How to Knit Backward

Because I shared about purling backward last week, I thought it made sense to share how to knit backward this week.

This is actually easier and feels a little more natural, but it still takes practice to get going well. I still move my hands around a lot and shift the yarn around as I am working a lot more than I would if I were knitting in the standard way.

Knitting backward is super useful when you’re working on a small number of stitches and want to be able to work Stockinette Stitch without turning the work. Yes, that means no purling!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z_dfdeYCdk&w=550&h=400]

To do it, you put the left-hand needle through the first stitch through the back loop, take the yarn over the needle counter-clockwise from the back, then form the stitch in the usual way. Check the video for more details.

I have most commonly heard of people doing this when they knit entrelac, because you’re usually only working with a very few stitches at a time and through the course of a whole project it probably does get fast enough that it rivals turning and purling back for speed.

Have you ever knit backward? I’d love to know how you used it and if you like this technique.

Next Pattern:

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?