# Fast, easy and comfortable continental knitting



## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

I normally knit English and decided to continental style a try. So I've been watching YouTube vids and came across this gem. 
She shows how she knits and purls. 
The way she does it takes most stress out of the hands and shoulders. Which is good for me cause my shoulders ache after awhile.

This is also such an easy way to purl, easiest I've found!

[YOUTUBE]OyKgQ3EKdSY[/YOUTUBE]

I've discovered for nice selvedges on both sides is to slip the 1st stitch, and knit or purl through the back loop of the last stitch, (whatever your pattern calls for).
Gives a nice square bottom to the work.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I love this! I knit the same way she does but the way she purls is new to me. I'm going to give it a try!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

I'm flying with my knitting now! 
Check out knitting through the back loop on the last stitch too, it really makes for nice edges!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

So that debate a while back about having to translate knitting instructors for continental? I get that now. 
The way she purls every stitch ends up twisted from normal knitting. 
So then all knit stitches are through the back loop to counter this. 
I should do a video series on how I knit. It is very speedy and easy.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Wow, look at you PearlB. I would love to knit like that. Maybe I need to make some time to try it. I'd love to speed up my knitting. I've played with it a bit but found it way slower which for me is not good at all 

I love that edge too.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

I think it might have been me complaining about having to translate patterns  you end up with horribly twisted stitches! I don't pearl like that though, mine is more a yarn over through twist.. which seems to sort any pattern issues I had. I still get problems when I try to use, nordic patterns though, so maybe they are written for that kind of pearl, I will have to try it! But maybe not half way through a sock.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

That is how I knit except I use the fingers on my left hand to move the yarn abit. I do not slip or purl the beg/end stitches tho, just follow the rest.No twisting of the purl stitch eather. I was taught by my Mom, so it is the way it is done in Russia. 
I should try to figure out how to do a video,just for the heck of it.


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## lexierowsell (Dec 10, 2013)

I made the mistake of trying to purl like that, and my stitches got so tight and twisty I switched back to English. 

Then, Kelsey. <3

Norwegian purl, all the way! The fingers on my left hand don't work real well so knitting with it was hard. Now I'm flyin'!!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

That purl is called a 'combination' ... it is the fastest way to knit/purl AND you can tell by feel what the stitch was on the previous row so it is wonderful for folks with vision problems.

This is the way my Grandmother taught me 45 years ago and the reason I had such difficulty learning to knit again when I picked up needles again 8 years ago. The purl I saw in books never 'felt' correct.

When knitting flat stockinette, you knit from the back loop & purl from the front loop. When knitting in the round, you knit from the front loop and purl from the back loop. 

You sometimes have to fiddle with the stitches for decreases when knitting flat, but it's not so bad once you realize it.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

.......


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

SvenskaFlicka said:


> So that debate a while back about having to translate knitting instructors for continental? I get that now.
> The way she purls every stitch ends up twisted from normal knitting.
> So then all knit stitches are through the back loop to counter this.
> I should do a video series on how I knit. It is very speedy and easy.





MullersLaneFarm said:


> That purl is called a 'combination' ... it is the fastest way to knit/purl AND you can tell by feel what the stitch was on the previous row so it is wonderful for folks with vision problems.
> 
> This is the way my Grandmother taught me 45 years ago and the reason I had such difficulty learning to knit again when I picked up needles again 8 years ago. The purl I saw in books never 'felt' correct.
> 
> ...



There is a discussion about this in the comments section too. When I look on a sample piece I can't tell the difference between doing it the quick or long way


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Marchwind said:


> Wow, look at you PearlB. I would love to knit like that. Maybe I need to make some time to try it. I'd love to speed up my knitting. I've played with it a bit but found it way slower which for me is not good at all
> 
> I love that edge too.


 I was getting slower at continental style till I found this vid. Which was the way i started doing it. It was so easy I thought surely I must be doing it wrong, hahaha. Then started watching other vids and knitting more traditionally, till this vid.

I'm still pretty fast at English, this takes most the pressure off of my shoulders!

This is a sample pic with the edge, I really like how it squares the bottom of a piece. It's the bottom left, though it curled up a bit!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Pearl B said:


> When I look on a sample piece I can't tell the difference between doing it the quick or long way


As long as you are knitting/purling through the correct leg, there is no difference.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Thank You Cindy!


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## KeyWestKeely (Feb 26, 2015)

I've been a crocheter since I was a child, and it's a major hobby for me, but I just started knitting last month--and this Continental Method is the exact method I learned, for both knitting and purling.

This method is especially fast and easy for me because of being a crocheter, and I must say that I LOVE it! I wouldn't knit or purl any other way. My knitting is looking really good, and I'm also going faster than I ever thought possible!

Thanks so much for posting this video!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

That purl seems like a lot more work than it needs to be especially if you are going to have to untwist every purl on the flip side. But, I suppose if you just get it into your hear that you need to untwist each twisted stitch.......akkkkk! I think I'll stich to my way of knitting at least for now.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Marchie, the way you 'untwist' the stitches is by which leg you insert the needle into for the knit/purl (instead of always using the front leg).

Some decrease stitches, you would just knit 2 together using the back leg but the K2T, you would have to remove stitches from the left needle and 'turn them around' before you knit them. In other words, it is the opposite of how you manipulate the decreases when your doing 'standard' knitting.

You've asked me how I knit so quickly ... besides having all day to knit if I want ... it is because I knit combined continental.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

I was playing with the KAL sock.. how do you do a yarnover then this pearl. couldn't figure that one out


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Skandi,

I'm doing them the same way I would with English.


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## Jacki (May 13, 2002)

I also knit combined continental, and a right leaning decrease is knit two together, a left leaning decrease is slip one, knit one, pass slip stitch over.

Whenever I am teaching a crocheter to knit, I recommend combined continental, simply because the working yarn is held in a similar way.

Jacki


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

We five oldest girls all learned to knit from a little pamphlet purchased at Kresge&#8217;s. We all knit differently. I knit left handed and really struggled to learn how to purl. With my left index finger, I push down the yarn. That&#8217;s the only way I could sort it out in my brain. But, if you want to impress people, continue knitting while you look away and carry on a conversation or watch a volleyball game.


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## naura (Mar 21, 2012)

I guess I knit combined continental - I learned how to crochet first


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

For the yarn overs, you want the yarn to end up to knit the next stitch. So, if the next stitch is a knit, you pick the yarn by having the right needle go under the yarn, then into the next stitchâ¦ If using the yarn itself, the yarn will go from the back, over the top of the right needle, then down and to the back.

For the purl, your right needle picks the yarn by going over the top of the yarn, then into the next stitch as a purlâ¦ the yarn goes to the front of the work (itâs already in the front if the last stitch was a purl), over the right needle (from the front, over top to the back), then under the needle to the front and is ready for the next purl stitchâ¦ clear as mud?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

So many paths to the same place. For a right slanting decrease I prefer knit 2 together, which I write K2tog. For a left slanting, I use slip 1 as if to knit, slip the next as if to purl, place left needle through these 2 st from left to right in the front, k2tog. Written as ssk.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

What&#8217;s Norwegian purl?


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

The Norwegian purl is basically purling by keeping the yarn in back.

Thank You for the explanations about the yarn overs!




[YOUTUBE] jDo6Tz3ZOiY [/YOUTUBE]


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Oh I understand how you untwist the stitches. But I can see me doing some textured stitch and getting all confused about which stitches get untwisted and which don't., lol.

I'll try it one day but for now it sort of scrambles my brain to think of.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Weirdly enough I can purl better than I can knit with this method. I'm getting my stitches too tight and that's making it hard for me to knit, at times. Sometimes it clicks right in and I'm off to the races, hahaha.

I see myself doing this at times and regular English at times.

I am glad I learned it though.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

What method do you guys think is best for flipping back and forth from knit to purl or slip in the same row? I'm a pincher now with dreams of reform.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

RDC, "Pincher"?


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I think she means that she has a dread ornery streak, and when her knitting project finally frustrates her to wrath, she takes it out on those near her.....

OUCH !!

already



















:whistlin:

.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Pearl, knowing both ways will really come in handy for Fair Isle!

I don't understand pincher either ... I just move my yarn back & forth


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Yeah, well, that too Forerunner. :heh: I take it out on my weeds though, thank goodness.

I hold the yarn between my right thumb and forefinger, tensioning it I suppose like embroidery thread (my early days thing.) That's what they call it, along with hopeless technique...

Do mostly slick silk, so each stitch has to have a perfect tightness. (And I'm still sick for that recycled sari silk that needs special twisting as you work it.) Doing that wrap around the fingers and flipping the yarn back and forth seems so hard I go back to my old slow way. You can imagine how busy it is to work dpn's on glove fingers.

I'd like to do two strands, like color work, to get thicker fabric.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Mlf,
I've been wanting to do fair isle eventually too!

Rdc,
I've been thinking on how to answer your question. I think it's just something you have to try and see what works best for you.
I still like doing my first few rows in English to make sure I've got things going right.
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I didn't realize till yesterday that in the vid, she's knitting through the back loop. Which yeah, that speeds things up considerably, hahaha.
I can do that in English too and be faster!

For whatever reason hours of knitting English is just ripping into my right shoulder. I noticed today I use much more force in my right arm when I knit English than I do continental. Continental I much more let the needles do the work.

The biggest problem I'm having now, and I had this crocheting too, is holding the yarn while keeping tension consistent with my left hand.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I do a little wrap around my little finger and keep it closed to my palm. I tension with my pointer finger and the distance I keep it from the left needle ... tugging the stitch if I have to. When I need more yarn, I open my little finger from my palm and pull more yarn out with my pointer finger.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

And yes, I have actually slowed down and studied different finger positions when I knit to try to optimize my knitting speed.

Doing this also helped me from having to take my right index finger and press it on the point of the left needle to lift the stitch from the needle. I'm able to lift the stitch off the left needle using the tensioning


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Thank You Cindy!

I'm trying to not push off the tip with my index finger. It's easy to do though.
I'm noticing how much control I get with just the right amount of tension. It's really what's fascinating me with this method of knitting.
I'm getting to where I'm also learning to let the needles do the bulk of the work when I knit English too.

Also have been playing with all my needles. I'm definitely getting more fond of my Addis, and a set of Clover circulars I picked up on Amazon.


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## BlueberryChick (May 12, 2008)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> I do a little wrap around my little finger and keep it closed to my palm. I tension with my pointer finger and the distance I keep it from the left needle ... tugging the stitch if I have to. When I need more yarn, I open my little finger from my palm and pull more yarn out with my pointer finger.



That sounds like what I do, although I haven't learned to control the flow of yarn as smoothly. 

I've only been knitting for a little over two years and the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Pearl when you knit "English" are you actually moving your entire arm from the shoulder down? I was watching my hand as I knit and there really isn't a whole lot of movement there and I'm a "thrower"/"English" knitter.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

Oh my reading this thread is intersting, I don't think I knit like any of you! it's continental I guess, yarn is between index and middle fingers in the left hand but I don't move the needles to knit, just flip the yarn over by moving my fingers. Pearling is all in the needle.
(knitted through the front and pearled with the yarn at the back) wow words do not make this easy to explain.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

THIS

thread

IS 

worthless

WITHOUT

videos








.......or something like that, right, Cyndi ?:happy2:


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Skandi, you're knitting combined continental

Tim ... you knit combined continental but left handed (from right needle to left needle)

Video is in the first post, bud.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Marchwind said:


> Pearl when you knit "English" are you actually moving your entire arm from the shoulder down? I was watching my hand as I knit and there really isn't a whole lot gof movement there and I'm a "thrower"/"English" knitter.


it's a combo of things. a chair with the arms to high. I'm using to much force as vs letting the needle do most the work. And the last an old rotator cuff injury.:hair


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Skandi purling with the yarn in the back? How does that work?


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

Marchwind said:


> Skandi purling with the yarn in the back? How does that work?


Ah gods this is going to be a hard explain. ok;

yarn over clockwise so it's still behind needle. 
bring needle through front loop.
twist the needle back to the back, (the loop will be in a figure of eight)
Wrap yarn around needle again. 
Untwist needle and bring it back out the loop with pearled stitch attached.


Does that make any sense?


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

This is how I knit:[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ByKeqjuTrA[/ame]


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

That sounds like the Norwegian Purl!


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for posting that vid, 7th Swan, it's easier for me to follow. Guess I just need some discipline and plain practice.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Oh Skandi ... I amend my post ... that is definitely NOT the continental purl.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Here's a Russian version of the purl stitch, continental style. I like how he does the stitch.
Today the continental method feels as easy as the English. My hands are used to everything! :happy2:

[YOUTUBE]AXcp8WPs47U[/YOUTUBE]


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Pearl, that is how I Purl also except, my middle finger on the left hand pushes/holds the yarn so that it is easer to loop it with the right hand needle. My l. index finger has the yarn wrapped for tension. Please ignore icky fingers, I just sat down for a rest, I'm removeing wallpaper :-(


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

This is such a great thread . Skandi, it hurts my brain but I commend your effort to put it into words. I would need to follow along with yarn and needle in hand to get it.

As I've always said, there is NO right or wrong way of doing something. If you get the end result you are happy with it doesn't matter how you got there. 

All this sharing is wonderful, I'm learning a bunch of cool things.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

Marchwind said:


> This is such a great thread . Skandi, it hurts my brain but I commend your effort to put it into words. I would need to follow along with yarn and needle in hand to get it.


I had to sit with yarn and needle and do each bit then type it. I don't really think HOW I pearl.. I just do this this twist.. done! lols Like asking a centipede how to run


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Lol, exactly!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Skandi said:


> I had to sit with yarn and needle and do each bit then type it. I don't really think HOW I pearl.. I just do this this twist.. done! lols Like asking a centipede how to run


Same here, I actualy had to get some knitting an look at how I do it, it is so natural you don't even know until you look at yourself.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

- SNORK - !


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