At some point every knitter wishes that they could knit faster. I know it is counter intuitive. I mean we are suppose to be knitting because we love love love being in the moment of creating fabric. But maybe you are under a gift making deadline, like Mother’s day {cough, cough} or trying to crank out some Christmas gifts. Or maybe you are not comfortable with so many projects languishing on the needles and want to get to the next WIP ASAP!
But whatever the reason here are my top 6 secrets to help you knit faster…
Batch Knit. Sock knitters know this trick and I even attempted to demonstrate that technique here. But why limit it to sock knitting? Here I am batch knitting some dishcloths. Knit both sleeves to your sweater at the same time. Scarves for Christmas gifts, hats for charity. Pro tip: detangle your yarn as you go!! Trust me on this…
Learn to Knit Continentally. I swear when I switched from throwing (holding yarn in right hand) to Continental (holding yarn in left hand) my speed increased exponetially. What happens is you lose the action of winding the yarn around the working needle in favor of scooping the yarn as you insert the working needle into the stitch. Now granted I have seen some very fast throwers, but they too have worked to make their movement more streamlined. Check out the awesome video tutorial from I Knit With Cat Fur
Crochet. Yep, crochet is actually a little faster than knitting. But I also do not think this is the solution for all projects. It is a personal preference, but for the most part I think sweaters look much better knit than crocheted. but crocheting is a great substitute for basic scarves, hats, market bags, and shawls.
Eliminate the seams. Norwegians do this all the time. But they also have the balls to actually CUT ARMHOLES into their intricate color work. I swoon just thinking about it… But if you are working on a pieced sweater, many designs can be converted to be worked knitting the whole body of the sweater in one big piece. Just add up the cast on stitches and work the directions for each panel as you go.
Use bigger yarn and needles. Now granted if you are working a specific pattern, you will have to be good at rocking some pattern math for this tip. But suppose you have not picked a pattern yet or maybe you are working a very forgiving project like a scarf. Then by all means, the bigger the yarn and needle, the faster that project will go.
Knit More Often. Straight up, the more you knit the faster you get at knitting.
Do you have a tip for increasing your knitting speed? Please share! Leave me a comment below or post it on the Facebook Page.
Fiber artist Stacey Budge-Kamison AKA UrbanGypZ lives and works in Cary NC. She can also be found knitting in public, hammering out her latest e-course at local cafés and spinning yarns in her booth at her favorite arts festivals. A designer at heart, Stacey has decided that her mission is to help fellow knitters, crocheters, weavers and felters embrace their own style and creativity by exploring fiber art as it is a part of their everyday life and helping them embrace the title of artist no matter where they are in their journey. 
Hi Stacey,
Yes, knitting continental is the way to go! Your other suggestions were great too, especially bigger needles and thicker yarns.
Getting a yarn bowl has helped with my speed to some degree. Before I got a bowl to keep my yarn ball in, I’d just keep my ball either in my knitting bag or on the couch next to me. Every few minutes, I’d have to stop what I was doing and pull on the ball to get more yarn. With the yarn bowl, the ball rolls so easily, so I never had to stop and tug on the working yarn.
OMG yes! Yarn bowls. They do make knitting easier and are just so pretty! Thanks for the tip!
I second the yarn bowl. I definitely spend less time tugging on the working yarn. Plus there are many adorable and cut yarn bowls for sale on etsy.
Also, the type of needle material can make a difference. I almost exclusively knit with metal needles. I’m much slower when it comes to wood needles that tend to grip onto the yarn.
Yes! I am a fairly recent yarn bowl convert. It is indeed a time (and sanity)saver. And the metal needles do make a HUGE difference.
Hello Stacie,
I’d love to knit the Quality in a Square hoodie. The only pattern instructions I’ve found are … not in English. Any suggestion of a website where I might find the pattern in English?
I discovered your group on a YouTube video on spinning this evening and am eager to dive back into spinning, after a two decade vacation from it. Ann
Oh Ann I am honored that my video reignited your spinning mojo. As for the Quality in a square, I do think there was an english version floating around, eventually, but I know when I first began it there was not. I pulled the file up in google and let google translate it. But I remember that translated into “knit as you see fit” for the sleeves… Let me see what I can dig up.
Yay! found the translation. http://morag-hat-ideen.blogspot.com/2008/04/quality-in-square.html Scroll down past the german version, and the english translation is under it.
Even better than Continental: Portuguese! It makes purling a breeze. Sometimes when I’m knitting with 2 yarns, I do my main color in Portuguese and my accent color in Continental (generally if it’s less than 25 % of the stitches) That way I’m keeping my yarns completely separate, no tangles allowed.
How interesting. I do some weird adapted purl continental since I just couldn’t get it. Off to google Portuguese knitting…