Lightbulb moments for me were at 6:53 when you said, “measure it” on the needle, and again at 8:30 where you said, “…my needles are doing the work of measuring, and I’m just doing the work of wrapping.” I’ve only been knitting for a year, and I’ve never thought of it this way before. Tension makes so much more sense now. Thanks!
I fixed both my tension problem and my arthritis aches with just one small change: I learnt how to use the Portuguese method. And of course, purling with this method is so fast. I passed on this method to our 'teacher' in our knitting group (she's a professional hand knitter), and she's so impressed she now uses it almost exclusively.
Portuguese knitting is fun! I tried it a bit. It's not as fluid for me as continental but see how it could be such a great technique for people with hand pain.
Thanks for mentioning this. I'm pretty sure I have the beginnings of carpal tunnel on top of an old wrist injury. I was just sitting here resting my achy wrists while I would rather be knitting! I'll try your suggestion.
I also knit Portuguese style and I love it. I still find my tension is a bit loose, but I'm hoping to see if these tips also apply since the stitches are worked in the front.
@@bloomwiththestars I also made note about the positioning on the needle when making the stitch. It seems to work, because now my stitches are too tight to slide along the needle. Some adjustments are being made! I will get there in the end.
“Wow” is all I can say! I’ve been crocheting for several years and never had tension problems - only been knitting for a few months but had lots of trouble mastering tension. These small changes have already significantly improved my tension and how neat my stitches are. Thank you so much!
Wow! I’m a super beginner knitter (second day knitting) and I was knitting so tightly that my hands were hurting and my project was curling in. This has helped so much, way less pain and watching how you hold the yarn helped a lot too! Thank you so much
This video is very useful. I changed my way of purling 3 years ago and solved my tension problems. It' s always nice to discover simple solutions for knitting problems and have that pleasant feeling of progress. Thanks for videos like this one 😃!
Love this, thank you so much! I'm a very enthusiastic beginner, and really want to improve my tension, especially when purling. This video was super helpful, especially when you explain how the right needle measures the stitch. I can notice an improvement already (currently knitting a swatch in the flat).
Thank you so much! This is a topic that I have never seen covered in depth. I used to blame the yarn for the resulting uneven fabric until I realized it may be my tension.
Thank you so much, this goes straight to my "saved" list. For me as an absolute beginner, everything was a lightbulb moment: you can measure your stitches?! :) But just in general, your pace of explaining is superb and I really appreciated the care you took to mention and show all the different details.
😁 I actually learned to do the combination style of knitting at around 14:00 from my mum/aunt and it worked perfectly fine until I tried lace knitting. Only then did I realize that I’m doing twisted knit stitches. It took me another 14 years to find out I’m also twisting my purl stitches which is why I kept having trouble knitting. But then again, I’ve always been more of a crochet person 😉
What a great video! Sometimes knitting videos can be rambling or hard to follow, but not yours! I love how thorough (yet to the point) you were in explaining the different ways the tension could be off. I also really enjoyed the pros/cons of different purling styles. I often see videos of these purl "hacks" but traditional purling seems to give me the best tension. Thanks for sharing! ❤
Thank you so much! Some say I talk too much but I really just like geeking out over small things. What's interesting about all the purling methods is they are all traditional to some places.
another very helpful video! the part about using the space between the needles to determine how loose the knit will be was most helpful.... so far, my knits look like the messy swatch that you messed up on on purpose 🤦🏾♀️
Thank you so much! This video adresses my problem exactly. Also, I realized I lived in the illusion that there is a correct way of knitting and purling, correct way of holding yarn etc. Thanks for showing me that correct purle is the one that works for me 😊
I loved seeing the backward knitting / left handed knitting. I teach knitting same same, left handed or right handed. But the self taught lefties have often assumed they must go the other way. I’m a bit dyslexic and I have been a terrible guide (reworking patterns) for those lefty knitters. Maybe, thanks to your video, I’ll be more helpful in the future. Thanks!
I'm a continental knitter who uses the Norwegian purl, and it has worked out for me so far! What I do is that I only use the tip of the needle and keep my movements small. It still stretches my stitches more than knitting, but it's not so noticeable - I basically trained myself out of rowing out as a beginner by knitting a basketweave scarf. Thank you for the video!!
The technique using the needle to measure really helped me!! I'm surprised how long it took for me to find someone to talk about this. When I learn a craft, I need to learn every nitty gritty detail so thank you for this!!
I have been knitting for 40 years! Learned from a friend. So greatful for you tube and videos like this that clarify things I have struggled with for years!!!! ❤
This is amazing. I learned so much from this video! Wow! Lightbulb moment was how to hold the needles, letting them measure…. And the different ways to purl and prosper and cons. Thank you!!
oh wow, I didn't know that I was purling in norwegian style 😂 ... but I'm doing it in a little different way. I move my left finger which is holding the yarn in front of the work and then put the yarn over the right needle instead of moving the right needle around the yarn on the back of the work... so good to see those different kinds of knitting and purling. Thank you for your video 😊 Kind redards from South West Germany
Thank you Claudia. My lightbulb moment came when you showed us to purl under instead of over. I noticed that my tension improved. Now I need to work on my tension when I’m doing color work. You never stop learning when your crafting😊
This is so useful, ive been knitting for over 40 years and never really liked the appearance of my uneven stocking stitches. My latest jumper is full of "gutters" on the reverse side and now at last i know how i can fix this. Thank you so much for these tips, i will try them out on my next knitting project.
Thank you showing the ways one can knit and purl stitches evenly. Paying more attention to keeping my needles together, especially on purl rows, made all the difference. This also allowed me to relax since I'm trying so hard to tighten my purl stitches. My next project is a cardigan so this was very helpful. Another way to even tension is to wrap the yarn on your hand looser for knit rows and tighter for purl rows.
The tip that I think will help me most is measuring the stitch by making sure it's the size of the right needle before pulling it off the left. I think I tend to pull it off prematurely when the stitch is still on the tapered part of the right needle. Thanks for the tutorial!
What an excellent and simple to understand tutorial. I noticed one more thing when knitting on the tips of your needles and allowing the barrel size of your needles to determine the size of your stitches. Once the knit stitch has been made and is now on your right needle, I always place my index finger on that stitch and hold it there as I'm inserting the tip of the needle to begin the next knit stitch. It makes it less likely that you will either tighten or loosen the stitch while moving onto the next one.
I've just started knitting recently, came from a crochet background and so all of this is so magical to me. I've been making a baby sized jumper as practice, which I thought would be a small nice easy project to start with but that came with its own challenges of scale ! I'll have to come back to this video again and test out all the options you showed
I've been knitting for over 60 years and now have some difficulty with my hands. I think some of the methods you demonstrated will be very helpful. Thank you.
Really helpful!! I've always needed to use needles two sizes different than the pattern because I was knitting too loosely --down low on the left needle rather than in tapered area of the left needle. This video is going to be a huge help. I was struggling with why I wasn't getting the same smoothness in the fabric as other knitters and I finally know it was a tension issue and how I can fix it. Thanks so much!
Funny how you do something for decades, and don’t realize why I don’t always care for knitting …. You made a great deal of sense and explained everything from showing us how different knitters’ work looks, WHY it looks like that and HOW to do it for a uniform tension. I am definitely going to try this way very soon on another project. Thank you for sharing ❤❤❤
Thank you so much for the tips! I tried the knitting suggestions while watching and immediately saw a difference in how even my stitches were. Thank you!
I'm new to knitting. Sort of. Trying to learn Norwegian purling. 😫 Going from creating my own stitches in thread crochet to that was futile. I love your technique of purling. Thanks... that's my lightbulb moment. Right now I'm creating a face for my marionette so I'm in a completely different mode, then back to relearning hairpin lace crochet but now I'm ready, also, to jump back in to knitting. I want to teach...all of this stuff so knowing all the different techniques is soooooo important! You're a Godsend!!
I use Norwegian purl, and there is a way to avoid the stretching that Clo mentions. Norwegian purl usually taught with exaggerated figure 8 motions, but that's just to help people understand the complex motion. Once my brain figured out the basic movement, I discovered that if I keep the needles at 90 degrees and minimise the movement of the needles, I get purl stitches that are the same size as my knit stitches. And I'm a beginner too!
Thank you! I learned so much from this video! I am Brazilian, my mother taught when I was little and somehow I've changed what she taught me and now I could understand what I do, cause I knit continental on the back loop and purl that twisted way you showed. I could never get it perfectly understood about how to knit european and now with your explanations I finally got it! Thank you so much! You teach really well! ❤
This is a really helpful tension video. The idea of "measuring the stitches" while knitting and your explanation of how and why to do this changed everything for me! Thank you.
Thank you Claudia this video was very helpful. I have been struggling with rowing out. Like others have mentioned, the "measure it" is the key/lightbulb moment. Thanks again.
There were several light bulb moments here for me! I have been knitting for over 20 years and have not had clarity about some of these issues before I watched your video. Bringing stitches to the point of the needle before knitting them, not pulling on the yarn, so as to stretch out the stitch or make it too tight, and clearly using the needle to measure my stitches were all really helpful for me. Seeing all your methods of pearling was great.But watching you knit backwards blew me away! I have never tried that before. Thank you for such clarity!
Incredibly helpful! My knit stitch control has improved faster than purl - sounds like that is true for most novices. I look forward to improved purl control when I resume my project tomorrow - had to put it away for the night. Thank you very much and I will let you know how it goes :)
I've done the first illustration, but the proper way if doing it, better❤😂 when you get into that rhythmic flow,you get caught up especially when doing it fast. 🙄 This'll help, thank you 👍🏾☺️🌹🙏🏾
One thing I've definitely learned as a knitter is to let the needle do the work! Overdoing your movements is just going to make your work look funky as well as kill your wrists
I was taught to do Norwegian purl (and I only recently learned the name) so yes I have always had a problem with 'rowing out'. I really like the purl method you show where you get knit stitches that present differently so you have to knit into the back on the knit rows. Making both the knit and the purl stitches differently is making me think more carefully about the whole process. Thank you! I'm going to make a simple knit and purl shawl in cotton to really engrain the new habits. 1000 m and 3mm needles. Wish me luck!
I’m knitting my first sweater and I DEFINITELY have this issue and didn’t know what it was. It occurred on the portion I knit back and forth before I joined in the round. After a few days I noticed how perfect my stitches in the round are and how wonky the others are - difference being the PURLS. I’m going to keep going because I’ve never successfully gotten this far but it is the clearest example of this problem I’ve ever seen. Thank you for the tips!
Thank you so much! I tried it yesterday and I have never knitted such pretty stitches in my life. The difference is night and day. My stitches used to be so stretched out they were double the size. It feels like I learned to knit only now. 😅 Thank you again! 🥹❤️
This is helpful. Keeping a nice pace and not rushing can make for better tension. I taught myself continental some time ago to relieve tension on just one hand and see if it increased my speed. I like using both hands for crrrrrafting.
Thank you for your great video! My tension is definitely looser when I purl (Continental). I am a new knitter and the lightbulb moment for me in your video was to knit/purl off left needle tips but ensure stitch is further down on right needle before releasing stitch. I've been keeping my needle tips together and at the right angle but this was the key element that was missing. Now it's all about practice, practice, practice! :)
Thanks for posting this! I definitely row out on purl rows, and I've tried tightening up my tension, which made it even worse. It's nice to know what I was doing wrong and hopefully my swatches and knitting will be better for it!
as a new but not new knitter I found my purl is tight and my knit is loose. I was having so much trouble with the purl when learning to knit. I was taught english style and taught myself continental through watching videos. I also have arthritis in my hands. I do find I have gutters though mostly at the beginning of the knit. I also have been having a problem with both knit and purl sides being to tight on the needle. I think I'm taking the stitch off to soon and also stretching at least the knit side. Practice is what I need. I see a lot of even areas on both sides with some that are too big at times. I was wondering what was causing this now thanks to your video I understand. Thank you
I landed here because I've been trying to learn continental ( after 45yrs English/throwing ) but finding my purls so much looser......thank you for such an informative video ❤
I tend to knit in the space between the point and the main shaft of the needle. But I learned I do not do so consistently. I've been improving over the past four months as I've viewed many teaching videos. However, I need to improve my consistency yet more. Thank you for this video.
Thanks so much! This is so helpful in understanding what causes rowing out. My lightbulb moment was 5.45. I recently picked up button band stitches for a cardigan and was wondering why every other edge stitch seemed to be much larger even though my tension on the cardigan seemed okay. That's the exact move I do. This video helped me understand what I needed to correct. 👍🙏
@@cloknits Does this also fix the issue on drop shoulder garments where the gauge changes because the top part was knitted flat and the bottom was knitted in the round?
Very valuable video. Just subscribed. Biggest thing I learned was concerning using the tip of the needle followed by moving stitch up the corresponding needle to its wider girth. So many good points were made - will have to view again to digest them all. One thing I would love to know is the name and colour of the yarn you are using if you wouldn’t mind sharing. Will be binge watching/recommending you podcast. Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! The yarn I'm using is Bon Tricot Jolly Dk available at Espace Tricot in the color Miami Beach. I absolutely love it.
Thanks for this video Clo, so helpful. I am new to knitting (finally learning from my mum in my 40s!) but I'm not keen on the English style so I decided to try the Norwegian style but got the exact problems you mention in the purl so I'm going to have a go at Continental and Portuguese on a swatch to see if either of them suit me better before I start my next project - thank you! :)
This was really good! I've used most of these techniques in my journey to correct tension issues. My ah ha moment was the difference between animal and plant based fibers (oh and synthetic, too). I still have challenges with consistent tension throughout a single row. I've identified it's cause as when or how I choose to advance the stitches on the left needle closer to the tip. Too often I get into a zen state and knit say 10 to 15 stitches before moving my stitches up instead of more frequently. This causes stretching as I drop stitches (pull stitches) off the left needle. So, your demonstration of that reinforced my awareness. I have yet to figure out how to advance stitches more smoothly. Always a work in progress!! Thanks for the 'rowing out' video. :D
I really push my stitches together toward the tip of the needle at the beginning of a row to help the sts advance. Or if i'm knitting in the round on circular needles, I like to use a shorter cable to make sure I can move more stitches closer to the left hand one.
Thank you for this video. It answered some questions. I just recently switched to Norwegian purling and love it. I have mostly been knitting in the round. I will keep an eye on the tension when I cast on and knit a cardigan I have in mind. If I notice problems, I might need to do something different. Thank you again.
This was so helpful!! Thank you! I've been very guilty of stretching stitches. Why did no one ever explain to me to keep the needle tips so much closer 🤦♀️
Wow thanks for that tip it's amazing advice. I was quarter way through knitting something when I watched your video and I can see the difference already. It also saves time as well. Thank you sooo much I'm a happy girl now. Bless you for sharing ( I wish my mum had shown me that tip tho, I'm sure she knew just became a habit for HER I guess lol
A lot of things we do are so obvious to us that we don't really even notice it. Your mom probably never even got told how to keep her tension but figured it out along the way just like you are doing now.
Thank you for this video. I had recently faced a problem of tension with cotton based yarn and was going to change needle size but your video revealed me a lot of other ways for coupling with it. And I have never seen so many ways of purling.
Haha before I watched this video I thought I knew how to knit but realized I barely know anything 😅 Didn’t even have a clue there were more (and better) ways to make a stitch than the way I do them. I find it super interesting that they’re done differently in different countries. I’m from Sweden and my pearl stitch is most similar to the Norwegian style but still not quite. It still has the same problem of stretching the yarn though with each stitch so I’ll definitely come back to this video to learn some of the other ways of doing it!
The "reverse" purling was my go-to for years, but my momma, who is a very strict knitter, told me a big "NO" and taught me the "right way". To her credit I was twisting my stitches but the rows were so much neater. Now I have to remember how to do that if I wver go back and forth because I love cotton clothing but I can't wear something that looks that uneatly knitted 😅
Wow! What a great and useful explanation! I was always wondering what I could do to get my stitches look more even. You just made my day! Thank you so much for this video! I left you a subscription ❤️
I do the combined continental and I don’t wrap the pearl stitch, I just pick it through similar to the knit stitch. Yeah I’ve had people tell me I knit backwards because of the no wrapping on the pearl stitch.
![How to knit a perfect sloped bind-off [no more steps!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H5a8jUGK7Nw/mqdefault.jpg)
This is a revelation. I’ve been knitting over twenty years and one thing I’ve discovered - I never stop learning! Thank you.
I hope I never ever stop being challenged and learn new things.
Same here. I love seeing new tips and techniques.
Lightbulb moments for me were at 6:53 when you said, “measure it” on the needle, and again at 8:30 where you said, “…my needles are doing the work of measuring, and I’m just doing the work of wrapping.” I’ve only been knitting for a year, and I’ve never thought of it this way before. Tension makes so much more sense now. Thanks!
Use your tool to your advantage! Thanks for commenting.
thank you for the tweaks in both English and Continental knitting
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Yes I appreciate that also because I switch alot
I watched this while I was halfway through knitting a jumper and looking at the jumper you can literally see the point at which I watched it.
I should pin this comment! I'm glad it helped.
Awesome! 😊
Portuguese knitting….?
Must google and learn it!
I fixed both my tension problem and my arthritis aches with just one small change: I learnt how to use the Portuguese method. And of course, purling with this method is so fast. I passed on this method to our 'teacher' in our knitting group (she's a professional hand knitter), and she's so impressed she now uses it almost exclusively.
Portuguese knitting is fun! I tried it a bit. It's not as fluid for me as continental but see how it could be such a great technique for people with hand pain.
Thanks for mentioning this. I'm pretty sure I have the beginnings of carpal tunnel on top of an old wrist injury. I was just sitting here resting my achy wrists while I would rather be knitting! I'll try your suggestion.
I also knit Portuguese style and I love it. I still find my tension is a bit loose, but I'm hoping to see if these tips also apply since the stitches are worked in the front.
@@bloomwiththestars I also made note about the positioning on the needle when making the stitch. It seems to work, because now my stitches are too tight to slide along the needle. Some adjustments are being made! I will get there in the end.
@@lifelearner47 Thanks for sharing! We can do it! 😊
55 years of knitting and I learned so much! Excellent!
Wonderful!
“Wow” is all I can say! I’ve been crocheting for several years and never had tension problems - only been knitting for a few months but had lots of trouble mastering tension. These small changes have already significantly improved my tension and how neat my stitches are. Thank you so much!
I'm so happy to read that!
Perfect demonstration of Continental and English k &p. Great info on tensioning. I have never understood the Norwegian purl, but now I do.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! I’m a super beginner knitter (second day knitting) and I was knitting so tightly that my hands were hurting and my project was curling in. This has helped so much, way less pain and watching how you hold the yarn helped a lot too! Thank you so much
That's amazing. Learning to get good consistent tension is one of the most important skills in knitting. You're doing great.
Thank you for this video. This was the first time I saw backward knitting. It was fun
It is! I like doing backwards knitting when I do short rows.
This video is very useful. I changed my way of purling 3 years ago and solved my tension problems. It' s always nice to discover simple solutions for knitting problems and have that pleasant feeling of progress. Thanks for videos like this one 😃!
Yes! Changing small things sometimes have amazing results
Love this, thank you so much! I'm a very enthusiastic beginner, and really want to improve my tension, especially when purling. This video was super helpful, especially when you explain how the right needle measures the stitch. I can notice an improvement already (currently knitting a swatch in the flat).
Wonderful!
Thank you so much! This is a topic that I have never seen covered in depth. I used to blame the yarn for the resulting uneven fabric until I realized it may be my tension.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much, this goes straight to my "saved" list. For me as an absolute beginner, everything was a lightbulb moment: you can measure your stitches?! :) But just in general, your pace of explaining is superb and I really appreciated the care you took to mention and show all the different details.
Thank you! I love to teach and I'm glad it is resonating with you.
😁 I actually learned to do the combination style of knitting at around 14:00 from my mum/aunt and it worked perfectly fine until I tried lace knitting. Only then did I realize that I’m doing twisted knit stitches. It took me another 14 years to find out I’m also twisting my purl stitches which is why I kept having trouble knitting. But then again, I’ve always been more of a crochet person 😉
What a great video! Sometimes knitting videos can be rambling or hard to follow, but not yours! I love how thorough (yet to the point) you were in explaining the different ways the tension could be off. I also really enjoyed the pros/cons of different purling styles. I often see videos of these purl "hacks" but traditional purling seems to give me the best tension. Thanks for sharing! ❤
Thank you so much! Some say I talk too much but I really just like geeking out over small things. What's interesting about all the purling methods is they are all traditional to some places.
another very helpful video! the part about using the space between the needles to determine how loose the knit will be was most helpful.... so far, my knits look like the messy swatch that you messed up on on purpose 🤦🏾♀️
It's all about practice, you can get there too.
Thank you so much! This video adresses my problem exactly. Also, I realized I lived in the illusion that there is a correct way of knitting and purling, correct way of holding yarn etc. Thanks for showing me that correct purle is the one that works for me 😊
I'm really glad you liked it. Every way is the right way for someone!
I use the combined knitting and love it. You always know that the stitches are the same size and it is so much easier I think.
I'm very grateful for your tutorial! My knit stitch is more even. Thank you!!!!😊
Wonderful!
I loved seeing the backward knitting / left handed knitting. I teach knitting same same, left handed or right handed. But the self taught lefties have often assumed they must go the other way. I’m a bit dyslexic and I have been a terrible guide (reworking patterns) for those lefty knitters. Maybe, thanks to your video, I’ll be more helpful in the future. Thanks!
I'm a continental knitter who uses the Norwegian purl, and it has worked out for me so far! What I do is that I only use the tip of the needle and keep my movements small. It still stretches my stitches more than knitting, but it's not so noticeable - I basically trained myself out of rowing out as a beginner by knitting a basketweave scarf. Thank you for the video!!
That's a great tip. Thank you
The technique using the needle to measure really helped me!! I'm surprised how long it took for me to find someone to talk about this. When I learn a craft, I need to learn every nitty gritty detail so thank you for this!!
I have been knitting for 40 years! Learned from a friend. So greatful for you tube and videos like this that clarify things I have struggled with for years!!!! ❤
I'm happy to be here helping others.
Thank you for this - you are so clear in your instructions and suggestions - very helpful!
It's really nice to hear. I love helping.
I never knew😭 been knitting 40 years~ this will definitely up my game. Thank you
This is amazing. I learned so much from this video! Wow! Lightbulb moment was how to hold the needles, letting them measure…. And the different ways to purl and prosper and cons. Thank you!!
Thank you!
oh wow, I didn't know that I was purling in norwegian style 😂 ... but I'm doing it in a little different way. I move my left finger which is holding the yarn in front of the work and then put the yarn over the right needle instead of moving the right needle around the yarn on the back of the work... so good to see those different kinds of knitting and purling. Thank you for your video 😊 Kind redards from South West Germany
Thank you Claudia. My lightbulb moment came when you showed us to purl under instead of over. I noticed that my tension improved. Now I need to work on my tension when I’m doing color work. You never stop learning when your crafting😊
That's what I love about it!
This is so useful, ive been knitting for over 40 years and never really liked the appearance of my uneven stocking stitches. My latest jumper is full of "gutters" on the reverse side and now at last i know how i can fix this. Thank you so much for these tips, i will try them out on my next knitting project.
I need to try knitting backwards. I need to try it both continental and English style. Video very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you showing the ways one can knit and purl stitches evenly. Paying more attention to keeping my needles together, especially on purl rows, made all the difference. This also allowed me to relax since I'm trying so hard to tighten my purl stitches. My next project is a cardigan so this was very helpful. Another way to even tension is to wrap the yarn on your hand looser for knit rows and tighter for purl rows.
Yes the famous Clapotis!!! I could absolutely do a deep dive on that one.
Wow!! No one mean no one of the thousands of knitting friends I have on Facebook ever ever recommended that. They probably don’t know it. Thank you!!!
You're welcome. Don't hesitate to share this with them!
The tip that I think will help me most is measuring the stitch by making sure it's the size of the right needle before pulling it off the left. I think I tend to pull it off prematurely when the stitch is still on the tapered part of the right needle. Thanks for the tutorial!
What an excellent and simple to understand tutorial. I noticed one more thing when knitting on the tips of your needles and allowing the barrel size of your needles to determine the size of your stitches. Once the knit stitch has been made and is now on your right needle, I always place my index finger on that stitch and hold it there as I'm inserting the tip of the needle to begin the next knit stitch. It makes it less likely that you will either tighten or loosen the stitch while moving onto the next one.
I've just started knitting recently, came from a crochet background and so all of this is so magical to me. I've been making a baby sized jumper as practice, which I thought would be a small nice easy project to start with but that came with its own challenges of scale ! I'll have to come back to this video again and test out all the options you showed
New craft, new frustrations! Haha. But also all the fun.
I've been knitting for over 60 years and now have some difficulty with my hands. I think some of the methods you demonstrated will be very helpful. Thank you.
Portuguese knitting could be good for you. With the yarn wrapped around the neck, the hands don't need to keep tension.
Really helpful!! I've always needed to use needles two sizes different than the pattern because I was knitting too loosely --down low on the left needle rather than in tapered area of the left needle. This video is going to be a huge help. I was struggling with why I wasn't getting the same smoothness in the fabric as other knitters and I finally know it was a tension issue and how I can fix it. Thanks so much!
I’m trying to learn continental knitting and will definitely try this technique. Thank you😊
Thank you for leaving a comment!
Funny how you do something for decades, and don’t realize why I don’t always care for knitting …. You made a great deal of sense and explained everything from showing us how different knitters’ work looks, WHY it looks like that and HOW to do it for a uniform tension. I am definitely going to try this way very soon on another project.
Thank you for sharing ❤❤❤
You're welcome! ☺️
Thank you so much for the tips! I tried the knitting suggestions while watching and immediately saw a difference in how even my stitches were. Thank you!
Yay! This makes me so happy!
Wow this video opened my eyes to my tension problems I didn’t know I had.
You can't fix what you don't know!
I'm new to knitting. Sort of. Trying to learn Norwegian purling. 😫 Going from creating my own stitches in thread crochet to that was futile. I love your technique of purling. Thanks... that's my lightbulb moment. Right now I'm creating a face for my marionette so I'm in a completely different mode, then back to relearning hairpin lace crochet but now I'm ready, also, to jump back in to knitting. I want to teach...all of this stuff so knowing all the different techniques is soooooo important! You're a Godsend!!
I use Norwegian purl, and there is a way to avoid the stretching that Clo mentions. Norwegian purl usually taught with exaggerated figure 8 motions, but that's just to help people understand the complex motion. Once my brain figured out the basic movement, I discovered that if I keep the needles at 90 degrees and minimise the movement of the needles, I get purl stitches that are the same size as my knit stitches. And I'm a beginner too!
@@amydebuitleir oh, wow. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Thank you! these purling variations are great!! never saw them before
I'm glad you learned something new!
Oh my gosh, so many lightbulb moments! So glad I found your video right as I'm starting a new project. I can't wait to put your tips into action!
I'm so glad!
Thank you! I learned so much from this video! I am Brazilian, my mother taught when I was little and somehow I've changed what she taught me and now I could understand what I do, cause I knit continental on the back loop and purl that twisted way you showed. I could never get it perfectly understood about how to knit european and now with your explanations I finally got it! Thank you so much! You teach really well! ❤
You are so welcome!
This is a really helpful tension video. The idea of "measuring the stitches" while knitting and your explanation of how and why to do this changed everything for me! Thank you.
I'm really happy it made sense for you!
Thank you for this. I have to go back and see what I actually do. I loved your details about using the size of the needle, it makes such sense.
I love to analyse the little ways that change a movement, I use to be a dance teacher ;)
@@cloknits it shows!
This is by far the best tutorial on how to knit better tension that I have watched. Thank you!
Wow, thank you so much!
Thank you Claudia this video was very helpful. I have been struggling with rowing out. Like others have mentioned, the "measure it" is the key/lightbulb moment. Thanks again.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for your help I’m a new knitter.
Never tried again since I did which was very long time ago. I now will try again since yo made knitting a better way to do so.
It takes a bit of practice but i'm sure you can do it!
There were several light bulb moments here for me! I have been knitting for over 20 years and have not had clarity about some of these issues before I watched your video. Bringing stitches to the point of the needle before knitting them, not pulling on the yarn, so as to stretch out the stitch or make it too tight, and clearly using the needle to measure my stitches were all really helpful for me. Seeing all your methods of pearling was great.But watching you knit backwards blew me away! I have never tried that before. Thank you for such clarity!
Thank you for your nice comment!
Thanks for the video. I’ve been crocheting for years but relatively new to knitting and I’m excited to try your tips to help my tension!
Happy you liked it!
Bonjour Claudia cette vidéo va probablement changer ma vie (toujours plus 😂)merci a toi pour tes vidéos géniales bisous de France 🇫🇷 😘
So happy I came across this video!!
Incredibly helpful! My knit stitch control has improved faster than purl - sounds like that is true for most novices. I look forward to improved purl control when I resume my project tomorrow - had to put it away for the night. Thank you very much and I will let you know how it goes :)
Wonderful!
I've done the first illustration, but the proper way if doing it, better❤😂 when you get into that rhythmic flow,you get caught up especially when doing it fast. 🙄 This'll help, thank you 👍🏾☺️🌹🙏🏾
So true!
One thing I've definitely learned as a knitter is to let the needle do the work! Overdoing your movements is just going to make your work look funky as well as kill your wrists
For sure!
I was taught to do Norwegian purl (and I only recently learned the name) so yes I have always had a problem with 'rowing out'. I really like the purl method you show where you get knit stitches that present differently so you have to knit into the back on the knit rows. Making both the knit and the purl stitches differently is making me think more carefully about the whole process. Thank you! I'm going to make a simple knit and purl shawl in cotton to really engrain the new habits. 1000 m and 3mm needles. Wish me luck!
That's a great way to create a new habit. I hope I get to see the result.
Thank you 👍🏾 blessings 😁... always good to improve better with this... especially doing garments 😊❤
You are so welcome
I’m knitting my first sweater and I DEFINITELY have this issue and didn’t know what it was. It occurred on the portion I knit back and forth before I joined in the round. After a few days I noticed how perfect my stitches in the round are and how wonky the others are - difference being the PURLS. I’m going to keep going because I’ve never successfully gotten this far but it is the clearest example of this problem I’ve ever seen. Thank you for the tips!
You are welcome. I hope it fixes your issue.
amazing!! i'm a new knitter and this was super helpful
Awesome! Thank you!
Thank you so much! I tried it yesterday and I have never knitted such pretty stitches in my life. The difference is night and day. My stitches used to be so stretched out they were double the size. It feels like I learned to knit only now. 😅 Thank you again! 🥹❤️
Wow! That is such a nice comment to read and i'm glad it made a difference for you.
This is helpful. Keeping a nice pace and not rushing can make for better tension. I taught myself continental some time ago to relieve tension on just one hand and see if it increased my speed. I like using both hands for crrrrrafting.
Excellent!
Thank you for your great video! My tension is definitely looser when I purl (Continental). I am a new knitter and the lightbulb moment for me in your video was to knit/purl off left needle tips but ensure stitch is further down on right needle before releasing stitch. I've been keeping my needle tips together and at the right angle but this was the key element that was missing. Now it's all about practice, practice, practice! :)
You are so welcome!
I've saved your video to my knit techniques folder on RUclips, because it has so many great tips to try. Thank you!😘
You are so welcome!
Thanks for posting this! I definitely row out on purl rows, and I've tried tightening up my tension, which made it even worse. It's nice to know what I was doing wrong and hopefully my swatches and knitting will be better for it!
You're so welcome!
Brilliant!! It’s the variety of ways to correct tension that is so helpful
as a new but not new knitter I found my purl is tight and my knit is loose. I was having so much trouble with the purl when learning to knit. I was taught english style and taught myself continental through watching videos. I also have arthritis in my hands. I do find I have gutters though mostly at the beginning of the knit. I also have been having a problem with both knit and purl sides being to tight on the needle. I think I'm taking the stitch off to soon and also stretching at least the knit side. Practice is what I need. I see a lot of even areas on both sides with some that are too big at times. I was wondering what was causing this now thanks to your video I understand. Thank you
Tighter purls are less often a problem but it's as frustrating as loose ones. I hope my tips help you figure out how to relax your tension!
I love this! just started knitting this week and the tip on measuring your stitch with the needle is going to help me a lot!
Great!
Great tips! I was “measuring” wrong. This is so helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
I landed here because I've been trying to learn continental ( after 45yrs English/throwing ) but finding my purls so much looser......thank you for such an informative video ❤
Knitting backwards, planning on practicing that . Thanks for this podcast
It's a lot of fun, even more so when you are knitting short rows.
So helpful! I’m guilty of making my stitches before bringing the stitches to the tip. Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
I tend to knit in the space between the point and the main shaft of the needle. But I learned I do not do so consistently. I've been improving over the past four months as I've viewed many teaching videos. However, I need to improve my consistency yet more. Thank you for this video.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much! This is so helpful in understanding what causes rowing out. My lightbulb moment was 5.45. I recently picked up button band stitches for a cardigan and was wondering why every other edge stitch seemed to be much larger even though my tension on the cardigan seemed okay. That's the exact move I do. This video helped me understand what I needed to correct. 👍🙏
Yay! I'm so glad it already helped you.
@@cloknits Does this also fix the issue on drop shoulder garments where the gauge changes because the top part was knitted flat and the bottom was knitted in the round?
Very valuable video. Just subscribed. Biggest thing I learned was concerning using the tip of the needle followed by moving stitch up the corresponding needle to its wider girth. So many good points were made - will have to view again to digest them all. One thing I would love to know is the name and colour of the yarn you are using if you wouldn’t mind sharing. Will be binge watching/recommending you podcast. Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! The yarn I'm using is Bon Tricot Jolly Dk available at Espace Tricot in the color Miami Beach. I absolutely love it.
Thanks for this video Clo, so helpful. I am new to knitting (finally learning from my mum in my 40s!) but I'm not keen on the English style so I decided to try the Norwegian style but got the exact problems you mention in the purl so I'm going to have a go at Continental and Portuguese on a swatch to see if either of them suit me better before I start my next project - thank you! :)
Trying a lot of technique to find the right one is the way to go!
This was really good! I've used most of these techniques in my journey to correct tension issues. My ah ha moment was the difference between animal and plant based fibers (oh and synthetic, too). I still have challenges with consistent tension throughout a single row. I've identified it's cause as when or how I choose to advance the stitches on the left needle closer to the tip. Too often I get into a zen state and knit say 10 to 15 stitches before moving my stitches up instead of more frequently. This causes stretching as I drop stitches (pull stitches) off the left needle. So, your demonstration of that reinforced my awareness. I have yet to figure out how to advance stitches more smoothly. Always a work in progress!! Thanks for the 'rowing out' video. :D
I really push my stitches together toward the tip of the needle at the beginning of a row to help the sts advance. Or if i'm knitting in the round on circular needles, I like to use a shorter cable to make sure I can move more stitches closer to the left hand one.
You offer such great tips. Thanks for sharing! ♥
Glad you like them! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Thank you for this video. It answered some questions. I just recently switched to Norwegian purling and love it. I have mostly been knitting in the round. I will keep an eye on the tension when I cast on and knit a cardigan I have in mind. If I notice problems, I might need to do something different. Thank you again.
You're welcome, I hope it helps in the future.
This was so helpful!! Thank you! I've been very guilty of stretching stitches. Why did no one ever explain to me to keep the needle tips so much closer 🤦♀️
Glad it was helpful! Some of those things a lot of people aren't really aware of.
Wow thanks for that tip it's amazing advice. I was quarter way through knitting something when I watched your video and I can see the difference already. It also saves time as well. Thank you sooo much I'm a happy girl now. Bless you for sharing ( I wish my mum had shown me that tip tho, I'm sure she knew just became a habit for HER I guess lol
A lot of things we do are so obvious to us that we don't really even notice it. Your mom probably never even got told how to keep her tension but figured it out along the way just like you are doing now.
As a new knitter, this was very helpful. Thanks!
I'm so glad!
Woah when you said “measure” the stitch everything made sense
Such a simple thing but nobody really says it.
Thank you for this video. I had recently faced a problem of tension with cotton based yarn and was going to change needle size but your video revealed me a lot of other ways for coupling with it. And I have never seen so many ways of purling.
And there are much more. Isn't it amazing?
Thanks for the video. I did pick up a few tips on tension, as I have this problem.
Hopefully your tension feels better after practicing a bit.
I loved the idea of using my needle to measure the stitch!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video - lots of tips and hints and clear demonstrations. Can you tell us which brand of needles are you using?
They are Lantern Moon interchangeable needles. They are the best wooden needles I've tried.
thanks!@@cloknits
The video is really excellent. Thank you for all this information.
Haha before I watched this video I thought I knew how to knit but realized I barely know anything 😅 Didn’t even have a clue there were more (and better) ways to make a stitch than the way I do them. I find it super interesting that they’re done differently in different countries. I’m from Sweden and my pearl stitch is most similar to the Norwegian style but still not quite. It still has the same problem of stretching the yarn though with each stitch so I’ll definitely come back to this video to learn some of the other ways of doing it!
It's quite impressive the number of ways you can create the same fabric. Knitting never ceases to amaze me.
The "reverse" purling was my go-to for years, but my momma, who is a very strict knitter, told me a big "NO" and taught me the "right way". To her credit I was twisting my stitches but the rows were so much neater. Now I have to remember how to do that if I wver go back and forth because I love cotton clothing but I can't wear something that looks that uneatly knitted 😅
Ok, I think I'm obsessed with you. This was incredibly helpful.
Ok, that's incredibly sweet of you to say!
This was an eye opener. I have some bad habits I wasn’t aware of! I predict better tension in my future! 💖
You got this!
Wow! What a great and useful explanation! I was always wondering what I could do to get my stitches look more even. You just made my day! Thank you so much for this video! I left you a subscription ❤️
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for sharing your tips, very helpful and easy to understand ❤️ 😅
Thank you so much! I am so happy and grateful, that I found your channel. You are a real game changer for me! ❤❤❤
I'm so glad!
I do the combined continental and I don’t wrap the pearl stitch, I just pick it through similar to the knit stitch. Yeah I’ve had people tell me I knit backwards because of the no wrapping on the pearl stitch.
This was really helpful! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!