How to knit the knit stitch with circular needles (2). Continental Technique.
Now let's see how to knit with circular needles, the tool that will allow you to complete knitting projects more easily and quickly. Follow "Imparare con Alicja" (Learn with Alicja), an expert teacher and knitter, on a journey to discover these techniques, ideal for both beginners and experts.
In the previous post, I tried to convince you that it is much more convenient to use circular needles instead of traditional, long ones.
Did I succeed? If not, I'll try again.
Today we're taking a step forward. I want to show you the Continental technique, but above all, I'd like to tell you why it's worth learning. The technique, called Continental in Italy, involves managing the yarn with the left hand, instead of the right hand.
And I'll do it with an example of a scarf, a classic garter stitch scarf. My scarf is about 20 cm wide and about 120 cm long... that's 35 stitches and 408 rows.
I'll start with a simple calculation: 35 x 408 = 14,280, which means there are 14,280 stitches in my scarf. Wow!!! So many? Well, yes!
And now for the good part. How long does it take to knit a single stitch with the traditional technique? At least one second, if not more... you have to take your hand off the needle to wrap the yarn... Less than a second? I don't think that's possible.
It will probably take more than a second, but let's assume one second is enough.
14,280 seconds to knit 14,280 stitches!!!
14,280 seconds is 238 minutes, so... pay attention! ... that's almost 4 hours!!!
4 hours of difference between the Continental technique and the traditional one!!! Well, yes, because with the Continental technique you won't need to take your hand off to wrap the yarn around the needle.
4 hours of difference and we're talking about a scarf, not even a very large one.
It's obvious that if you're a beginner and you're learning the Continental technique, you won't be that fast right away.
Don't give up!!! Hang in there!!!
You'll see that, in the end, your hand will get used to the new technique and you'll be able to knit absolutely anything, without limits!!!
And now watch the lesson and try it out!
Enjoy watching!
