Comments on: Cool New Idea for Portuguese Knitting Pin/Hook: Make a Knitting Pendant

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:27:54 +0000

Portuguese knitting is pretty fast as it is. When you get the rhythm of it you can do a stitch a second or more, depending on your pattern. There are a few techniques that can speed things up. One is for your transitions between knit and purl stitches. Going from knit to purl, just after you pull the new loop through old loop and BEFORE you pull the old loop off the left needle, while the right needle is near the left thumb, flick the yarn over it so that it will already be under the right needle in the correct position for the purl stitch you are about to do. You can do the same going from purl to knit, but its a bit different.

Speed in Portuguese knitting is largely your own natural coordination and your familiarity with the stitch pattern you are doing. The longer you do it the faster you will get. Personally, I’m not usually too concerned for speed, but I can go relatively fast.

I feel the most important tip in this style is to keep the working yarn as loose as possible, especially for knit stitches. I just keep it tight enough to help me pull the loops, then relax the tension. You really don’t want much or any “twang” when flicking the yarn over the needle. Knit stitches tend to be noticeably tighter in Portuguese knitting, and that can be visible in your patterns.

By: Pattie

Pattie — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:41:56 +0000

Great ideas for the pin! Do you have any hints for speeding up the Portugese knitting? I have seen speed knitting demos using Continental, but not for Portugese.
Thanks

By: Trish

Trish — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:26:31 +0000

Have just learned Portuguese style of knitting, and loved the pendant idea. I made one with a lobster claw clasp for the pendant. They are available everywhere and in many sizes and weights, too.

By: Sue Brayman

Sue Brayman — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:36:47 +0000

Hi Eric-Thanks for the great idea about the knitting pendant. Can’t wait to try it. I LOVE the Portuguese style of knitting and would enjoy making a pendant that I can wear as jewelry. What fun!

By: Welcome to New Knitters, All Knitters, Male Knitters, and BTW, Try Portuguese Knitting

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:33:37 +0000

[...] Again, Portuguese style knitting is VERY easy to learn. It’s easy to control the yarn, and purling is so easy it’s a sin. You work with the yarn either around the back of your neck, or over a pin near your left shoulder, or with the knitting pendant I developed that helps a lot to correct tension issues and protect your clothes from pin holes. Check out the article on the knitting pendant below. [...]

By: seni

seni — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:41:21 +0000

Hi Eric,

I’m portuguese and knit using the portuguese knitting style wearing a pin near my shoulder instead of the yarn around my neck (the most common way in PK). I just found this way very relaxing and fast, the tension is controled and everything is smooth. Loved your tips about pendants, what a great idea and perfect for two color knitting! Thank you for sharing

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:38:14 +0000

Thanks for your great comment.

For your pendant, yes any hook will work but be sure you have a proper weight pendant with the paper clip – or whatever – and use a 24 inch cord around your neck. I found last night that these really matter. If you are using a pendant and the knits are too tight then the pendant is too heavy. Try several small pendant like things that you can add or remove to get the right weight. Don’t pull so much that the pendant cord is tight, either. It should drop just a bit from 180 degrees so it will bounce a little when you flick the yarn over the needle tip. Too heavy a pendant will bounce too hard and tighten up the loops. Sorry it’s not so straight forward, but it’s worth it to figure it out.

By: Diane K.

Diane K. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:23:25 +0000

Thanks for the great tip, Eric. I just starting using this method and since I have long hair was looking for one of those knitting pin thingamabobs. I have the pendant, but didn’t have a ‘J’ hook or sock hanger handy (yes, I rummaged through my husband’s sock drawer – shame on me!), so I improvised with a paper clip and so far it’s working great. Still knitting too tight, but I figure I’ll loosen up once I’m more comfortable with this method.

Again, thanks for this tip and all the others you’ve written.
Diane