle for the purl row than you use for the knit one.
5. Uneven work - a very common problem is uneven work so that your stitch size
is not consistent. This can be caused by holding the needle like a pen or
regularly dropping the needles or yarn. It can also be caused by varying the
distance that you work stitches form the tip of the needle, having needles with
long tips of holding the needles a long distance from the tips. If this happens
you should assess your style and adapt things to make them more regular.
6. Aches and Pains - if you suffer from these and they are caused by your
knitting then you need to address them as soon as possible. Make sure you sit in
a comfortable position and do not lean forward over your work. Also do your best
to relax your hands and this will stop them from cramping up and aching.
Left Handed Knitters
Just a quick word on this as I myself am a left handed knitter. It is important
to remember that knitting uses both hands and when you are learning it is a new
skill whichever hand you write with. I have learnt to knit the same way a right
handed person would which means I can follow all instructions as they are
written. I would advise any left handed person to do the same and there will be
no problems.
About The Author
This article has been supplied by Mercedes Aspland for the knitting wool shop.
The author invites you to visit:
http://www.theknittingshop.co.uk
Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/hobbies/article_1750.shtml
Tags:
Knitting Basics -
Holding Your
Knitting |
