BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting HELP!

Do you have a local yarn shop or crafter's guild? Our local newspaper has a section for regular events. It includes meeting and contact information for service organizations, clubs, and guilds.

My sister is also left-handed and I had checked my books, but the instructions and illustrations for "lefties" is sparse at best. Sorry I can't recommend one.

If you have a local Freecycle group, you could post a request for knitting help. Freecycle is a yahoo based group, run locally. Their goal is to keep useful items out of landfills. However, in our local group, we sometimes trade as much information as we do items. I've received so much yarn from fellow Freecyclers and offers to help with more advanced techniques.

Hope this helps in some way.

One way to learn is sit across from a right-handed knitter and "mirror" what s/he's doing. I found a couple of sites that might help:
learn-to-knit
YouTube
The You Tube site has several videos for leftys

Here is a DVD that teaches left handed knitters. Since I'm not left handed, I'm not sure how good it is.

I agree about finding a knitting group. Someone in it is sure to be left handed and can help you.

Thank you everyone

We have a Joann frabric in the area as well as craft stores. I will check them out.

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Thanks for the DVD link- I will investigate it as well.


I've tried the meeting groups but no one seems to participate within a reasonable drive.

A friend of mine is left handed and I taught her to crochet right handed on the basis that if she has never crocheted before she is not going to know any different and she has really taken off and is doing really well.
Unfortunately she was taught to knit left handed and never got the hang of it, but she seems to prefer crochet anyway.

Maureen -

You might just want to learn to knit right handed. I can (and do) knit both left and right handed (and have taught both ways), but some yarn just works better right handed (because of the way yarn is twisted.) It really is a two handed process anyway.

And please don't take this a the right hander who doesn't know what it's like to be left handed, I grew up as the only right hander in a household of lefties and everything was left handed - the fridge door, the kitchen layout, ... My sister used to hide the one pair of right handed scissors to make my life miserable.

Julie

I learned how to knit both continental and yarn in right hand - it became a total asset when doing colorwork. I could hold one color in each hand, up to four colors, and go!
Having learned both methods (and being right handed, so the caveat is that I am not an expert), it seems that this would work for a lefty as well. Julie is right that knitting is a two-handed operation, so lefty or not, find a method that works!
The knitting guild of America has a free learn to knit download on their website www.tkga.com. It's under the education tab.

Hi,
I'll comment too (after waiting too long!) Knitting uses both hands and many advocate just learning the right handed way, but most of the left-handed knitters I know knit continental. I knit FairIsle a bit and use both hands, but my caveat is that I'm right-handed too, so you might have to take this advice with a grain of salt.

Sorry I can't help more. Oh, have you looked for a TKGA guild near you, they also often offer classes.