Learn How to Knit without Looking, Just Like Nicholas Hoult

June 1, 2015 by Sarah White 1 Comment

Much to my geeky husband’s chagrin, I’m not at all interested in the new “Mad Max” movie, and I hadn’t been paying attention to any of the press surrounding it until I saw this story in which actor Nicholas Hoult declares his knitting prowess by saying he doesn’t even have to look when he knits any more.

Hoult told a German magazine that costar Charlize Theron taught him how to knit.

“There are even a few photos of me in leather pants and war paint, knitting. I’d get really mad if I lost my place,” he said. “These days, I don’t even have to look down anymore. By the end of the year I’d made some knitted Christmas presents. And: I was much better than Tom Hardy,” another star in the movie.

Apparently, he knit before, as this story from 2013 explains, but he says he gave it up though he was “obsessed” for a time. Welcome back, sir.

If you want to knit as well as Hoult, it’s not really that difficult to knit simple things without looking. Elizabeth Zimmermann put it better than I ever could in her book, Knitting Around, so I’ll let her explain:

What? You can’t knit in the dark?
Stuff and nonsense; anybody can. Shut your eyes. Knit one stitch. Open your eyes and look at the stitch; it’s all right. Shut your eyes and knit two stitches. Open them. Shut them. Knit three stitches. Falling off a log is no comparison.

And once you can knit without paying much attention, you can knit while watching TV and movies. Though maybe not “Mad Max.” I hear it’s pretty intense.

Do you look at what you’re doing when you knit? Have any tips for knitting without looking?

[Photo via Xpose.ie]

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

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Comments

Sandi Shutts says
June 1, 2015 at 1:58 pm
every since my Dad said Grandma didn’t watch I started working on it, now I shut my eyes and rest them while I knit, best of both worlds. Unless I’m doing lace work, that iis..

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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