got the cd, but i dont knit with yarn in left hand

rwf99 · 01-25-2005, 03:36 AM

i got the cd. it has a lot of great instructions. but i knit with the yarn in my right hand and have a very hard time as it is, so how can i make use of the cd. i am trying to learn the double twisted cast on or german cast on but the video just has me more confused than ever. any suggestions for the visually impaired?

Marnie · 01-26-2005, 03:53 PM

I don't have the CD, but my understanding is that all techniques are shown in both ways.

If you look at the homepage of this site
http://www.knittinghelp.com/
You'll see that the video camera with the BLUE background shows techniques in the method that you knit. When going to view a video, look for the blue icons.

yellowness · 01-26-2005, 04:14 PM

Casting on is one of the few times where the left hand may be used regardless of whether or not you knit Continental (left hand yarn holding) or English (right hand yarn holding) style.

Other than that, all the Continental ideas are easily transferable to English -- only instead of hooking yarn counter-clockwise (or clockwise, depending on how you knit; I do counter-clockwise) from off your left index finger when you pearl or knit a stitch, you wrap the yarn around the needle with your right hand. I was taught English style; all the concepts are otherwise the same.

As with anything new in knitting (whether you are learning something for the first time after a few weeks of knitting, or after a few years) it takes some time to go from fumbling to easy grace... even after knitting since I was a little girl, it takes me forever to learn something new sometimes. Just stick with it!

amy · 01-28-2005, 02:14 AM

Hi rwf99!

That was one of the videos where it's the same video for both Continental and English knitters. It may confuse you that I had used a pink icon for these videos. This is why I just started using a half-pink, half-blue icon to represent those videos. The videos are meant to be viewed by both English and Continental, even though they're pink on your CD. On your CD, when you see just a single video that's pink, it's meant to apply to both.

English knitters typically hold the yarn with their left hand like that, to do that cast-on. I'm sure it's possible to hold the yarn in your right hand to do the cast-on, but then you'd be doing all the work with the needle held in your left hand, which would require more left-hand dexterity. I've never seen anyone do it this way, so I've filmed it the one way that is usually done by both English and Continental knitters.

Amy

rwf99 · 01-28-2005, 02:28 AM

i think that the reason i am having such a time with viewing this, is because i have dyslexia. so if there is any difficulty to it i get it all confused. but i have learned mostly, to work around it. because i want to find another cast on that is good for sweaters i decided to try this one. i think the videos are very well filmed and written, just for me it is difficult. Unfortunately there isnt a knitting shop near me where i could go in and have them walk me thru the stitches.