Knitting horror

[danaeris]

So, my attempts at a knitted lace scarf have not been going well, and I have just discovered something.

Apparently, the method of knitting that I do is something unusual called Combined (or Combination) Knitting. Most patterns are designed for Western knitting and must be adapted to be used by a Combination knitter. In spite of that, it is reputed to be faster, more uniform (enabling knitters to easily produce machine-quality knitting), and easier to do in the dark (apparently it is a popular method with blind knitters because you can feel where the stitches are more easily).

You can see videos of some of the different knitting methods, including Combination Knitting, here:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/knit.php

So anyway, if I want to do lace knitting, I may need to find a pattern designed for combination knitters, or learn to adapt patterns. Phooey.

Comments

[echan.livejournal.com]

The people in punk_knitters or advanced_knit should be able to help you. IIRC, basically, all you have to do is convert the increases and decreases. Increases and decreases lean left or right, and it's different for combined knitters, but if you change the pattern to use the ones that lean in the correct direction, it will work out.

[ragnhildr.livejournal.com]

Too bad I didn't realize you were having problems with it while you were here. I learned to knit continental style (wool carried in my left hand) and have knit some small lace projects.

[karenbynight.livejournal.com]

Huh. I tried combination knitting a while back, but I didn't like it much, and not because of differences in increase and decrease. I found that because knits and purls produce stitches that are oriented differently, it was a PITA for a lot of knitting fabric patterns. Specifically, any time you want to knit into stitches that changed from knit to purl on the other side, you end up using different motions for your knitting because the stitches are oriented differently. And purling into a stitch that was purled on the other side is just awkward.

OTOH, don't mind me. I tend to knit continental and purl norwegian. It's a weird combination, but it produces stitches oriented the western way, so western patterns do work.