I’ve been knitting continental for a while now, and I’m getting quite smooth and fast. It’s changed my knitting. What it has not changed, however, is my purling. I CANNOT purl continental for the life of me. If I’m working stockinette on a back-and-forth piece, I simply work the knit side in continental and the purl side in English (throwing). You can imagine that I avoid ribbing at all costs, because switching every stitch or two is a nightmare. I have to do it all English, which is so much slower, and drives me nuts.
I’ve been knitting a lot of garter stitch lately, and I’ve actually grown to love it. Boy, does it eat up the yarn, though!
I went on the hunt for good continental purling videos, and found this one, which compares/contrasts continental purling/knitting with throwing (English):
How do you knit/purl? Have any other good videos to recommend, specifically ones that show you how to purl continental? I know there are loads, but I don’t have time to screen.
http://www.knittinghelp.com/
i would check out Knitting Help…that’s where i go for the many thousands of times i get stuck on something. oh dear.
i have also depended on knittinghelp.com on more than one occasion.
however, i can’t get the hang of her continental purling style. the video above shows a different style, which i also can’t get the hang of, but it’s new and exciting to me.
I learned to throw. I wish I had learned continental though. I tried knitting continental and it wasn’t too bad, but I was slower of course. I am sure with more practice I could get fast and knit faster than throwing. Purling was another story though. I couldn’t get it. Maybe I will try again in 2010 to learn. Don’t have any videos to share though.
i learned to throw, too, and did it for years. i tried continental on more than one occasion, and found it too slow and tedious. but then i picked up some crochet projects again, and it was a natural transition to continental knitting for me. it just clicked.
i’m a pretty fast thrower, even with ribbing. however, i have tendinitis in my wrists (from 17yrs of flute playing, sadly) so continental is easier on my wrists. it’s important to be good at both, though, for stranding and colorwork projects so you can knit with both hands simultaneously. i also don’t have any videos to offer, but suggest you play around with various methods until you find one that works for you. i figure as long as you find a method of knitting that is comfortable and easy for you – whatever that method may be – then by all means, stick with it! i believe knitting should be relaxing and comforting…it’s no fun when it becomes uncomfortable and laborious!
Her explanation how to hold the yarn for continental in the left hand is NOT correct and the constant movement of the left forefinger while purling is her very own English-continental version of purling!
Have been knitting continental since I was a child. Taught by a swiss girl. I do not hold the wool the way it is done in the tutorial. It is wound around left forefinger. Probably comes to the same thing though