My left hand is in a splint for the next few (2-6!!) weeks for tendinitis. Once I got over the ‘that means VERY LIMITED knitting!’ and the ‘why is it tendINitis’ when it’s a tendON that’s inflamed, I set out to figure out how one can continue our craft with this limitation, which is admittedly temporary and for that I am so VERY LUCKY.
I’ve been experimenting with different techniques and sharing with The Flock as I do. I’m going through many different variations as I work on the knitting version of what the crew world calls ‘adaptive rowing.’ (Some of you may know that I also like to row… something else a bum wrist prevents.). In any case, what changes can we make that allow us to do what we love and prevent further injury? I’ve tried many variations, each with pros and cons. Thanks to everyone to their suggestions and encouragement not to get frustrated. The funny thing is, I’m not really frustrated, my goal is to try all of these. (Lever knitting is particularly interesting! But it still requires dexterity with the left hand, so I need to make adjustments for that.)
Here’s a great video breaking down the steps of traditional English knitting with a belt, and the Yarn Harlot video shows full-on lever knitting… in a busy waiting room of all places.
I’ve also been searching YouTube for videos on how to knit with one hand. There are AMAZING examples of amputees or stroke or accident victims who only have use of one hand that are knitting away, so they are leading the way. Most focus on using the left hand – which makes sense! If you’re a ‘picker’ you do most of the work with the left hand, and ‘throwers’ can adapt or use a knitting belt (something still on my list to try). There’s also this example of Portuguese knitting, which involves a pin (or your neck!) helping tension the yarn. INCREDIBLE!
But those of you who have taken a class with me know kids are my favorite students. They’re genuinely interested in how knitting works, they ready to jump in and give it a try, and they are not afraid of making mistakes. They’ll try again on the next stitch, and the next one, and the next one… and decide to change something random that works better for them.
So why doesn’t it surprise me that Abby, shown here when she was 11, would have the BEST video I can find on knitting with only my right hand? I would love to know if Abby is still knitting… I think she’d be about 17 now. I reached out to her mom by commenting on the video, I’ll let you know if she responds. In the meantime, enjoy this video. It’s pure inspiration.