I am left-handed, and so have a few difficulties to overcome when I knit lace. (I knit from right to left i.e my knitting piece is held in my right hand and I use the left hand to create the new stitch) A lace chart means I must mirror image the chart, and change the symbol meanings. For left and right decreases for a regular knitter the symbol for a k2tog is / which is the way they are knitting (from left to right) I on the other hand am knitting from the opposite direction and if I want the decrease to lean the same way I would knit a sl1,k1, psso this would create the same stitch as for a regular knitter. (if I was to knit the k2tog as stated in the pattern my stitch would come out as \) I have also discovered that knitting 2tog thru the back loop will also create a stitch going in the same direction as if I knitted thru the front loop which makes it a hell of a lot easier when doing the k2togs!
Why am I telling you this, because I'm tired as being told I'm a lost cause cause I knit "backward" I read the same way I knit, in fact a page is laid out like I knit you read it left to right not right to left I'm tired of prospective knitters being told they must learn to knit this way, chances are people who are told that won't take up knitting as a recreation.
In order to cater to the "backwards" knitter as far as I can see, it would take a chart mirror- imaged and the decrease and increase symbols swapped but apparently publishers don't know how to edit (the obvious question I have is what the $%^&* are they doing publishing then!!!!)
Whilst it may have been difficult in the past to cater for "backward" knitters, in the computer day and age it seems ludicrous that left-handers are not catered for and that information for the left-handers is scarce, I have seen several videos of people knitting backward and there is a lot of mis-information, no "experts"for the lefties. There is information for reverse knitting (which is knitting left and right handed this has the effect of not having to purl as in circular knitting)
I have attempted to knit right-handed and I can do it verrrry slooowly but contorting my right hand into the positions that are required for knitting right handed are more pain than my fingers can bear).
I don't class myself as an expert, heavens there's a lot I don' know still about knitting but my difficulty is increased when I have to stop and interpret patterns to suit my left-handedness and I am paying the same price for my patterns as right handers shouldn't my needs be catered for in the same way?
So just who is backward me...... or the publishers?
1 comment:
Ha! I think neither you nor the publishers are backwards but that the publishers should open their minds and realize just how many lefties are out there and include "leftie" conversions for their patterns.
Question... if you were to knit left to right (as you do) and read the chart as it's written but just reading row 1 left to right, and 2 right to left, etc. rather than the reverse, I don't understand why the leans wouldn't come out correctly. I mean, say it was a pattern with increases or decreases either side of a point, leaning toward the point. You'd still want the leans to be /center\ , or I think you know what I mean. The exact interpretation for / or \ might be different, but if you know it means "leaning right" or "leaning left" it seems there wouldn't be a need to recreate the chart, just that you'd mentally register the instruction according to your knitting direction so create the proper lean.......
Do I make sense?
Eve :D
PS - Maybe a better way of asking what I'm thinking is ... rather than recreating the chart, could you just change the key so that the characters indicate what stitch you'd make for left-handed knitting?
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