Continental knitting: Encyclopedia - Continental knitting

Continental knitting

Knitting with the yarn in one's left hand is commonly referred to as Continental knitting, left-hand knitting or European knitting. Unlike English knitting, the yarn is kept in the left hand and more importantly, the left hand never leaves the needle. While the English knitter can work by lifting the one hand up off the needle to wrap yarn around the opposite needle, the Continental knitter keeps both hands on their respective needles at all times.

Continental knitting - Hand Motions

The motion of the right wrist is used to slip the right needle into the loop of the stitch being knitted and 'scoop' or 'hook' the yarn onto the right needle. An alternative method of collecting the yarn involves using the thumb or index finger of the right hand to hold the yarn in place as the new stitch is being pulled out of the loop.

This knitting style may be easier for people with crocheting experience to learn. The way the yarn is held in the left hand is very similar to crochet. Additionally, the motion of the right hand is very similar to the motion seen in crochet, although the knitting needle is held under the palm of the hand. One major difference in the motion of the right wrist is that in crochet the needle is held more like a pencil; this method of holding the knitting needle like a pencil was briefly made popular at the turn of the last century under the guise of being more ladylike. Nowadays, however, the majority of knitters hold both needles under the palm.

Continental knitting - Yarn Tension

The tension in the yarn is controlled by means of threading the yarn through various fingers on the left hand. Typically, the yarn is looped around the pinkie finger and over the index finger.

Continental knitting - History

This style originated in continental Europe, but is also found to a significant degree in the English-speaking world.

Other knitting styles include English knitting (aka right-hand knitting) and Combined knitting.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Continental knitting", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki