Tsk, playing fast and loose with your yarn, eh?

wrote:
I also switched years ago to Continental style and I knit very fast
and loose now.

I always have to change gauge to 1-2 sizes smaller needles, in fact I
cannot knit teeny at all. I tried to knit a baby item for my new niece
a few years ago and simply couldn't get the 7.5 sts/in needed.

But, that's a small price to pay for loving to knit fast and relaxed!

Susan

Susan Druding
Straw Into Gold - Crystal Palace Yarns
http://www.straw.com

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:32:02 GMT, "AGRES" wrote:


I've knitted English style (feed yarn with right hand) for as long as I can
remember, and I tend to knit very tight with only one color

But, the other day, someone on RCTY said that Continental style (feed yarn
with left hand) was faster. I have a big, mindless project going, so the
other night, I looped the yarn over my left hand. It was easy and felt
natural, and the stitches really flew off the needles. I had never before
knitted that fast in my life (stitches per minute). I assume that I leaned
to knit Continental style as a child, and then switched for some reason,
but the motor skills remain.

But, the gauge was much looser. I had to drop down two needle sizes to get
the same number of stitches per inch, and then the stitch definition was not
as good and the fabric was not a firm and dense.

Is this a flaw in my technique? Shouldn't the gauge be the same regardless
of which hand feeds the yarn? Or, do the different styles of knitting
really produce different styles of fabric? Do the Knitting Fairies and
Knitting Goddesses simply move their yarn from hand to hand to produce
different fabrics?

Aaron