This will also help you understand what it means in any instructions when you are told to “knit into the back of the loop,” which is a rather hazy instruction if you ask me.

While knitting backwards is certainly a challenge to one’s skills I think Portuguese style may not be the best choice for it. Actually, I don’t think knitting backwards and forwards is a good idea anyway, as I will explain later, unless you feel it is the best solution for fair isle knitting that can’t be done circularly. Your knitting will be slower and again, and some stitches may not work. If you are just doing a flat fair isle piece that will be attached to other pieces, then it may work out. I haven’t tried knitting backward with any other style and I’m pretty comfortable turning the work. Why do you want to knit backward? If your concern is the difference in purl and knit tension in Portuguese kitting then consider using the pendant I invented or in focusing on making your knits looser. One thing I’m discovering is that when I knit a stitch, if I make sure to release most of the tension on the yarn except when pulling the loop then my knit stitches are looser. I can keep the “twang” in the yarn for purl stitches and they are fine, but if my knits “twang” much they are tight. Use just a minimum of tension on a knit to keep the yarn on the needle tip, then loosen up between each flick-and-pull. I’ve also gotten the knack of Continental style and sometimes use that as its tension is less varied. If I want an expanse of tight knit stitches I use Portuguese with normal twangy tension.

So, because I’m very analytical and a compulsive teacher/helper, and because this is a good lesson in understanding the dynamics of knitting, here goes…

To preface what follows I will pre-summarize the key elements.
1.    The orientation of the loop you are about to work will determine which leg of the loop you will work around – front or back – and that will determine whether you twist that stitch or not. Always work around the leg nearest the needle tip to avoid twisting.
2.    The direction you wrap the yarn around the working needle will determine the orientation of the loop you produce – angled left or right. Counterclockwise is “normal”, making a loop angled to the left. Always be consistent or you will get a mix of orientations. The goal of this article is to minimize compensations and prevent twists, so we aim to always make left-angled loops.
3.    What’s critical is not to twist the loop being worked. If you wrap the “wrong” way, whether by accident or preference, you can always manually turn the new loop or compensate for it being oriented “abnormally” – angled to the right – with working around the back leg

LOOP ANATOMY
Firstly, there’s a difference between the front of the loop and the front of the stitch. The front of the stitch is what will face front when the loop is no longer on the needle. In a loop that is angled to the right /// the right side of the loop is the front of the stitch and the left side is the back of the stitch. This is because when worked that loop will hang free in the row below the new stitch you just made into it and the side angled toward you most when it was on the needle will turn parallel to the surface of the fabric and become truly front facing. In a loop that is angled to the left \\\ the same applies. Knit loops come out the front of the stitch and purl loops go out the back of the stitch.

But again, the back of the stitch is not the same as the back of the loop. The back of the loop is the strand of yarn on the far side of the needle. I would prefer to call it the back leg of the loop. You read “knit through the back of the loop.” This doesn’t always explain what to do in every case, so I’ll say right now it’s important to be aware of the angle of the loop, as this will determine how you make the stitch, the angle of the resulting loop, and the twist or non-twist of the loop you worked it into.

An illustration of my loop and stitch anatomy terms

First be sure to distinguish between knitting into the back loop and purling into the back loop. Remember that a knit is where the loop is pulled forward and in a purl the loop is pulled away from you.

When knitting forwards, if your loops all angle to the left —\\\\\— knitting or purling into the back of the loop will twist the stitch you are working into. To prevent twisting when working Portuguese style backwards you must purl by inserting the needle into the back side of the stitch – which is the side away from the needle tip toward the front, and is in effect on the right side of the back leg of the loop. The needle is ready to be wrapped and to then pull the loop away from you. Conversely, you do a knit stitch by inserting the needle through the back of the loop from the side toward the needle tip and out the back, wrap it there and pull the loop toward you. in both cases you are working around the back leg of the loop rather than around the front leg. This is explained below.

WHICH WAY DO YOUR LOOPS TURN? YARN WRAP DIRECTION IS IMPORTANT
I’m using the marks —\\\\\— and —/////— to illustrate the loops on your needles when viewed from above. To make it easy to remember how they are produced think of the slashes as a hand on a clock. In the slashes leaning with the top to the left think of the clock hand moving in that direction – counterclockwise, and where the slash leans to the right think of the clock hand moving in that direction – clockwise around the needle tip. Clockwise and counterclockwise are important in that it is the direction you wrap the yarn that produces this orientation of the loop on the needle. If you observe your normal forward work in Portuguese knitting you see that when you flick the yarn over the right needle it is in effect wrapping counterclockwise.

This is the same direction you wrap with other styles of knitting except Eastern European knitting where all your loops are turned to the right —/////— and in EEK you always wrap clockwise. With counterclockwise wrapping you get left facing loops —\\\\\—. If you wrap clockwise, as in most truly mirror image knitting, you get right facing loops —/////— and are prone to get complications if you knit backwards and forwards together. Be aware that if you mix your wrapping directions when knitting backwards you will get a mix of angles for your loops — ///\\///\\///\\– and a lot more effort sorting it out later. If that happens a simple solution is to just manually turn the faulty loop from right —/////— to the left —\\\\\— before working into it. This would substitute for any of the corrections such as working in the back of the loop to avoid twisting stitches when working forwards.

TWISTING AND NOT TWISTING
Twisted stitches occur when you knit around the loop leg that is away from the needle tip, thus twisting the loop you are working into. Again, in most knitting the loops have their far side legs to the left and the near side legs to the right —\\\\\—. When you turn the work they stay oriented the same way. If you are knitting “backward” from left to right without turning the work you are heading into the “wrong” side of the loops and you have to work around back leg instead, which should be closest to the needle tip, rather than the leg on your side of the right needle, as you would expect to with Portuguese style knitting where you typically have your working needle always in front of the releasing needle, but that would twist them. You can’t just knit in reverse, as if a mirror image. You have to pay attention to the turn of the loops you are working into and the direction you are pulling or pushing new loops.

KNITTING BACKWARDS
In Portuguese style this means you have to knit backwards a bit differently. Before we begin the how to, remember that old stitches are twisted by working around the wrong leg of the loop (the one away from the needle tip), and new loops are oriented the wrong way by wrapping the yarn the wrong way for how you want them to be oriented. Again, wrap counterclockwise to angle them to the left, clockwise will angle them to the right and you don’t want that.

If you knit exclusively left-handed and turn your work then all your loops will be turned to the right (–/////–) anyway, and you don’t need any corrections and none of your stitches will be twisted unless you make them that way deliberately. It’s novel to knit backwards and forwards, but probably not a fantastic idea as it might make certain stitches or patterns harder to do. You may have to rethink decreases, increases, yarnovers and a lot of other things you encounter in various knitting projects.

LOOPS: TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT WHILE KNITTING BACKWARDS
Left-angled loops: These are the “good loops”. When working backwards (or forwards), if you wrap the yarn counterclockwise around the left tip your resulting loops will all be oriented normally like with forward stitches – near side right, far side left —\\\\\—  and you won’t have to knit into the back of the loops when going forward. But don’t get too excited: this is slightly clumsy to do and it seems the advantages of Portuguese style knitting are diminished in backward knitting.

Right-angled loops: These are the bad loops. When working backwards it’s a bit easier to wrap the yarn clockwise around the left needle tip but your resulting loops will all be oriented to the right —/////— the reverse of the normal forward knitting, BUT you will have to knit and purl into the back of the loops when going forward again to avoid twisting. Unfortunately, knitting into the back of the loops while knitting forwards can complicate stitch patterns, and Portuguese style is not at its best this way either. Or, again, you could just take the extra step of manually turning the loops to the left before you work them going forward. Or just don’t wrap clockwise. It causes too much trouble.

HOW TO DO IT WITH LEFT-ANGLED LOOPS —\\\\\—

BACKWARD KNIT: Stick the needle in the left side (the front) of the stitch on the right needle, out the back, maneuver the working yarn to be behind the right needle, wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a right facing loop (requires the use of another finger to hold the yarn down to the right while pulling), then pull through.

BACKWARD PURL: To purl backwards without twisting your worked stitch you need to insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right of the back (leg) of the loop, i.e. the leg nearest the needle tip – and wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a left-facing loop, then push the loop out the back.

Summary: The straightforward way to knit Portuguese style backwards and not get twisted stitches or right-turned loops or have to do complicated compensations when knitting forward.

1.    Always knit or purl around the loop leg nearest the tip of the needle holding the loops you are about to work in. Knitting backwards it will be the leg on the other side of the needle, knitting forward it will be the leg on your side – if your loops are angled to the left —\\\\\—.
2.    Always wrap your yarn counterclockwise to get left-angled loops as is normal for forward knitting.
3.    Do a backwards Portuguese knit stitch as follows, from left to right: a. have the yarn over the top of the left needle; b. lift the working yarn with the tip of the right needle; c. insert the left needle into the left side (front) of the stitch on the right needle, but toward and out the back, coming out on the far side of the right needle, not on your side of it; d. use your index finger on your right hand to pull the working yarn down to the right to in effect wrap it counterclockwise around the tip of the left needle; e. pull the loop through to the front.
4.    Do a backwards purl stitch as follows, from left to right: a. with the yarn under the left needle; b. insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right side of the loop leg (nearest the needle tip) and out the front toward you; c. flick the yarn counterclockwise around the left needle tip; d. push it out the back again.
5.    All your newly created loops accumulating on the left needle will have the leg nearest you also nearest the needle tip, —\\\\\—, which is normal for forward knitting. When you knit forward you won’t have to do anything special.

So there you have it. The science of loops and twists.

I need a drink. Unfortunately, I don’t drink.

I tried it with my Portuguese knitting pendant that I invented, but with two hooks, and it worked great. No slowdown, just as fast as if I were doing just the one strand Portuguese style, and I found it was as easy to do right side and wrong side. I had seen another video on fair isle for socks using two knitting pins, but I think it was also socks and was done wrong side only…? I was afraid the yarn would tangle or something because i was turning the work but it took care of itself and I had no problems.

Anyway, I was so excited I went and bought a web cam so I can do a video of it. I will do it this weekend and post it here via youtube, so make a note to come back!

Now I need a fair isle project. I think I’ll go for a vest of some sort.

I’m an Aries. We are starters. The beginning is all important to us. Sometimes it is more important than anything that comes after the beginning, which is why completing things is a challenge. Oddly enough, we are also into speed and can be impatient. Patience and focus are important lessons for me. I’ve tended to be impatient with myself for not completing what I’ve started. So knitting is an interesting situation for me. It’s challenging me to understand my process, to understand the process that is learning, as well as the process of knitting itself.

There is a book that has had a big impact on me, by the title The Practicing Mind, by Thomas M. Sterner. I recommend it to anyone who wants to accomplish more in their lives, to be more at peace, and to whoever wants to learn or develop him- or herself in some way. One thing it made me aware of is the fact that everything you take on to add to your life and to your being as a person, such as through learning, is a process of development, discovery and practicing. Knitting has been more of these things than I expected, and a pathway of discovery.

Like I said, I have little to show for the months I’ve been playing with yarn, except for a growing readiness to knit. In exploring the options I’ve discovered which of the style of knitting are best suited to my needs, I’ve learned about the different needles and methods of working on different kinds of articles, and I’ve done a bit of invention in the form of the Portuguese knitting pendant I developed. And even that has been a week plus of discovery.

With the knitting pendant I presented the idea on ravelry.com and here, and then proceeded to discover more factors that make it work better, including the amount of weight, the length of the cord and how tight you keep the angle of the yarn. I kind of regretted that so many (about 200 visitors to my blog since then) have missed the latest important discovery about making it work right (#4), but what can I do. Word will get around. It reminds me to see and allow the unfolding of things over time. This includes my knitting projects.

One of the first things I decided to knit was the red wool scarf you see in the banner graphic on this site (if I haven’t changed it already). This project has gone through about eight restarts. I’ve changed the pattern, changed the width, changed the width again, changed the starting border, changed the needle size, frogged due to a disastrous stitch drop – couldn’t be fixed in this complicated lace-and-cable pattern – change the border again, forgot where I was and had to start over, and a few other reasons. Poor thing, but I know once I get a few inches in I will keep going. Right now I just have three rows – and I’m not sure I like them! It’s all part of a learning process. Argh.

And the socks. I’m learning, learning, learning. How do I want to do them? I’ve pretty much decided on toe up, but the yarn I was going to use isn’t soft enough so I’m going to have to order something. And wait until I get the kilt hose book I ordered yesterday. And figure out what I want to do with all the options it offers me.

Some day I won’t be just a beginner. I’ll be a completer. In fact, as harbinger of that, the pendant I chose for my first knitting pendant is the rune Jera, which means completion. A good vibe to be present at the beginning.

Just don’t count on any knitted gifts for Christmas.

(By the way, tell your friends about #4)

The process is what happens between the beginning and completion.

So today I tried that myself and it works great. Maybe better than a regular pin in that the chain I’m using has a set of beads on it that give it a little weight. So with the yarn on the sock hanger (you could use a j-hook or something more decorative, even make it a jewelry-like pendant) it kind of is suspended in the air, and hangs there on the weight of the beads as I knit. It seems to keep a nice, light tension on the working yarn.

I’ve seen Andrea on her DVD where you can hear the yarn vibrate almost like a guitar string as she flips it with her thumb. I get that as well, but when I knit with a hook or pin sitting in a fixed position on my shirt or vest there is no give or springiness to keep tension on the yarn in a flexible, self-adjusting way. I have to keep the work at the right distance and watch how I’m keeping my yarn tensioned with my right hand and arms. With the hook on a chain with beads for a little weight the tension is “managed” nicely for me by the springiness in the setup.

The one problem I’ve had with Portuguese style is that my knit stitches were always rather tight. I would have to deliberately pull the loops I was creating a bit more to open them up as I formed them. THIS HAS BEEN SOLVED by this trick with the hook on a weighted chain. I just did a few rounds on my speed practice swatch and find that now I must be sure I don’t give an extra pull when making a knit stitch or it’s too loose. Now my knit and purl stitches are all evenly tensioned and I can slide my stitches on my needles. I feel normal now. See #4 below on how to change the tension.

Here’s a picture of my first setup:

And it occurs to me that with a sock hanger you could use the second hook for a second color for color work knitting. And they are cheap! Not elegant, but cheap.

That said, I fashioned one that is more wearable as a pendant/necklace (see below). The possibliites are endless but the weight of the pendant is important, I find (see below). You could do one with a nice sterling j-hook and some cool beads on either side, or in anticipation of two color work, two hooks with beads keeping them apart.

There are a lot of nice j-hooks at www.silverenchantments.com and other places.

By the way, last night I was knitting with the sock hanger in the placket opening of my golf shirt. Turns out I wore the shirt to bed and woke up with the hanger still in place! I also accidentally wore it out to a restaurant. Oops. I think the pendant hooks necklace will be a lot less strange looking.

Notes added late 9-21-09:

More on the Portuguese knitting pendant idea:

A great thing about the knitting pendant is that as long as the pendant or beads are kept hanging in mid-air the tension on the yarn and your stitches is kept pretty much constant. I also find that the little bit of bounce from when you flick the yarn over the needle helps to advance the working yarn as you knit.

If you want something more elegant you can easily make a pendant or add a j-hook to something you have on a chain. I found an old rune pendant that I have and added a j-hook that I bought at Michael’s. It weighs 14 grams – I have a small digital fisherman’s scale I use for weighing balls of yarn. The beaded necklace you saw with the sock hanger on weighs 15 grams.

Here’s the one I made with a metal pendant:

The rune on the pendant means "completion" - good for knitting.

IMPORTANT: You can experiment and see what weight produces the best tension for you. I tried a pendant weighing thirty grams and found it made my knit stitch tension to tight again. Twenty grams also made knit stitches tighter than I like on bamboo with acrylic yarn but might be okay on metal needles.

After more research I’ve found the critical elements are:

1. Pendant weight of about 15 grams. Mine is 14 grams.

2. Chain/cord length of 24 inches.

3. When knitting, keep the angle between the cord and your yarn between about 150 degrees and 170 degrees, meaning its closer to a flat angle as you work so the weight of the pendant can have full effect and “bounce”. This keeps your loops on your needle tips and draws the loops on the needles closed.

UPDATE:

4. If your resulting tension is too tight, as it tends to be for me on knit stitches, allow the pendant to be closer to your chest (let it hang lower so the angle is smaller, more toward 90-120 degrees). This will reduce the pull on the yarn. If your tension is too loose, keep the pendant higher in the air and this will effectively increase the pull a little to tighten up the loops. Totally adjustable tension!

Remember that this tool will aid you in moderating your tension. For knit stitches you will allow the pendant to hang a bit lower, and that will loosen them up. For purl stitches you would pull out a bit more to lift the pendant and increase the relative tension a tiny bit over the knit stitch. With mixed stitches it doesn’t seem to matter. So the pendant won’t fix your tension without a little involvement from you. It gives you a way to moderate it. If the yarn is on a pin or around your neck you don’t have much range to apply more or less tension. The pendant acts like a spring so you can “cushion” your tension on the knit stitches in particular. Pulling it out more on the purl side will make it more akin to a pin, using up the springiness. Relaxing the pendant will reduce the tension on the knit stitches. Practice before you do any serious project.

On that note you might want to make a pendant set with easily removed charms or such so you can vary the weight as you experiment to find the right weight. If you don’t have a digital scale note that for reference a USA nickel weighs approximately five grams.

And here is my version for stranded knitting:

This is what I made for fair isle work.

I don’t have the exact weight of the pendant but it felt about the same as my single strand version. Worked great. Those are carnelian beads. If you make one with such beads be aware that with all the bouncing that over time the wire cord you use will wear through and the strand is likely to break, so this is not necessarily the best design unless you want to periodically restring your necklace to prevent surprises.

Added 10-13-09: And here’s a budget version you can make. I bought a pair of flipflops to day and they came on this plastic clip. It could be used in a similar way. Just hang it on a chain or string with a loop to keep it centered. You will need to add some weight though, as this is very light. Here’s the pic:

Flip-flop sandal clip from store.

(May I suggest you subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog as often update it with new discoveries, as I have above in this post about the Portuguese knitting pendant.)

- Eric

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Especially for anyone who thinks knitting is hard, please try the Portuguese knitting method. It’s easy to master and fast. When I get going I can do a stitch a second. I have a few posts here about it under Techniques, but no basic instructions, so check out the youtube videos.

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. I also knit Continental style and Eastern European Knitting style depending on my mood or need, but I always switch to Portuguese style for runs of purl stitches.

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.

It’s called Portuguese style in the USA but it is known across the Mediterranean. I’ve heard the style is used in parts of Italy, Greece, Albania and Turkey as well as many parts of central and South America such as Peru and Brasil where it was brought by the Portuguese. If you know where else it is used and what the style is called there, please comment this post!

Take a look at the links in the Information list on the right, further down the page. There are some great videos on youtube, and there are DVDs available as well, including one devoted to socks, both by Andrea Wong. The DVDs go into greater specifics for various situations you may run into.

Here’s a video to give you a quick intro to Portuguese style:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfYS9_t27k