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Hands Occupied

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Why I Learned to Knit Left-Handed

June 26, 2014 7 Comments

Hands Occupied in Let's Knit Magazine - July 2014 at Hands Occupied

A weird thing happened out of nowhere last fall. Weird, but super exciting! I got three emails in a span of two weeks from magazines wanting to work with Hands Occupied in 2014. Finally last weekend, months after those initial emails, I opened my mailbox to find a surprise. A hard copy of my first magazine feature in “the UK’s bestselling knit mag,” Let’s Knit!

Hands Occupied in Let's Knit Magazine - July 2014 at Hands Occupied

Part of being featured in their The Bookshelf series was guest posting over at their blog. The lovely Editor I worked with was very encouraging of my sharing something personal about knitting, and I think it really opened me up as a writer. Since I’m so proud of my first longer-form post on knitting, I though I’d share it here for you all to see. Read on for the piece I wrote for the Let’s Knit blog.

Why I Learned to Knit Left-Handed/I Thought I’d Never Knit Again

My knitting journey began almost 20 years ago. I turned 27 this summer, so yes, I was just a kid when my grandma sat my overly anxious 8-year-old self down to knit for the first time. I had a pair of pink metal knitting needles, and some variegated blue, white and pink yarn. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t really liking knitting at first. I tried here and there as a tween to wrestle with my insanely overtight first “scarf” but struggled to get the hang of it. Then high school rolled around and I finally fell in love.

My best friend and I were the only members of the class of 2005 who took our knitting on band trips and spent time between music rehearsals trading knitting tricks and beginner books.

Around this time, I started having pains in my right hand. I was playing my oboe, doing a lot of homework, and knitting to relax. At some point, your hands actually do need a rest (much to my adolescent disappointment). I was a 14-year-old who never stopped working with her hands, almost ever. Diagnosed with carpal tunnel and tendonitis, I was put in physical therapy, and my doctor recommended I drop something. School was non-negotiable and music was something I’d worked so hard to achieve. So I put down my needles.

A few years later, I found myself on a music scholarship struggling with my fourth or fifth bout of tendonitis and intermittent loss of feeling in my hand. It became clear that music was not a sustainable career option. At just 18, I think I realised that I wanted a slightly more well-rounded life than a career as a classical oboist would allow. (I was a very serious young lady back then!) My hands began to heal, my circle of friends grew, and the next Christmas I realised that I really, really missed knitting. More than I thought possible.

I dug out my tub of yarn and needles and got to work. My skills came back in no time. But then my tendonitis did too.

Why I Learned to Knit Left-Handed at handsoccupied.com

You can’t play the oboe left handed

I was faced with giving up a second creative love, and didn’t know what to do. Then I remembered my grandma, the woman who taught me to knit. She knew no left-handed knitters growing up in a rural area, so she was a leftie who’d been taught to knit right handed. If I was going to be able to keep knitting, I needed to become a primarily left-handed knitter, despite being right handed. My grandma had been doing it her whole life, why couldn’t I figure it out?

After much struggle and a little bit of a time spent practising, I mastered left-handed knitting. The hardest part was swallowing my pride and watching myself struggle (painfully slowly, no less) to make swatches and cables that’d grown used to whipping up alongside wine and my favourite movie.

I wonder what would have happened if left-handed oboes existed – I might have taken a hand-switching journey of an entirely more musical kind. You know what, though? I have a feeling everything worked out how it was meant to in the end.

Some tips for learning to knit with your non-dominant hand.

Unlike the oboe, you CAN knit left handed, right handed, or ambidextrously. Working ambidextrously is fun, especially if you’re working in short rows. It’s like the knitting version of eating corn on the cob, you work back and forth and back and forth without turning your work! Weird, right?

It was so frustrating to learn to knit from scratch again. I was at the point where I was designing some of my own patterns for myself, and very occasionally for my blog. I could cable, knit socks, sweaters, colourwork, complicated blankets. I was very happy with the level of knitting I’d achieved with my right hand, so starting over was very unpleasant at first. I sat down and swatched and swatched, and studied a lot of diagrams and YouTube videos demonstrating how your loops should sit on your needles when knitting left handed.

Here’s what doing a knit stitch left handed looks like. Notice how the loops slant to the left (instead of to the right) on the needles:

How to Knit Left Handed at handsoccupied.com

The biggest things I recommend taking the time to read about, watch videos of, and study when switching the hand you knit with are:

– how your loops should be laying on your needles
– how to cast on with your other hand
– how to do proper reductions with your other hand (all of the reductions you are accustomed to will be laying backwards if you do them working opposite handed)

I’d LOVE to hear what you think – particularly if you’ve ever had struggles that have impacted your ability to practice your craft or passion! For the longest time I thought I was alone, but I’m realizing many of us have dealt with a variety of struggles in our personal and creative lives. It’s great to know you’re not alone!

Filed Under: Knitting & Crochet, My Work Elsewhere Tagged With: carpal tunnel, features, first magazine, how to knit left handed, let's knit, let's knit magazine, magazines, tendonitis

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. alicia

    June 26, 2014 at 7:57 am

    Congrats on the features Heidi!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 27, 2014 at 2:16 pm

      Thanks, Alicia!

      Reply
      • Agmal

        October 14, 2014 at 5:43 pm

        Reminds of summer ice loleils! What’s the best stitch, needles and yarn for a blanket? I’ve tried to knit squares before with aran weight and they’re always too loose, I want something that’s going to be fairly substantial and actually last years without getting all out of shape.

        Reply
        • Heidi

          October 15, 2014 at 9:39 am

          Hi Agmal! Are you referring to the blanket featured in the magazine? If so, here is the post featuring the pattern, needles and yarn: https://handsoccupied.com/2014/03/simple-basketweave-baby-blanket/. Check that out and let me know if that answers your questions. :) -Heidi

          Reply
  2. Amy Anderson

    June 28, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    OMG I’m so proud of you! Congrats – and cheers to what will surely be the first of many magazine features :D

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 29, 2014 at 3:01 pm

      Thanks, Amy! :) :) :) :)

      Reply
  3. Jayna

    July 9, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    Woohoo! Congrats Heidi!

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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