Archive of Thread: Left handed knitters Back

2 years ago
Are you a "leftie"?
Any tips for other left-handed knitters?

2 years ago
I was blessed with a very talented knitting Grandmother, who taught me to knit by knitting left handed.  With hand knitting its all about which hand do you hold your yarn.
With machine knitting, I notice I prefer to keep my carriage on the right for any hand manipulation because it gives my left hand more room to maneuver.  Also, I usually start and end with my carriage on the right for easier cast on and off.  Mostly, I use waste yarn cast on and off because then I can remove the work from the machine and hand work the edges. 

2 years ago
Thanks @Hope Ryan!

So much of machine knitting is personal preference. I'm sad when knitters get stuck with the "proper" way of doing things.
Part of the learning curve is figuring out what works for you.

2 years ago
I too learnt to hand knit from my Grandmother.  She was right handed, I sat facing her and learnt as a mirror image.  But hand knitting has never really come easy to me which is why I love my machines.  Like Hope Ryan I keep my carriage on the right most of the time.  Knitting machines don't seem to be designed specifically for right handers, unlike most machines in the home.  Which is why I love them.

2 years ago
I am a left handed as well.  I never really thought about the km as a right or left handed tool.  But now that I think about it, I also start and stop knitting with the carriage on the right for access to stitches and needles.  I  Iike to use a cast on "rag" cloth and e wrap from left to right. Finishing or removing stitches I work right to left. 

2 years ago
My grandmother taught me to crochet first with the 'mirror' method of facing her, so hand knitting came along a bit later. I cast onto the machine from left to right with carriage on the right, no problem.
I run into issues in binding off - I'm always told to place the carriage on the right and go right to left. I feel like I'm sort of working against myself when using my dominant left hand to go to the left. I try with my right hand but I have next to no fine motor skills with it and either wind up dropping stitches, making a mess and seriously struggling with it.

2 years ago
I am a left hand writer,  and a hand knitter. Since there both hands are engaged with knitting,  i did not think about knitting as left or right prefferred. I just knit as a right handed. It might have taken some mkore time for me to learn.
I dont have a preferrable direction by knitting. 

2 years ago
Donna,
I had a heck of a time learning to bind off - my brain could not keep the process straight.  It works for me to work from right to left - I hold the yarn in my right hand and use the transfer tool in my left hand.