Comments on: Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 2

By: Ben-David

Ben-David — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 13:04:20 +0000

The topic of Eastern vs. Western and twisted vs. plain stitches is covered very thoroughly in that indispensible little book - Mary Thomas’ Knitting Book. It’s an old, very practical book originally written in the 1930s and reissued.

Nice diagrams of British, European, and Eastern European methods of plain and twisted knitting/purling.

By: lucia

lucia — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 14:54:48 +0000

I don’t have Thomas’s book, and haven’t ever actually seen it, but I understand it’s excellent.

Walker’s First Treasury of Knitting gives instructions for the Western Cross, which involves purling and knitting through back loops and results in the “right over left” twisting example in my swatch. However, Walker’s excellent book has no diagrams or illustrations showing how to actually knit through back loops etc.

By: The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 2

The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 2 — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:56:16 +0000

[…] Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 2 Posted on 08.05.05 by lucia @ 7:47am […]

By: The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part I

The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part I — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:56:53 +0000

[…] You can continue this across the row. When you turn the work, you will see the stitches are not twisted. 1. Those teaching fluid mechanics courses are permitted to slap themselves on the forehead and say “I could use a flexible knitting needle and yarn to illustrate a vortex!” Hot links to later articles were added as they were written: Part II: Eastern Crossed. Part III: Western Crossed . Part IV: Combination Knitting. Previous posts: ( Just too much. | Home | Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 2) […]

By: The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 3

The Knitting Fiend » Blog Archive » Stockinette ad nauseam: Part 3 — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 22:47:12 +0000

[…] To save myself some typing, I will assume the reader normally knits using the “Western” method and only describe how to “knit through back loops” and “purl through back loops” to create fabric with the twist shown in the top row of the swatch to the left. If your normal method of knitting stockinette results in untwisted stitches similar to that illustrated in the bottom two rows of the swatch to the left, and you don’t know what method you use, you probably do use the “Western” method. However, it is possible you knit using the “combination” method, which I have not yet discussed. If you have any doubts, compare your knitting method to that described in either Part I or Part II of “Knitting ad naseum”. […]

By: Louise

Louise — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:26:13 +0000

Hi - I am fascinated by the discussion of Eastern & combination knitting. I always thought I knit (for 40 years, but not at a complex level) good old “German” or Continental style, as taught by my mother, but recently, could not make a decorative decrease edge look right. This led me to discovering that I knit “wrong”, then I discovered combination knitting; then I realized I wasn’t quite doing that either, which led me to Eastern knitting. This looks a lot like what I do, with stitches on both knit and purl side sitting eastern, but on the knit side, I don’t insert into the front of the stitch as you show, but into the back ie to the right of the left-hand (front) leg. Now I am wondering again if indeed I am knitting “wrong” - my work looks like (or better than) everyone elses, but I did have trouble with those more decorative stitches.