Knitting is one’s own pleasure and many prefer to go fast and many prefer to go smooth taking their sweet time. Mindful knitting means doing both. It means to enjoy knitting without hurrying, practice mindfulness by being in the moment and ultimately enjoy the benefits of the craft. The practice of mindfulness starts right from making up your mind, sitting down with the knitting needles and creating stitches. When the process is so soothing, it must be smooth, hence it means going fast and steady.
Oftentimes making an attempt to knit faster, becomes a case of more haste and less speed. It is because when you try to knit really quickly you find yourself dropping stitches, splitting yarn, or making other mistakes that add to the overall knitting time. In fact, if you want to knit faster it is much better to think about developing a smooth, efficient knitting style that results in a steady rhythm. Even a different material of knitting needles makes a difference in smoothening your knitting process.
To help you knit faster and smoother, here are few tips.
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Flicking
A changed knitting style can make a big difference. Flicking is a style of knitting, where knitters hold the yarn with their right hand and use their index finger to move or “flick” the yarn around the needle. In this style, you do not let go of the right-hand needle at any time. This allows them to work at a steady rhythm with very little excess movement, therefore, knitting fast and smooth.
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Continental knitting
The continental style of knitting is another option to knit fast without making mistakes. In this style, you hold and tension the yarn with your left hand while the right-hand needle is used to pull or “pick” the yarn through the knitted stitch. This technique creates a very efficient movement that allows you to knit smoothly.
It is worth trying out the techniques of both flicking and continent knitting or either of the two to see what suits you best. -
The right knitting needles
When you want to develop a knitting style that is both fast and smooth, it is important to decide on what sort of needles you are most comfortable using. Some people prefer long needles like single pointed needles that they can tuck under their arms or rest on their while others like working on circular knitting needles with the cord along with the lying on the lap. Circular needles are preferred by many knitters as you do not have to worry about heavy yarn or sharp ends and can simply focus on the stitches. Again, you need to find out by exploring the needles what gives you the smoothest action.
The same is true of needle material to help find a steady rhythm. Though there is no right or wrong in the choice of the material, stainless steel knitting needles have proven positive attributes. The smooth finish of steel allows stitches to glide. -
Knit Looser
While knitting you may have come across this often, the tighter you knit, the harder it will be to insert your needle into a stitch and even harder to pick the yarn through. To knit fast and smooth you will have to knit quite loosely (among other things). That way, your needle will find the opening quite effortlessly and there’s also much less resistance when pulling the yarn through.
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Tension your yarn efficiently
Every knitter has its own way to tension yarn and no technique is right or wrong, it is just your own personal preference. It’s recommended you play around with different tensioning methods and find the one that works for you to make your knitting efficient. Because, if the yarn doesn’t glide effortlessly it will certainly slow you down.
You can choose to wrap yarn around your index finger or your pinkie finger and let it lie flat in your hand or weave the yarn through the fingers instead of wrapping it around. -
Work on your posture, take breaks and don't forget mindful stretching
Most knitters commit the mistake of slouching on the couch or an armchair while knitting. While this is nice and comfortable for a couple of minutes, it puts too much stress on the shoulder, hands, and the lower spine which can result in tendonitis, tennis elbow, and so many other ailments keeping you from knitting for weeks and sometimes forever. To knit steadily it is best to take breaks, stretch yourself, and most importantly, find a good chair and sit on it properly.
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Learn to knit without looking
This is more of a knitter’s experience than a tip, learning to knit without looking can make the process fast and smooth. Also, this will take a lot of practice to get through but in the long run, you will have a much-improved knitting style.
Now that you are ready with knitting fast and smooth, take a look at our previous blog on Mindful Collection’s needles. With our tips and mindful needles, you are surely going to discover a knitting style that is both fast and smooth.
