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Tips for Knitting Faster and More

August 4, 2015 by Sarah White

tips for faster knittingMost of us knitters would like to be more productive with our knitting, whether that means knitting faster when we have time to or making more time for our knitting in the first place.

A few years ago I took a faster knitting workshop with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, who is mentioned in this oldie but a goodie Craftsy article about how to knit faster. She uses a style called pivot knitting, which is a great way to knit super fast but also takes a lot of practice.

Practicing your own style of knitting and working on ways to be more efficient within that style is a more practical way to learn to knit faster. I learned to knit by dropping the right-hand needle when I formed the stitch, but I trained myself to stop doing that and it made my knitting a lot faster and more efficient.

Things like knitting on circular needles so you don’t have to stop when you get to the end of a round (or focusing on what Stephanie calls “kick turns” when you change rows) is another way to make your knitting faster.

And of course you’ll be able to knit more if you combine knitting faster with knitting more often. I have an article on ways to make more time for knitting, most of which you are probably already doing, but can get you thinking about ways to get more knitting in.

Do you have a tip for knitting faster or more? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Craftsy.]

Next Pattern:

  • Use Your Stash Faster by Holding Two Strands Together
  • More Tips on Getting the Perfect Knitting Gauge
  • Knitting Tips: Should You Block a Cowl?
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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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