# Flicking - Knitting fast English Style



## xultar

Check out this video.

You can knit quickly, just as fast as continental KNITTERS with your right hand.






I've been testing it out and I like it


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## insanitynz

i have been knitting this way since i was 2 years old when my mother first taught me it is not hard you just move your finger instead of your whole hand


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## Leonora

Very Interesting I might give it a try, but I don't actually let go of my right needle any way, unless I'm doing a complicated stitch pattern.


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## Cindycz

This is the way I knit. I think purling this way is easier than the "picking" method.


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## Cindycz

Also, keep the tension throw yarn on your right pointer closer to the work and if you work at the tip of your needles, and let the needles do the work, not so much the left 'stabilizer" finger--you will fly


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## Grandma Laurie

Thanks for the link. Now I'll have to go knit and see if I do it this way


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## MaryE.

Pretty amazing. I think I saw it being done in an instructional video for something else and was in awe of the way the knitting was done. Thanks for giving the link on how it is done.


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## btibbs70

I've never seen this. TNX!


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## evsie

even quicker with a knitting belt


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## missyern

I have knitted this way all my life. It is fast.


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## Grandma Laurie

Nope, I don't do it that way. I tried and I'd have to get use to it. It was real slow. I'm sure it would get faster the more I did it. I can knit pretty fast the way I knit now. I was telling myself last night that I'm not knitting for speed anyway - just relaxation. So, I don't mind not being able to knit as fast as continential knitters. I like the way my tension is with the way I knit. We all have prefrences and the good thing about that is that they are all right! I do love learning and trying new techniques though. Some I keep on doing and some I don't. I'm goimg to keep trying this one and see if I can do it faster and keep my guage and good tension.


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## hatlady

Thanks for the link; I'm going to give it a try. I've always promised myself that someday I'd learn continental style for the sake of knitting more efficiently--maybe now I won't have to switch hands!


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## khayslip

THANKS! I was thinking of trying to learn continental, but now I'm giving this a try instead. I don't mind knitting slower, but sometimes I'd like to speed through a boring project and get it done! Also, I find my right hand gets tired of doing all those bigger movements.


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## Cindycz

What's a knitting belt?


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## evsie

difficult to describe picture added, you stick your needle in the belt and knit accross the other wire with knitting on it , I have been brought up to use it and cannot really knit without it, or I am too slow so always use double pointed wires


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## Cindycz

I'd have to see this in action. My grandmother (German) always said her mother only knitted with one needle, she lost her mother when she was 10 or so, so I'm wondering maybe this belt was used and my grandmother only saw one needle?


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## evsie

no we use 2 needles


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## MaryE.

evsie, by wire, do you mean needles? Or, do you use wires? 
With holes that small, do you have to use small needles only or if you use wires, how does that work? 
How do you handle large items like an afghan where I'd use a circular needle? I can't imaging cramming the width of an afghan on a double-point needle because even the longest ones are shorter than single-points and single-points are more difficult than circulars for big items like afghans or even garments like sweaters.


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## PurpleFi

Taught to knit like this when I was very young. My nanna instilled in me that I must not take my right hand off the needle just use my forefinger. I twist the yarn rounf my forefinger and then slide it between the four and fifth finger, this hels to keep an even tension. Sounds weird, but it works for me.


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## evsie

wires are what you call knitting needles its my shetland dialect coming through. I have never knitted an adult afghan just pram blankets and fairisle stuff that is traditional over here


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## MaryE.

evsie, thanks for letting me know about the wires. If we didn't have our regional differences, life would be pretty boring. For me, a knitting belt is something I've encountered only in books and web articles on knitting. Until I read about them on the fourm, I didn't know they were still popular. It sounds like a useful technique and would be nice if someone would make a video demo of knitting with it. 
I have another whole list of questions if you're willing to answer any of them.
Do you wear the belt on the left or the right? Do you use both hands or only one?
Do you flick?
Have you done socks with it? Would you just knit off one needle to the other for socks and hats as you normally do? If you can, there are a lot of sock knitters that might be happy to learn how a knitting belt works.


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## evsie

hi there, I wear the belt on the right.I use both hands, do not flick as needle is in belt pad, ai have not made socks but yes you can and lots of other things with 2, 3 or 4 needles. Using a belt is something you have to learn .
some else mention small holes in belt, beleive me they stretch lol.


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## Jannabelle

Interesting, I do something similiar but instead of wrapping the yarn from underneath the needle I go over the needle, less effort, I find much quicker.


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## DiRaintree

Oh no! I found out that I really DO knit "backward". I hold and feed the yarn using my left hand. I still thank my sister for teaching me. I guess I'm a south-paw flicker..


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## MaryE.

evsie, thanks for all the information on the knitting belt.


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## evsie

no problem


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## Sutallee Stitcher

evsie
I wonder if I could make my own knitting belt? It doesen't look too involved. Is there anything special I would need to keep in mind if I tried to make one?


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## evsie

need to be made with leather, i can purchase them for anyone, but would cost roughly $50.00


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## MaryE.

evsie, I found a link selling knitting belts; they look like the one you use, are they the same?: http://www.shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk/Leather-Knitting-Belt


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## evsie

thats them in £s you need to covert to $ and add postage

i may be able to get them slightly cheaper, not sure but can find out


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## MaryE.

evsie, you are a wealth of information and help. Thank you so much for posting. I'm not sure I'm ready to buy a belt but there are others who have asked about them. I admit to giving several others who asked about knitting belts on other threads this link, so you may hear from them. I'm going to mention this discussion to my local yarn shop when I go in next. I don't know how you sell yarn in the Shetlands, but most yarn retailers don't know anything about knitting. Only small, local, yarn shops have anyone with knitting experience and are the only sources for most knitting tools, knitting classes and any kind of yarn that isn't mass produced. The big retailers have few needle or yarn choices. The internet has opened up a new world for many of us.
I may yet ask for your help, so don't think I take your kind offer lightly.


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## evsie

a lot of folk here use pure shetland wool


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## zipknitter

A knitting belt is what many people including the Irish, Swedish and Scottish people wear so that they can walk and knit at the same time. They didn't want to waste the time walking to and from the fields when they had projects to finish. At least that's what my Swedish brother in law told me when he taught me to knit. 
You need needles that don't have the cap on the end. The needles I have inherited from my Gr Grandma are 18 inch steel dpns so they are long enough to walk and stick into the holes of the belt as I walk around. It really works nicely and helps when I am bored stiff going on trips with friends who want to walk around malls for hours window shopping. Another friend uses hers when she goes to farm shows with her family so she has something to keep occupied.


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## Laura R

I don't understand the knitting belt either. Can you say/show more?


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## MaryE.

Laura, go back to page one of this thread/discussion and you will see a photo of a knitting belt posted by someone who uses it. Then page forward for her comments where she describes how she uses it.
If you're interested in the history of using them, check this link, it's fascinating: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/knitting-sheaths.aspx


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## CamillaDesertMouse

Thanks evsie for showing your knitting belt..I would love to see a video with it in use.

Camilla



evsie said:


> difficult to describe picture added, you stick your needle in the belt and knit accross the other wire with knitting on it , I have been brought up to use it and cannot really knit without it, or I am too slow so always use double pointed wires


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## carapetunia

xultar said:


> Check out this video.
> 
> You can knit quickly, just as fast as continental KNITTERS with your right hand.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've been testing it out and I like it


I looked at the video it is interesting. I was taught to knit "english" but we always held the right needle from underneath like just like holding a pen or pencil and then you can flick the yarn with the tip of my finger just as this lady shows in the video. Recently somewhere else on knittingparadise pictures were posted of "my" technique from a very old knitting book and just as in everything else in knitting the way that works best for the knitter.


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## carapetunia

PurpleV said:


> Taught to knit like this when I was very young. My nanna instilled in me that I must not take my right hand off the needle just use my forefinger. I twist the yarn rounf my forefinger and then slide it between the four and fifth finger, this hels to keep an even tension. Sounds weird, but it works for me.


I think our grandmothers came from the same school, you have described exactly I learned and it works for me too.


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## carolyn tolo

Thank you for the link. I am practicing Flicking this evening and I am already faster.

I didn't think I needed a knitting belt, but when I learned it can be used while relatives window-shop or have long conversations with people I don't know---------------- Where do you get the LONG dpns? Maybe the yarn-holding bag could sling around my neck. Carolyn


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## zipknitter

You can have long dpns made for you. Go to a place that sells iron pipe, they usually carry steel and stainless steel wire. Just take in needles of the size you want made so they can measure it's diameter and they can cut the wire, polish and shape the ends for you and it costs very little. That's how I got 4 sets of long dpns to go with the 18 inch ones I inherited from my Grandma's Grandmother. Now I have sets in steel and stainless steel from size 4 down to 000000.
Being steel they can handle a lot of weight, the ends will slip into the belt holes and fellow knitters will be green with envy at the fantastic needles you use. It's a win-win situation.


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## PurpleFi

carapetunia said:


> PurpleV said:
> 
> 
> 
> Taught to knit like this when I was very young. My nanna instilled in me that I must not take my right hand off the needle just use my forefinger. I twist the yarn rounf my forefinger and then slide it between the four and fifth finger, this hels to keep an even tension. Sounds weird, but it works for me.
> 
> 
> 
> I think our grandmothers came from the same school, you have described exactly I learned and it works for me too.
Click to expand...

And I thought you just picked up the needles and knitted! I never knew there were so many ways to knit. :roll:


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## zipknitter

When I was teaching knitting a student brought in a friend who taught it in New York for a yarn company and she had found and documemted over 60 ways to knit. And that was in the 1980s, so I imagine there have been a few more added to her list by now.


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## carolyn tolo

I missed the post on how long the (steel wire) dpns should be, to use with a knitting belt. About 24 inches? Longer?

Thanks, CArolyn


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## zipknitter

My old dpns are 18 inches, but back when they were made, people were small across the abdomen, so the new ones I had made are 24 inches. You don't really want them longer because they will be uncomfortable to work with and will get tangled with anyone or anything as you walk close by.


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## PurpleFi

zipknitter said:


> My old dpns are 18 inches, but back when they were made, people were small across the abdomen, so the new ones I had made are 24 inches. You don't really want them longer because they will be uncomfortable to work with and will get tangled with anyone or anything as you walk close by.


Can you post a photo of belt in use as my mind is conjuring up some weird pictures! Thanks


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## MaryE.

carolyn, http://www.shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk/Leather-Knitting-Belt
is one source to buy them and lists the size needle sold to go with the belt. One forum member, smoqui, uses 2 sizes, one for socks and one for other garments. I think 16" to 18" for the longer needles and 9" for socks.
smoqui is listed as a retired knitting instructor in the profile section. This is a link to smoqui's comments on needles sizes on another thread on this forum: http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-11998-1.html
evsie, who lives in the Shetlands and uses a knitting belt all the time says she knits much faster with the belt than without. I can see where it would be a big plus.


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## MaryE.

purplev, there is a photo of the belt on the first page of the thread. I found a photo of some using one when I Googled kniting belts. There don't seem to be that many photos posted on the net.
Here's one with some comments by the user:

__
https://flic.kr/p/2524166514
You'll have to page down to almost the bottom of the page on this link to see the knitting belt being used: http://morcatknits.typepad.com/
This is a blog of a younger woman using a belt: http://joyarna.blogspot.com/
She mentioned the name of the seller, which is how I found a site in the Shetlands that sells them.
This is a history site that has a drawing of someone using one, but there isn't any detail: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/knitting-sheaths.aspx
p.s. Looked a little more on Google images and came up with this: http://donnasmithdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/maakin-belts-knitting-belts.html
p.p.s. This blog is about knitting sheaths and on the right is a photo of one being used. If you click on it you'll get a larger view. Knitting sheaths searve the same purpose as a knitting belt and function similarly. I'm sure there is some difference in how the needles move or don't move but the basics are probably similar. http://gansey.blogspot.com/2008/06/knitting-sheath-designs-that-work.html


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## zipknitter

I can't post any pictures right now, but I know there are pictures on Elizabeth Lovick's site in her vintage pictures and some other sites too.
The belt picture posted earlier in this thread will let you see what they look like. They are just a plain belt with a large oval area punched full of holes. Some of the holey sections have padding behind them so you don't end up stabbing yourself if you run into something, others are just a strip of leather.
You put them on so they are comfortable around your waist but not fastened tightly so there is some freedom of movement, position the hole filled piece so that the tip of the right (or if you are left handed)left needle slip into one of the holes so the needles are comfortable as you walk and work. Some people like to have the working needle braced under their arm with the tip in the belt, others like it just to move freely as if the belt is a pivot.
I have a knitted pouch that a ball of yarn will fit into that hangs from my belt so I can just walk along with my needles, yarn and pride firmly in place. It did take a bit to get used to not having my needle braced against my hip(the bend at the top of my leg actually) as it usually is when I work and it felt like I was going to lose the needles, but eventually it came together and I now enjoy walking and working and can sit at picnics, chat, work,or walk around with friends as I finish an item.


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## zipknitter

Have to say after looking at the photo link MaryE sent, that I cannot imagine using the belt with short dpns. But then I have a big problem using them for socks at all.


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## PurpleFi

Thank you MaryE and zipknitter. I found the information must fascinating. It is something I have never heard of before. Happy knitting. PurpleV


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## lottie

havnt saw this before.dont think i could knitt like this.i always hold my right hand needle under my arm.thats the way i was taught


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## MaryE.

lottie, I think if you are used to stabalizing your needle already, you might adapt to a belt or sheath more quickly than someone who isn't. Since I haven't used either technique, I really can't be sure. 

What do you think about flicking, did you watch the video by any chance? I thought it was interesting. However, I think I'm more likely to try a knitting belt than to flick.


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## zipknitter

I can't adapt to flicking, have worked hard at it over the years but am so used to bracing my right needle so it never moves and never wrap yarn round my finger(don't crochet much either and when I do wrap the yarn round my left finger) that I just couldn't get the hang of it. 
But, don't like doing continental either even though I got that down pat. Nor do I hold the yarn in both hands when doing stranded work. Just having my yarn run through the palm of my hand seems to make so many knit versions stay off my radar.


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## Dreamweaver

I guess I have always been a flicker of sorts. I don't let go of my right needle and all I have to do is extend the 2 fingers next to my thumb with the yarn inbetween them forward. This works for knit and purl. I have always been considered a fast knitter and have seen many people win the fast knitting contests this way. I guess that is why I never understood the advantage of a belt. I don't need it. I just purchased a small pouch bag from Debbie McComber that will hold yarn and fastens on belt and has a whole in top for yarn to come out of or put your needles in when not needed. I use this for walking and knitting at the same time.  Sometimes I just transport project this way while walking till I reach a spot I want to sit and knit - like granddaughter's basketball games.


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## Danilou

I love it! Thank you!


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## PurpleFi

Dreamweaver said:


> I guess I have always been a flicker of sorts. I don't let go of my right needle and all I have to do is extend the 2 fingers next to my thumb with the yarn inbetween them forward. This works for knit and purl. I have always been considered a fast knitter and have seen many people win the fast knitting contests this way. I guess that is why I never understood the advantage of a belt. I don't need it. I just purchased a small pouch bag from Debbie McComber that will hold yarn and fastens on belt and has a whole in top for yarn to come out of or put your needles in when not needed. I use this for walking and knitting at the same time. Sometimes I just transport project this way while walking till I reach a spot I want to sit and knit - like granddaughter's basketball games.


Now a belt with a pouch for holding the yarn sounds like a good idea. I'll have a go at making one. Could you post a picture? Thank you. Happy knitting and walking.


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## lottie

i havnt tried it and dont think i will.holding the right hand needle under my arm works for me,i no a lot cant do it that way either.flicking looks ok but just not for me.


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## suefish99

Q: do you do these KALs very often? Eastern time here (FL) I don't get to knit very often!

I do knit continental since a frined's mom taught me - before that I was so slow & awkward! What a relif it was to find another way. I hadn't had knitters to watch and Thk Goodness she made the observation that I was a slow knitter. I've since taught a few others.


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## LindaH

I had no idea that the way that I just started doing actually had a name. Like the person who did the video, I was trying to find a way to do continental style with my right hand because my left hand has a mind of its own and doesn't like to follow my brain's instruction. It just laughs at brain..  So, having watched this video now and becoming subscribed to her channel, I can actually say that I am a flicker..  YAY! It really does go a lot faster, and I think it will go faster still the more that I actually do it. I really like the way this woman does her instructions/tutorial video's.


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## martyr

Cindycz said:


> Also, keep the tension throw yarn on your right pointer closer to the work and if you work at the tip of your needles, and let the needles do the work, not so much the left 'stabilizer" finger--you will fly


Yes I do this too, also hold both needles together with thumb and push right needle back with left index finger. I have been experimenting with different continental styles for the sake of something different due to spinal stenosis and the tendency of extremities to go numb with too much repetetive movement. So far I like the russian style, as i find other left handed yarn carries more of a problem than the needle movements. Here is the video i liked: [no surprise it was a link form this forum!]




 :thumbup:


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## jowhoknits

what is this called?


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## jowhoknits

I started knitting like this a few years ago by accident. My hand and wrist got tired but I didn't want to stop, so I just didn't release my R hand from the needle. I did not know there was a name fot it.


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## Ellie2438

I knit like this to, sort of, I tuck my right hand needle under my arm and steady it that way. My needles are all long ones. My Mum lives with us and she's German so there we are sitting Mum doing her thing continental and me doing mine and we are both as quick as each other. When we have visitors they love to watch Mum knitting. When I'm in Germany they love to watch me knitting.
Ellie xx


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## carolyn tolo

I learned to flick from the video and LOVE it. Much faster and not so tiring. Why didn't I think of it?

My computer gets more memory this week so I will be able to download important stuff. Like videos and patterns. Carolyn


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## carolyn tolo

OK. Do you knitters prefer the steel or the aluminumum needles? 18 inch? Have any of you actually tried knitting with the belt or sheath? I am very intrigued by the concept. Are they manufactured anywhere in the USA

(Right now I am using circular needles successfully.)

The smart thing to do would be to borrow somebody's equipment and then decide. Isn't life exciting? Carolyn


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## Lani

Wow! Something new to learn! Thanks for sharng!


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## PurpleFi

carolyn tolo said:


> OK. Do you knitters prefer the steel or the aluminumum needles? 18 inch? Have any of you actually tried knitting with the belt or sheath? I am very intrigued by the concept. Are they manufactured anywhere in the USA
> 
> (Right now I am using circular needles successfully.)
> 
> The smart thing to do would be to borrow somebody's equipment and then decide. Isn't life exciting? Carolyn


When I use straight needles I prefer to use the shortest length I can get away with. I'm not sure if I have any preference as to what they are made of excpet that I like them as light as possible and with a good point. Can stand blunt needles. Happy exciting knitting.


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## jowhoknits

I like 10 - 12" shorts, preferally made with hardwoods, like ebony and cherry. Sharp points, smooth feel. I don't care fore light needles, don't know why. I guess I like the substantial feel of wood needles.


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## bretay

This is the first time I have heard of flicking.But I guess that's what I am,because I have never let go of the right needle.


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## smoqui

Thanks, Evsie. I have made several posts about knitting with a sheath, more Yorkshire style as they did for the gansey fishermen's sweaters. I haven't actually tried using a belt, but it is exactly the same principle as using the sheath, just a different method of stabilizing the right needle. I know what you mean about feeling awkward knitting without the belt (or in my case the sheath). I sometimes have to work on things without it to teach a new stitch or method to someone else, and I really feel like something is missing. I can do continental, but for most projects I find I am just as fast, if not faster, with the right needle stabilized and using the flick instead of the throw. The only thing that puts a slight kink in the works is that most supplies have to be ordered from the UK, as very few people in the US know anything about either a belt or a sheath. I have been able to make my own sheath from a Behr brand beechwood paint brush handle. It is quite similar to what the Yorkshire knitters call a goose wing. I removed the bristles from the paint brush, sanded the handle a bit to give a slight rounding to fit my hip easier, and drilled a hole in the end the brushes were removed from to accomodate my 2.5 mm knitting pins. The shape of the handle keeps it from slipping all the way through my belt when I tuck it in, so it works very well indeed, so I don't feel the need to order anything from anyone else. (The only US source I have located so far is the man who runs the blog gansey.blogsite.com. He has a shop on Etsy online, and sells knitting sheaths, and knitting pins he hand makes from spring steel. Probably very close to the Yorkshire sheath. Unfortunately, by the time you purchase a sheath and a set of hand-made needles from him, you have spent close to $100, which is way too much for my budget.) I have also recently learned that Lacis in Northern California sells 16" double ended needles in several sizes, so I am trying to clarify with them whether they are raw steel, nickel plated, or stainless steel. So far they haven't replied to my inquiries, so I cannot advise further. I made my 2.5 mm knitting pins from spring steel piano wire purchased from the hardware store. A bit tricky to get the wire straightened out and the ends ground into proper knitting tips, but after a bit of trial and error, I made a set of 5 in 18" length and a shorter set for socks in 9" length. Very serviceable, but not so pretty as factory made ones might be. These probably resemble those made by the village blacksmith in Dentdale village. These are a somewhat unusual size for US knitters. They would work out to be American size 1-1/2. The size one is 2.25 mm, and the size 2 is 2.75 mm. The 2.5 mm size works very nicely with Patton Fisherman's wool, or pretty much any other DK size yarn. Makes a nice tight fabric, though not quite so tight as the 5-ply yarn the Dentdale knitters used. Probably more to American tastes at any rate.


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## smoqui

See my post directed to Evsie. Lacis in Northern California (google that name) has 16" needles in steel, stainless steel, and nickel plated. Unfortunately, they do not sell them in sets of 5, so it is necessary to buy either 3 pair, or 2 sets of 4 to get the 5 needles generally used to knit a man's full sized sweater (jumper/gansey). I am trying to get them to clarify exactly which catalog number is made of which material, so that I can order a set to see if they are easier to use than the hand-made ones I use myself. They are size 2.5 mm, which works out to American size 1-1/2. It is very tight gauge for US knitters to consider, but using them with a belt or knitting sheath makes them very easy to control, and the fabric has a wonderful feel to it.


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## smoqui

Actually, flicking is exactly the knitting technique used for either freehand English knitting, knitting with a maakin belt, or knitting with a sheath. All three techniques are exactly the same knitting technique. The springiness of the long doublepointed needles give an "assist" in forming the stitches, and then just a quick right push with the tip of your working needle slides the finished stitch off the left needle and you make a sort of circular swing into position to enter the next stitch. With a bit of practice, you can knit this way for hours on end without getting overly strained.

The one thing I have never seen, nor even had properly explained, is how it is possible to knit one handed with either the maakin belt or the sheath. I have heard that the Shetlanders and the Yorkshire knitters could do chores such as cooking with one hand while continuing to knit with the other. And one farmer who could milk his cow with one hand and knit on his gansey with the other. Sounds extremely interesting. I hope someone who knows someone who can do this will be able to coax them into putting up a demo video on YouTube. I bet it would be a major hit.

I knit with a sheath, and I have tried every technique I can think of to accomplish this, and it totally is beyond my understanding. I suspect it must involve continental-style knitting with the sheath or belt worn on the left, but I don't know. Hopefully someone will let us all in on this amazing style of knitting.


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## ukulelekathy

Hi where can I purchase a knitting belt.


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## smoqui

Hi again, Kathy. The only source I have been able to locate for the belts is located in the Shetland Isles, and I have a temporary mental block about the name of the place.
http://www.shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk/epages/BT2741.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2741/Products/%22Leather%20Knitting%20Belt%22

Is one source that comes up on a google search, and I think it is the one I found before. It it is, you can find the belt advertised in one part of their online catalog, and the double ended needles in the section below that entry labeled people who bought this also bought... which refers you to another part of their site.

I haven't tried making the knitting belt, but if you or anyone you know is good with leather work, you could probably make a servicable one at home. It is just a pair of ovals sewn together, stuffed with horsehair furniture stuffing (or something similar) and with a few holes punches in the leather in sizes suitable for the needles you want to use. The holes are placed in various locations around the stuffed pouch to let you use the needles in whatever position you find comfortable. I haven't seen the back side of this, but I presume it is probably slotted to allow a belt to slip through to hold it in position above your hip. There is an illustration of the knitting belt on the site linked above.


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## smoqui

I think this is also referred to as English lever knitting, though I have seen some examples on youTube which I personally would not call that, because they are quite different from the way I knit (and probably the way you knit as well).


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## smoqui

The method I have been using with the gansey needles and even the lace knitting I have begun is the Irish Cottage style throw, which, while not strictly speaking lever knitting, is similar in principal and is very well adapted to working with the sheath. I have problems with the basal joint of my right thumb, which makes regular free hand knitting rather painful after a while, and I have discovered that using the Irish cottage style throw allows me to knit for extended periods without putting any strain on my thumb. It's turning out to be quite a blessing. You can see it demonstrated on a couple of youTube videos by Stephanie Pearl McPhee (The Yarn Harlot). There are a couple of different videos, but one called The Yarn Harlot Knitting shows her doing "Pit knitting" where the right needle is held under her arm. It demonstrates the Irish throw perfectly. There is also her other method for knitting in circular which uses the pencil hold for the right needle. I personally do not use this one and find it extremely difficult for me. The problem is that unless you are working on something small like a sock, you eventually end up with the finished knitting coming up over your supporting thumb, and you have to grip both the needle and the fabric to get anything to work correctly. I have seen several people who knit this way, but to me it is totally illogical. I guess if I had been taught to knit that way from age 5 onward, I would be used to it and not give it a thought. While I was taught at age 5 and have been knitting many different styles of knitting, pencil hold is one which I have never used except briefly to see how it felt.


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## bpj

I am on the way to try this out. Looks like it would save a lot of extra motions. Will keep you post as to how I do.
Thanks for the new way to Flicking knitting.


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## MaryE.

bpj said:


> I am on the way to try this out. Looks like it would save a lot of extra motions. Will keep you post as to how I do.
> Thanks for the new way to Flicking knitting.


Did you see Smoqui's post today? It's fascinating! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/criss-cross-lace-scarf


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## askem1728

thanks for the link i am going to try it.


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## daylily

evsie said:


> difficult to describe picture added, you stick your needle in the belt and knit accross the other wire with knitting on it , I have been brought up to use it and cannot really knit without it, or I am too slow so always use double pointed wires


Never seen anything like this. It would be interesting to see it being used.


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## beejay

I did a swatch and then did several rows doing the flicking but I found it tired my right wrist. I guess if I keep trying I may overcome that.


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## Yarnie.One

smoqui said:


> The method I have been using with the gansey needles and even the lace knitting I have begun is the Irish Cottage style throw, which, while not strictly speaking lever knitting, is similar in principal and is very well adapted to working with the sheath. I have problems with the basal joint of my right thumb, which makes regular free hand knitting rather painful after a while, and I have discovered that using the Irish cottage style throw allows me to knit for extended periods without putting any strain on my thumb. It's turning out to be quite a blessing. You can see it demonstrated on a couple of youTube videos by Stephanie Pearl McPhee (The Yarn Harlot). There are a couple of different videos, but one called The Yarn Harlot Knitting shows her doing "Pit knitting" where the right needle is held under her arm. It demonstrates the Irish throw perfectly. There is also her other method for knitting in circular which uses the pencil hold for the right needle. I personally do not use this one and find it extremely difficult for me. The problem is that unless you are working on something small like a sock, you eventually end up with the finished knitting coming up over your supporting thumb, and you have to grip both the needle and the fabric to get anything to work correctly. I have seen several people who knit this way, but to me it is totally illogical. I guess if I had been taught to knit that way from age 5 onward, I would be used to it and not give it a thought. While I was taught at age 5 and have been knitting many different styles of knitting, pencil hold is one which I have never used except briefly to see how it felt.


Thought you might find this video interesting. . . is it the "pit" method you mentioned? http://gansey.blogspot.com/2008/03/video-of-gansey-needles-with-knitting.html


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## Helen Hawkins

WOW!!!! just discovered I have been a flicker for the past 60 years and didn't know it. 
Cheers Helen


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