How to knit faster - 10 actionable speed knitting tips & techniques

A massive list of tips showing you how to knit faster - no matter if you are an English or continental knitter
►►► READ ALL MY SPEED KNITTING TIPS HERE: https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/how-to-knit-faster-10-tips/

Chapters:
0:00 How to knit faster
2:24 Learn continental picking
5:18 Knit faster with metal needles
6:44 Bunch up stitches on your left needle
8:20 Turn your fingers into a conveyor belt
9:20 Knit with a looser tension
10:57 Knit closer to the tip
11:41 Tension your yarn the right way
13:20 Use both hands equally to knit faster
14:32 Practise in slow motion to get faster
15:34 Work on your posture
17:43 Use a slick yarn
Speed knitting tip number 1: Learn picking or flicking
A common misconception is that you need to learn to knit continental to knit faster. Sure enough, knitting continental can be fast – especially if you learn how to pick. And a lot of beginners aren’t even aware that there are different knitting styles across the globe. But if you google flicking or lever knitting for only a sec, you will find tons of tutorials to speed up your English throwing as well.
So knitting faster is not about changing to a different style – it’s about optimizing that style.

Tip number 2 on knitting faster:
Use metal needles. A lot of beginners start on bamboo needles, and that’s just fine. But if you are using some slick coated metal needles, you will instantly notice the difference. Here's my review of the best interchangeable knitting needles.
https://nimble-needles.com/wool-and-tools/the-best-interchangeable-knitting-needles/

Tip number 3: Bunch up stitches on your left needle to knit faster.
So, what I always do is, I bunch up quite a lot of stitches here on the left needle. And this gives me a nice reservoir of stitches I can easily push forward without constantly taking a break to push more stitches towards the tip.

Speed knitting tip number 4: Turn your fingers into a conveyor belt
If you look closely at the video, you will see how my left middle finger and thumb is constantly pushing the next stitches forward. My middle finger only pushes the next stitch, while my thumb transports more stitches forward from further back. And my right index finger is transporting the stitch I just finished further down the right needle.
Tip number 5: Knit looser
The tighter you knit the harder it will be to insert your needle and pull the yarn through. So, by forcing you to knit looser, you can speed things up with practice.
Personally, I don’t like knitting with such a loose gauge. It creates a different kind of drape and stretchiness I actually don’t like to see in my projects. But this is a personal preference

Tip number 6 for faster knitting: Knit closer to the tip.
The further up the taper you knit, the farther you need to move your needles back and forth. And that takes time. Not seconds, obviously, but if you want to knit more than one stitch per second, every millisecond counts.

Tip number 7: Tension your yarn the right way
I tension my yarn by wrapping it around my pinky finger, then bring it across the back of my hand and let it rest on my index finger. For me, this works quite perfectly. Others only wrap the yarn around the index finger, etc. I won’t be able to tell you what works for you. However, if you constantly need to take breaks to adjust your tension, than this is a sign there is room for improvement
Tip number 8: Use both hands
So, when I am knitting stitches, you might see that I am moving both my hands. My left hand isn’t still, it moves up and down as well. And that shortens the distance my right hand has to move. And likewise, I can do all the leveraging with my right-hand, or I can support that with my left hand for a similar effect.
Tip number 9: Practice in Slow-Motion
When you try out new techniques, do it in slow-motion. Don’t try to knit as fast as possible, instead exaggerate and go slowly, and once your mind and muscles learned the new motions, increase the speed one bit at a time. Because if just try to knit as fast as possible without the proper muscle fine control, you will only end up with very sloppy stitches in the best case, and in the worst case you will injure your joints.
Tip Number 10
It’s very important to work. A lot of people slouch on their couch or favorite armchair when they are knitting. To avoid injuries and pain, it’s very important that you find a nice posture, that you take breaks, that you stretch out your hands and shoulders ever so often, and stay dynamic. The muscles in your eyes will welcome a little bit of change as well. They were not meant to focus on one spot for 4 hours straight.
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