Knitting Help - Flicking

"Flicking" is a fast, but unusual, way of knitting right-handed. Because the right needle is never released to wrap the yarn, it is comparable to the speed of continental knitting. This is the way that I knit, and I have received many requests to slow down and explain it in detail.

The poncho on the mannequin is here (not my design):

The pattern for the sweater I'm wearing is here (not my design):
I knit my sweater with a cotton yarn that has been discontinued.

The yarn I use for demonstration is Cascade 220.

[pamelanana]

I have watched many videos on this "flicking" style of knitting - you are the only one I have seen that shows and mentions the "pivot" of the needle! As soon as I saw that it clicked in my head - before that I still couldnt understand it . Thanks again!

[patriciaschumacher]

Changing from throwing to flicking is slow but doable. Pick an easy project like a blanket. Your tension will be off like you are a new knitter but it's a blanket. No big deal. Its a long project that will help the muscle memory click in. I.am not there yet but it is slowing getting there. Thank you for the video!

[nancine]

This is how I knit too! You can get a really nice rhythm going, and pick up some speed with this technique. I think it's one of the reasons I knit almost exclusively with circular needles. The shorter rigid sections allow you to pivot the needle easily. Longer, straight needles can get hung up on my clothing and I end up having to hold the project higher or away from my body which gets uncomfortable. Flicking and circular needles for my Zen knitting!

[soniaguzman]

I love watching you knit. I am a continental knitter and I am fascinated when I  watch you knit. I have never seen another person knit like you do. Your knitting produces beautiful knitting with such even tension. I love to watch your knitting videos and to listen to you talk. I taught myself to knit from books 30+ years ago before the internet! I love youtube and have learned a lot since I discovered it. Thank you so much for being an excellent teacher! 

[donnacastro]

OMG!!! There's a name for the way I've been knitting all these years? Not only speedy, but easy on the arms, wrists, and hands too. I also find that knitting tension is easily controlled too.

[heatherr]

I've been knitting for over 40 years and have always knit English.  I have been sort of flicking for a while, but still let go of the needle.  Faster than throwing, but not as fast as your flicking.  The one part I was missing was moving the right needle.  I couldn't get my finger to flick the yarn over the needle without taking my finger off the needle, but now that you've demonstrated how you do it, I finally have it!  I still need lots of practice, but already it has made it much easier.  Thank you so much for showing how you hold and pivot the needle!!

[yarngypsy]

I have been happily watching you for almost a decade now. I learned how to knit because of you, and I'm happy to say that many years ago, I started "flicking" as well. I have never looked back! It helped me pick up my speed immensely and is very comfortable for me. Thank you for your many wonderful years on this platform and I look forward to many more. :)

[linuxgirl_]

Thank you very much for this clear explanation. I was told by an Englishwoman that this is actually the way most English knitting was traditionally done in the old days, and that throwing the yarn is just the way beginners would start out, to make learning easier. She says she has never known any seasoned knitter to carry on with throwing past the learning period. I think with the revival of knitting and the large numbers of people learning on their own with books, the throwing method became more common because it is easier to diagram and explain in writing to beginners.

I personally am a continental knitter (taught as a child by my grandmother) and have been trying and trying to do this, but it is not easy for me at all. I want to get good at it so that I can do fast two-handed colorwork, but boy is it hard! I think I'm getting there, but I just can't get the right amount of tension on the yarn. My hands are slippery, and I can't get the yarn to stay put. Oh well, practice, practice!

You are so good at it though, I just love watching you knit. :)

[bilikins]

I've always loved the way you knit, seeing the right needle rhythmically flick under your right hand.

Thank you so much Staci for sharing this video! After I finished my last project I decided that I wanted to start knitting this way so using some scrap yarn I spent one afternoon practicing this technique. My tension was already pretty neat as a thrower, but it just looks so much better and more even using this technique.

It took a bit of trial and error with how I hold the yarn in my right hand - wrapping around middle, ring or pinkie finger created too tight a tension, and so did weaving the yarn between my fingers, but found how you did it to work quite well and I found it quite comfortable, eventually I started enclosing the yarn simply by wedging the yarn in the crease under the middle knuckle of my ring finger so I didn't have to close my finger completely.

I enjoy knitting so much more now, because I an faster, and can now knit without looking :)

[verypinkknits]

The hardest part of changing the way you knit is figuring out a comfortable way to hold the yarn for good tension. Everyone is different. Keep practicing! It will happen. :)

[WhisperTraining]

Wow this is awesome! I've logged thousands of hours knitting over the past 21 years and have never heard of this technique. Usually I used the standard right handed technique and have always been annoyed about having to let go of the needle each time, but the left-handed "continental" technique never felt very comfortable for me.


It will definitely take a bit of time to change my muscle memory on this but I'm definitely switching! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this video. I'm knitting as a job now - started a side business with my sister a few months ago where she creates luxury yarns by hand-processing and hand-spinning fiber from her alpaca herd and angora rabbits and I knit beautiful accessories to sell with it - so I've really been looking for anything to speed things up since I often knit 4-8 hrs a day. Super excited to see how much more productive this technique will make me! I've found your other videos on various knitting stitches very helpful as well,

[Veronica-goxy]

Hi Stacy, I've been a crocheter for a little over 40 years. I wanted to learn how to knit about 5 years ago. There were so many videos out there, but yours are the ones I always go to and recommend as well. I already knew how to do a long tail co, but after that, had no idea what to do next. Finally learned and turned out to be a 'thrower'. I got tired of always letting go of the needle and tried and tried. I watched this video and decided to just stick with it. And it's been a few weeks but I'm finally just 'flicking'. I did also learn to do Norwegian, but my tension is always too tight and yarn feels better in my right hand. Thank you again!! Look forward to more of your videos. Oh and the socks one made so much more sense to me! Now if I can just flick with DPNs, that's kind of hard to do right now.

[carolwells]

It's neat to see this, because I've only ever knit this way, and didn't know it was a "thing." I just assumed it was the natural progression (over a lot of years of experience) from doing a big motion of wrapping the yarn... the motion gets smaller and smaller over time until it's just coming from the fingers and not the whole hand/arm. Plus, I tension the yarn by carrying it over/under certain fingers on my right hand (was taught that way right from the outset as a kid).
The first time I saw someone knit by dropping the R needle and doing a big wrap-around motion with the whole hand, I was baffled. It just seemed like such hard work! Goes to show, knitters come in all types and preferences.

[theravenhawke]

This has always been the way I knit. I had attempted to learn continental because everyone always said it was faster, but not only was it slower for me, I could never reliably keep a hold on the stitch. I suppose it was just what was comfortable. Truth be told, I had never seen anyone RELEASE the needle before.

I found that this is especially good when double knitting, with the exception that I hold one on my index finger and one on my middle finger.

[andrealitchfield]

I was taught to knit from a Scottish lady. She taught me the flicking method, and said that it was the Scottish style. I've been using this technique for 50+ years now, currently working on a project for a friend's baby boy.

[amyoinyokohama]

Yay! Glad to see somebody else who knits the way I do! Tensioning with the right hand, but *not* letting go of the needle and "throwing" the yarn around. I think I was initially taught that way by the instructor, but watching her doing her own knitting during class, I could tell that she herself did not knit in the way she was teaching us. I asked her about it, and she said it was just "practice". In trying to imitate her, my fingers just worked it out for themselves:-)

[mythreesons]

I was curious to see what flick knitting is so I started watching your video and realized that I already knit this way. I am a self taught knitter and this is the way I knit. I never paid attention to that before. Well, now I know what to call it.😁

[superboosher]

Thank you so much for making this video! After lots of practice I've managed to reteach myself to knit in this way and now I finish projects so much more quickly! By far the best "fast knitting" video on youtube.

[alesswhite]

My late mother knitted this way and taught me too. I've seen this method used a lot here in Australia- always thought it was the way all experienced knitters worked.

[verypinkknits]

@glyncor Holding the yarn in your left hand is called Continental or "Picking". Holding the yarn in your right hand is called American, English, or "Throwing".