Continental or English?

I’ve always knit Continental style, with the yarn in my left hand. This method is also referred to as left handed knitting or ‘picking’. My mom, who is of German Russian descent, taught me this method when I was 9 years old. It’s always worked well for me, I can knit quite quickly and I can control the tension with my left hand.

However, I have not had much success teaching this style to my young students. When I first decided to teach knitting in my classroom I began by instructing them in the method I was familiar with. It didn’t work at all. They could not, for some reason I still don’t understand, wrap their understanding around this ‘picking’ approach. The problem seemed to be in coordinating the jobs the left hand and the right hand were doing simultaneously.

When I switched over to teaching them to ‘throw’ the yarn with their right hand they were much more successful. In fact, most of my grade threes, fours and fives could pick up the basic motions in one session, requiring just guidance and support thereafter. I’ll continue to knit Continental style myself forever, but I teach the English method in my classroom and after school knitting clubs.

Dedicated Knitters

I teach at an inner city elementary school. Our knitting club meets every Tuesday after school for an hour. Every week the students beg us to let them take their knitting home and every week we remind them of the rule that knitting stays at school. Past experience has taught us that the projects disappear during the week or the students forget to bring them back on knitting club day.

This rule, however, has not stopped a couple of our very determined young knitters.

Shyanne, a fairly high strung, rebellious grade 6 student, who has been with our club from the beginning, could be seen this week walking down the hallways, on her way to music or gym or wherever, knitting away with her pink striped yarn and chopsticks for needles! This kind of resourcefulness will carry her far in life despite her troubled beginnings. Twice this week she brought projects to my classroom begging me to sew them together so she could pick them up at the end of the day. I happily obliged. She’s knitting Christmas presents for her family. A headband for her sister, a purse for her mom and a wristband for another sister.

Yesterday, while out on supervision for recess, I witnessed Jamie, a very quiet, withdrawn and traumatized boy in grade 5, recently removed from his home because of abuse, standing ankle deep in the snow, happily knitting away on a scarf. He’s making a Christmas present for his group home staff member who took him to the craft store and bought him knitting supplies as soon as he learned the basics in knitting club. While the other boys whirled around him playing football he continued with his knit 1 row, purl 1 row, a serene smile on his face.

Our students are some of the most generous children I have ever met. It’s my experience that the less a person has the more they understand the importance of giving. Knitting has given these students not only a sense of mastery and accomplishment but a means of creating something of significance that they can give to others.

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to teach this timeless skill to ‘my kids’.

Posted in classroom, knitting