- Continental knitting is a style in which the yarn is held in the left hand along with the left hand needle. The needle in the right hand is slipped into a loop on the left-hand needle, catches the yarn that is held in the left hand, and draws it through the loop to form a new loop on the right-hand needle. The old loop is then pulled off the left-hand needle, creating a stitch.
- The main difference between English and Continental knitting is that Continental knitting requires fewer hand motions. In English style knitting, the yarn is held in the right hand. The right-hand needle is slipped into a loop on the left-hand needle. The knitter then uses the right hand to loop the yarn around the tip of the left-hand needle, which requires a separate hand motion. In Continental knitting, the yarn is held behind the knitting on the left-hand needle so that it is in position to easily be picked up by the right-hand needle with a simple twist of the wrist, reducing the motions needed to complete a knit stitch.
- Crafters who use the Continental method of knitting claim that it is more efficient because it uses fewer motions to make each stitch. Continental knitters tend to knit faster than those who use the English knitting method because they don't have to release the right-hand needle to loop the yarn around it with each stitch. The Continental knitting style also makes it easier to naturally maintain the same yarn tension while knitting each stitch, which creates a more even and consistent knitted fabric.
- Continental knitting is the traditional knitting method typically used in Germany and other European countries. It was brought to the U.S. by German and Slavic immigrants and became popular throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Continental knitting fell out of favor during thewar era when all things German were considered suspect. It enjoyed a resurgence in popularity starting in the 1960s, largely thanks to Elizabeth Zimmerman, who advocated Continental knitting and knitting in the round to American audiences. Zimmerman published a number of knitting books and founded her own press to publish patterns and books for hand knitters. She is one of the most recognized names in professional hand knitting design.
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Professional hand knitters tend to favor Continental knitting over English knitting because Continental knitting uses fewer hand motions to form each stitch. Some knitters alternate between English and continental knitting when working in stockinette stitch on straight needles because forming purl stitches in Continental style knitting requires bringing the yarn forward with each stitch. Continental knitting may be easier to learn and more comfortable for those who already know how to crochet, because the method of holding the yarn is very similar to that used for crocheting.
Because Continental knitters "pick up" the yarn for each stitch, it is sometimes called "picking." English knitting, which requires that the yarn be looped around the needle by the opposite hand, is often called "throwing" by professional knitters. Every knitter eventually finds a balance between picking and throwing that is most comfortable for their own knitting style.
