Big Snafu

My Adventures in Awkwardness

Archive for the month “March, 2013”

Rudimentary Knitting Sheath

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A rudimentary knitting sheath allows one-handed knitting leaving the other hand free to take terrible pictures.

***07/21/13: I updated this post here.***

One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is downsizing my possessions.  I have many things I never use, for instance, a yarn stash and knitting books from back when I used to knit.  Shoulder surgery reduced my moderate knitting speed to a crawl.  It’s not that I can’t knit anymore – it’s that I have trouble maintaining interest when it takes me so long to complete a project.  I decided I had to make my peace with knitting by either increasing my speed or giving away my yarn stash and books.  I began by looking for a way to increase my speed and discovered lever knitting.

In lever knitting, the right needle is held in a fixed position and only the left needle is moved instead of the standard moving two needles approach.  The idea is to make the knitting more machine-like and therefore quicker.  Keeping a needle in a fixed position is accomplished several different ways.  Some knitters use long, straight needles and hold one end under their arm.  Shetland knitters use a knitting pouch and capless needles which are put in the holes of the pouch.  In pre-industrial England, knitters used knitting sheaths.  Knitting sheaths were wooden and had a hole to put the end of the needle in.  They were stuck through a belt or apron to fix them at the knitter’s side.  Knitting sheaths allowed one-handed knitting.

If you do an Internet search you will find many beautiful examples of knitting sheaths.  Young men often carved them as a gift for their betrothed.  I wanted to try a knitting sheath but wished to make one as simply as possible.  I realized all it required was a hole in a block of wood, so I drilled a hole in a piece of scrap wood.  Not handsome like the carved examples I found but functional!  I’m posting this picture of my plain sheath to demonstrate that even if your sweetie does not have the carving skills of a pre-industrial male, he can still make you a knitting sheath.  Or, if he can’t operate a drill, perhaps you can make it yourself.  I tried to drill a hole the size of the needle’s cap, but the drill bit was slightly larger so I stick a piece of fabric in the hole so the needle will be held firmly.

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After knitting just a couple of rows, I was able to increase the speed of my knit stitch by 54% and the speed of my purl stitch by 33%.  Presumably as I practice, my speed will increase even more.  A fast knitter might not increase her speed by as much as I did but might find trying the sheath worthwhile given the minimal investment.  Another benefit of lever knitting is that the reduced motion saves wear and tear on a knitter’s shoulders.

Have I made my peace with knitting?  I’m not sure!  I’ll have to see if I knit often enough and quickly enough to finish any projects.  Fair warning, Stash: you’re not safe yet!

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