“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

― Paulo Coelho

Hello there fellow knitter!

This is The Yarnist. The daily magazine that makes you love knitting the same way Cookie Monster loves cookies.

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Knitspiration

⏱️ These 3 things will make you a faster knitter

So, you want to be a faster knitter eh?

Tired of taking forever to make a scarf?

Worried you don't have time to knit a sweater because it'll take you FOR-EV-ER?

Fear not fellow knitter!

Today we're going to talk about 3 keys that will help you knit faster than Usain Bolt getting chased by a cheetah.

1. TEMPO

In music tempo is the speed interval of the beat. A song like Jolene by Dolly Parton is pretty upbeat with a Beats Per Minute (BPM) of 111. But slow that down some and you get something a lot more relaxed and poignant.

Knitters like relaxed. It's part of why we do what we do.

But if you want to increase your speed, the first thing is to practice increasing your tempo. That means making a concerted effort to knit more stitches per minute.

This can be challenging at first, because knitting quickly takes concentration and endurance. However if you keep working on increasing your knitting tempo, eventually you'll knit at a faster rate naturally.

Exercise: Make a swatch with 20 stitches in garter stitch. Time yourself knitting for one minute and see how many stitches you knit at a normal pace. Then time yourself again trying to improve your speed.

2. EFFICIENCY

In the book Cheaper By The Dozen describes how their parents, Frank and Lillian, ran a family of twelve kids like a factory. As a famous efficiency expert he had them listening to language records while using the bathroom, lather with soap in one movement, and taught them to button their shirts from the bottom up (to save 2 seconds).

He also created the precursor to the modern flow chart, and his wife is responsible for modern efficient kitchen layouts.

Frank Gilbert was an expert on minimizing movement to get the most done. We can apply the same methodology to knitting.

Knitting methods like Continental style reduce the distance your fingers need to move to make a stitch. So if you knit English style, switching to continental can improve your speed. And if you already knit continental, a method like Lever Knitting can produce even greater efficiency gains.

Exercise: Practice moving your fingers as little as possible while knitting. If you're an English knitter try Flicking, and if you're a Continental knitter try the Russian purl (just make sure to correct the stitch on the right side 😉)

3. CONSISTENCY

Here's the thing about getting more knitting finished...

Your speed isn't that important.

How often you knit is what matters.

The average sweater is going to take between 30-45 hours knit (depending on your yarn weight). That means you could finish in a week if you knit 8 hours a day. But if you only knit on it 4 hours a month, it could take a year.

Slow and steady knitting on a consistent basis is going to produce more than knitting fast ever will.

Make a habit of knitting every day and you'll find that your projects get finished before you know it.

Exercise: Track how long you knit each day for a week. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just note the start time and end time. Then add up how much time you spent knitting that week. Could you find another 15 minutes per day? How much more would you get knit if you did?

Go Further

I expanded on this topic during last year's Knit Happy Summit.

And if you're a Yarnist Insider I've posted the recording inside the vault.

But what do you think?

Which of these three are you going to work on first?

Hit reply and share your feedback. I can't respond to everyone, but we read every response!

Daily Stitch

Farrow Rib Stitch

A great way to practice getting faster at knitting is knitting a scarf with a simple knit/purl texture.

This stitch creates a lovely rib pattern that uses only knits and purls.

And since it's only two rows long, you'll have an easy time memorizing it so you can focus on your knitting speed and efficiency!

Insider Bonus: Needle for Speed

Did you know knitting used to be a competitive sport? In 1971 the seven fastest knitters in Australia sat down for a national knit-off, and a news crew was there to film

Deal of the Day

Knit A Merry Christmas (On Clearance) Holiday gifts go faster when the projects are small. This book has more than 20 of them, from gift-card holders and tree ornaments to a stocking and a mug rug, in easy and intermediate levels. Get This Deal

Knits & Giggles

Thanks for reading!

Before you go...below you'll find a few ways we can work together, and other bits & bobs:

Look at you reading all the way to the end!

Here's a bonus video with this incredible arial footage of sheep being herded. 🤯

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