Comments on: Knitting Ad Nauseam: Part IV

By: another Heather

another Heather — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 18:13:11 +0000

wow, I was knitting combination and I didn’t even know it. I know that I don’t knit like my friends in SnB and I have to *adapt* some patterns to make them work. Cool!

By: lucia

lucia — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 18:50:28 +0000

I knew there’d be knitter out there who knit combination without knowing it!

Things can get dicey when you are trying to read a technique and all the illustrations show the stitch “sitting” Western. There is always an adaptation, but you can’t follow other people instructions to the letter. Hopefully, this explanation will help you figure out any new adaptations more quickly.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:32:31 +0000

I guess I’m a combination knitter….I’d just been told I was doing it wrong but all my projects came out right—and a lot faster than the “right” way.

By: lucia

lucia — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:38:01 +0000

Many published authors are combination knitters. The only disadvantage of this method is that you sometimes need to translate verbal directions to avoid twisting things. But, many combinations knitters figure it out pretty easily, so there’s no problem!

By: Linda B

Linda B — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 03:50:08 +0000

Hello - I’ve just stumbled across Combination knitting and it makes sense - but so does circualr knitting, since I see people as cylinders over which I can fit any variety of tubes. How to knit this method when you don’t purl back to change how the stitches sit on the needle? Am I doomed? Do I have to switch to knitting with my left hand and purling with my right (something I’ve been fiddling with). Thank you.

By: lucia

lucia — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:35:09 +0000

Linda: Examine the two photos above showing how to insert the tip to knit. If your stitch is currently sitting “Eastern”, and you want to knit an untwisted stitch, insert the stitch as shown on the right– labeled “Eastern”.

By: madbee

madbee — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 18:23:02 +0000

I knit that way too. When I do circular knitting I purl instead and it is easier without twists. I usually purl instead of knit for garter stitch too.

By: Dani

Dani — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 17:36:22 +0000

hi, lucia. Thanks for posting all of these articles. I’m five inches in to an afghan and want to switch to combination knitting for the lace pannels. Will doing this change the look of the pannel? And how do I translate the skp and k2tog decreases so they work out?

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:10:24 +0000

Hi,

Nice bit on Combo knitting - thanks!

It’s not true that “no one bothers to write books explaining how to work advanced techniques using this method” - Mary Walker Phillips covers it nicely in her book Creative Knitting, along with Priscilla Gibson Roberts and Anna Zilboorg. I’ve written a book covering ways to ‘read’ and dissect your knitting, and convert standard Western patterns to Combination - the book is Confessions of a Knitting Heretic and it’s available at Amazon and at yarn shops.

Thanks for adding to the general knitting knowledge!

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:34:31 +0000

A friend told me about combination knitting and I was curious. For years I have knit on the right side only by knitting with “thrown” stitches from right to left and then knitting back with continental stitches from left to right. The continental row reseats the stitches for easy pick up on the thrown row and vice versa. It’s quick and easy. I never have to turn my knitting around but I do have to mentally convert patterns to right side only.

By: bo balder

bo balder — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:15:15 +0000

This was an eye-openern for me! EVer since I’ve re-taught myself how to know I’ve apparently been using an Eastern stitch while knitting, and a Western stitch while purling. In a stockinetter, this gives an even result and no one can tell the difference.
However, I always have problems with ribs and double ribs. I solve the single rib problem by twisting it, but my double ribs never come out right. The knit parts of the ribs look drunk, the legs of the stitches are uneven and splayed, on both sides.
Do you have any idea how I could get rid of that problem? I alos throw over with my left hand instead of my right (European knitter apparently always use the right), always have, whcih makes for fast knitting but may be part of my rib problem?

Thanks in advance!

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:22:25 +0000

I’m not sure what to make of what I’ve learned about my knitting style after just reading this. I learned garter stitch from a friend who’s family is Persian. I always knew and thought it was strange that she taught me a continental way of holding the yarn since we both grew up in the US. It turns out that I make knit stitches the Eastern crossed way, but make the perl stitches the Western way b/c I learned perl and everything else I know from from reading books.

I don’t know what this says about my knitting. Unfortunately, I don’t have other knitting friends now that I live in Europe, so I haven’t been able to compare the results of the way I knit with other people’s knitting. Do you think this could impact my gauge and measurements? I always have trouble getting the gauge right when I knit swatches. I’ll get the right number of stitches, but the rows are always off.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:06:37 +0000

I do combination knitting, too, it looks like. But instead of “Yarn over by bringing the yarn below the needle, toward you, over the top and to the back,” I yarn over by bringing the yarn above the needle, toward me, and down. Is there a name for that?

By: Combined / Combination Knitting « Cutting Edge Stitches&Seams

Combined / Combination Knitting « Cutting Edge Stitches&Seams — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:38:11 +0000

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