Are you impressed with speed knitting? Do you want to know how to knit faster? Speed knitting comes after lots of practice but, there are a few tips that can help you to knit faster. Let me tell you a secret, to knit faster it is much better to develop a smooth knitting style. With our following tips, you can learn speed knitting anytime.
1. Give more time to knitting- Practice, practice and practice.
Like all skills, knitting takes practice and the more you knit, the better and faster you get. Make time for knitting as much as you can. Schedule time daily for your creative craft and you’ll thank yourself later. While giving time is important, it is equally necessary to knit without distractions. Music certainly helps to set the mood, get a playlist ready before you get started. Focus on your knitting needles, the feel of the yarn and on each stitch and over time the details will be a habit, a rather creative habit.
It is also a good idea to participate in knit-along (KALs) in your community. You will get a reason to knit more and speed up. When like-minded people meet, you always find a rather good vibe that will certainly do wonders to your knitting.
2. Learn to knit without looking.
Learning to knit without looking requires a lot of practice and can be mastered with time. You will be challenged when you begin but, slowly your muscle memory will get it all stored and over time your hands will be doing all the work for you without looking over.
Once you get used to knitting without looking, you can knit pretty much while watching your favourite show, at the theatre, during your commute, or even while catching up with friends and family. With time you will notice a substantial increase in your output, and you can finish a project in less time than you did before.
We recommend using a simple pattern (with mainly knit and purl stitches) to start with, so you don’t have to constantly refer to it while you knit.
3. Switch to a different knitting style.
When we first begin knitting we adopt the style taught to us and find it easy to continue doing so. Trying out different knitting styles is always a good option to speed up knitting. You can explore our blog on basic knitting styles. While there are so many different styles to choose from, knitters hold the opinion that continental knitting and flicking are quite effective to knit faster.
It is worth trying out both techniques. The Portuguese knitting style is also well-known for its fast and easy method that you can learn with our previous blog.
4. Get comfortable.
Knitting can be much more fun depending on your comfort. You need to be seated comfortably as knitting positions can do wonders to your speed and style. Many knitters find it comfortable to sit cross-legged with lots of room to either side for moving elbows while many prefer a comfortable rocking chair. Experiment and see what works best for you. Do keep in mind that the area you choose must be well-lit.
Also, take breaks, and stretch your hands. You can also learn about the best stretches for knitters in our blog.
5. Knit Looser
You may have come across this, the tighter you knit, the harder it will be to insert your needle into a stitch and even harder to pick the yarn through. Knitting looser stitches will find the opening quite effortlessly as there’s much less resistance when pulling the yarn through getting you to knit faster.
6. Tension your yarn efficiently
Every knitter has a unique way to tension yarn. To knit faster, it’s recommended you play around with different tensioning methods and find the one that works for you. If the yarn doesn’t glide effortlessly, it will certainly slow you down, so changing the way you tension your yarn is essential.
You have to explore a tension that isn't too loose to knit nor too hard to pull out more yarn. Either weave the yarn in your fingers rather than wrapping them or let it lie flat in your palm, tension in a way that works best for you.
7. Switch your knitting needles
We always prefer our old and trusted knitting needles over others but sometimes switching the tools helps you knit faster.
So, if you are working with wood or bamboo and find your yarn resisting, try out smooth aluminium, stainless steel, acrylics or carbon fibre needles. If you find yourself dropping stitches on the metals, you can choose wood or bamboo. Smartstix needles are a popular option if you find yourself looking for a measuring tape as the needles themselves have inch markings that help you keep an eye on the dimensions. Nova cubics are also popular among many knitters as the entire range of cuboid needles is smooth with tapered points that help to knit faster.
Hopefully, you try out the above tricks and tips and learn to knit faster. You can follow our blogs for more information on knitting needles, styles and tips.
