Basic Knit Stitch question

[SmoothFox]

When I was in Texas and watching my niece knit and she was teaching me.... one thing I did notice when it came to the "knit" stitch.,, She knits a different way than me. The actual knit stitch that is.

 

I take the right needle, insert it sort of parallel to the left needle. She takes the right needle and inserts it sort of behind the stitch, what I would call into the back when she knits.

 

Which is right?

 

Donna

[smokeyp81]

I would go here at knittinghelp.com and watch the video. The videos here are great. You can watch them as many times as you need to.

[darski]

In a normal knitting stitch you should have your needles more perpendicular to each other rather than parallel.

 

Is your niece working at the back of the work (called Through Back Loop) or is she working from the front and just going into the left side of each stitch?

 

I agree that looking at the video would help you to see what is which

 

I'm off to find a provisional cast on video myself.

[DesertCrocheter]

You're both right. If your knit stitch looks like a knit stitch, then don't worry about it. There's no such thing as knitting wrong.

 

There are lots if different ways to knit. I myself knit was is called combined or Russian knitting, and I do make my knit stitches through the back loop and my purl stitches through the front loop. This only matters in patterns that call for twisted stitches, since my stitches are already twisted when compared to English knitting.

 

But don't worry about it. Get comfortable knitting and savor the accomplishment of learning a new skill! If you decide down the line to tackle a more complicated project, you may (or may not) have to adjust what you do. And you'll learn another skill! I just taught myself to knit English style (although still Continental, which means I hold the yarn in my left hand, not my right) last summer because circular knitting the way I knit creates a garment with stockinette that skews to the right. I'm so proud of myself for learning another way to knit. Once you learn one way to knit, you can learn another. The goal is just to make what you want to make and be happy with it.

 

Congratulations on learning to knit! Patty

[mamaoso]

When I do all knit stitches ( garter) I do it that way ( though the back)

It's just that you don't twist the stitch when up pick it up..

When you get to doing knit 2 together (decrease) they don't lean in the right direction if you go though the back of the loop.

[DesertCrocheter]

When you get to doing knit 2 together (decrease) they don't lean in the right direction if you go though the back of the loop.

Exactly. I have to k2tog when you ssk, and ssk when you k2tog. See? Easy-peasy way to accomplish the same thing; I just have to be a more thoughtful knitter and understand patterns (not an easy task for me) than an English style knitter has to be (I have to think 'are we doing a right slant here or a left slant?')

 

But Donna doesn't need to get all concerned about that at this point in her knitting. She needs to enjoy her triumph at mastering a skill it took me years to really get down (and that only because I decided "this is ridiculous, just learn to knit already, Patty!").

[SmoothFox]

We were both just plain "knitting"

 

She was teaching me how to make a hat in the round. EVery round was mostly just a knit stitch until we were decreasing.

 

I just couldn't stop thinking why when I tried to "knit" her way, it was so un-comfortable and my way felt more comfortable and yet, it appeared like we both made the same hat. It was hard to tell because she was holding a thin yarn and another yarn together and her hat came out fuzzy and mine came out where I came out like I expected a knit hat to look. Yet as we worked each row, we worked it row for row together.

 

To see my hat, look under this forum and under "Watching an experienced knitter knit" post.

 

Donna

[Craw]

I saw your hat in the other thread. Very nice! I can't knit in the round (yet). I've tried and just wound up screaming at myself. Circulars are going to take me some getting used to. How did you take to them? Was it easy?

 

Sounds like she was knitting combination style? That may be why yours came out in purl stitch and hers was a little different. As far as I know, you won't get a purl stitch from knitting combination style in the round, so even if you both did just the knit stitch, they would look different.