Your fingers are amazing. Why aren’t you letting them help you knit?
Scientists have found that there are more nerve connections between the fingers and the brain than between any other parts of the body.
The fingers are the most delicate instruments available to you, yet what I see a lot of knitters doing is avoiding touching their knitting at all.
Because of this, they don’t have nearly enough control over their stitches – they knit slower, because they are afraid that the stitches will slide off the tips of the needles. Sound familiar?
Solution: Use your fingers to help put your stitches where they need to be and to stop them from falling off your needles, as I show in the video. This will not only make you knit faster but you’ll feel more comfortable.
Using Your Fingers To Help You
Many knitters are afraid that their stitches will fall off the end of their left-hand needles. Use your fingers to prevent that from happening!
Related Posts:
- Knit Faster! Avoid The Ten Mistakes That Slow You Down
- Are You Using The Right Knitting Needles For Your Project?
- How To Undo Knitting And Get Stitches Back On Your Needles
If you like this video tutorial on how to use your fingers to help you knit faster, let me know by leaving a comment!
12 thoughts on “How To Use Your Fingers To Help You Knit Faster”
I did like this video. I’m working on coordinating moving my stiches up, as I cannot remember how I used to do it (knitted years ago!).
But I”m curious – are you considered a “looser” knitter, or a “tighter” knitter?
I’m trying to repair my own tight knitting and make it loser, without being too loose, so am curious about yours.
Hi, I would consider myself a looser knitter. :)
This was a helpful video. I have always advanced my stitches on the left needle by pushing on the needle tip, but I think my knitting will go faster if I can advance them with my thumb. Thanks!
Would love to have some aerobics for that maneuver!
I’m so glad this video helped you! Yes, pushing the needle tips is not always ideal, as they can sometimes be sharp. I don’t know if I have any aerobics to suggest in this case, but just pay close attention to how you can move the stitches up without pushing the needle tip (much) and see what you discover.
Cheers,
Liat
As always, a fantastic instructional video:
–Clear, concise explanations
–Exquisite close-up photography
–Bite-sized sequences that optimize learning
. . . all provided in an easy, encouraging style.
Way to go!
Hi there,
Wow, thank you so very much!! You are great with words – I so appreciate this summation of what I try so very hard to accomplish in each video.
Warmest regards and Happy New Year!
Liat
AGREE :)
Cynthia NZ
Thank you so much, Cynthia! Happy New Year!
By the way, I did LOVE your video!
You do NOT “have to” let your needle go, doing non-continental knitting the way I’ve done it all my life. The right hand (RH) needle rests on the right hand thumb, which is loosely tucked UNDER the RH needle, with no grip at all, perfectly relaxed, until the RH thumb takes hold to be smoothly pulling the needle back to help the needle tip hook the yarn under and through the loop on the LH needle, to create the new loop on the RH needle. To achieve that ‘hooking’ action, both thumbs and both index fingers are fully engaged with the yarn and both needles, each doing its own thing in perfect delightful harmony with the others. I LOVE to watch my fingers at work! They are stunning knitters…
At the ‘hooking’ point, when the RH thumb takes hold as mentioned, the LH thumb is holding back the eager stitches on the LH needle (“My turn next, it’s my turn now!”), the LH index finger is pressing the pointed tip of the RH needle down into and up through the LH loop whose turn it is. The tip of the RH index finger (which has just wrapped the strand of yarn around the RH needle tip – while ‘letting go’ of the RH needle, which is balanced in the ‘crook’ of the RH thumb, close to the hand) – that RH index tip is now holding down that yarn against the RH needle, and thus helping the RH thumb to grip the needle, pulling it down and to the right, to help that strand on its journey through the LH-needle’s loop.
While the RH index finger was wrapping the yarn, the RH thumb tip itself was sort-of holding the fabric-knitted-so-far gently up against the RH needle, which does not need to be gripped tight at all until it’s steered (by RH thumb and RH index finger in tandem together) into the next joyful LH loop whose turn it really now is!
Of course a video would help you follow all that – but maybe just try it? It’s total control by the right hand, without gripping.
Hi Frances,
Thank you so much for this thorough and descriptive comment! I love learning about how you knit and how it all works together in harmony.
Warmest regards and Happy New Year,
Liat
I like your videos because you don’t mess, around with a bunch of introductory comments. You just get right to it. Many videos are way too long to bear watching and choked with unrelated chatter. Also your close up photos are great. No strain to see what’s happening. I do use my fingers much like you, except for putting right index on wrapping yarn. I hold my needle at a slightly different angle, so it grabs the yarn by itself and never falls off before coming through the loop. Still looking on your site for support getting started on taat socks and magic loop which defeated me long ago. Recommding your site to a beginner friend.