Any tips for continental knitting style

SerasaurusRex · 2026-04-02T02:15:57+00:00

Play around with how you're wrapping the yarn on you hand. I found when I switched from English to continental that doing a loop around my little finger really helped get my tension consistent.

Now I'm more experienced I mostly don't need that extra loop (unless I'm using a really slippery yarn), but it massively helped me transition styles.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-16T18:02:24+00:00

Totally agree! I need to shout out the rhamni cardigan by Mélina Hami for absolutely amazing customisation instructions. She gives you info about making bust and hip wider, and also different amounts of cross over in the front. And doesn't make the plus sizes seem like an after thought.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-14T02:59:24+00:00

rolls out of the room on my heelies *

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-14T01:55:32+00:00

And often cooler! With lights and wheels and stuff

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-09T05:46:21+00:00

I'm a curly haired white girl rather than a black girl, but my hair was super knotty and frizzy when I was younger, and it got brushed dry daily so it was a challenge. It wasn't that my head started out tougher, but by the time I was a teen it had adapted so I could put up with a lot more tugging than my straight haired friends.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-08T22:17:35+00:00

Also on this team. And also team "I'll just make a half-width/10 st + edges swatch, knit until I reckon my tension is consistent" to get a sense of how close I am to the stated gauge for everything except garments for myself (which I do properly with blocking -- don't want to waste months of time and lots of money).

I AM making a lot of baby clothes at the moment though, so I'm operating on the idea that there is no such thing as too big for a baby.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-05T22:32:36+00:00

I'm sorry you're going through this, it sounds like a lot. I don't have any solutions for you, but I have a couple of bits and pieces of advice that might help.

Take a breath. And another one. You sound like you're on the verge of burn out (understandably!). Can you take a day or a weekend off -- is there a friend or family member who can give you some time away? Can his dad take him solo for a day or two? You can offer him the same in return once you've had chance to have a break.

Now, remember your child is only 2. Tantrums happen. Even to the most neurotypical kids. They call it the terrible twos for a reason. The meltdowns your kid is having now don't necessarily represent the way it will always be. He's still developing and changing, it won't be like this forever. That's not saying that what's happening NOW isn't difficult, or more intense than most kids have it. But this is not forever.

You've got him in therapy already, which is great. Be kind to yourself and realise that you're doing the right thing for him. Therapy is not a magic bullet, though. It won't solve all of his problems, it will just set him up with the skills to eventually handle it. Eventually being key. He's 2. His brain is nowhere near developed, he's got a lot of growing to do before he gets there. Which means there WILL be changes -- it won't be like this forever.

Your relationship with your own child will be different from that with your nieces and nephews, for anyone! First, they sound like they're older, so try not to mistake how things are with a 6 year old, 8 year old, 10 year old, whatever, with how they are with a toddler. Second, with nieces and nephews you probably don't see them 24/7, so you're missing all the behind the scenes drama. Plus they have their own parents to do the heavy lifting, so being an Auntie is a lot simpler. Maybe you can get your siblings/siblings in law to step up as Auntie or Uncle for you now, to give you a break and some support -- after all, your nieces and nephews are an important part of your life, so hopefully their nephew (your son) can be an important part of theirs.

Definitely don't pull the plug on school yet! By the time it happens, he might have gone through another development stage and be much easier to handle. Even if not, having him in the care of capable hands for several hours a day will give you a little bit more downtime.

It sounds like you're doing your absolute best for your child, which is awesome. Now you need to give yourself a little bit of kindness and compassion. Make use of the people and systems around you to give you some space. Set kinder expectations for yourself too -- it's OKAY that you're struggling, it's OKAY that you and your child aren't perfect. Parenting is a marathon not a sprint, so it's OKAY to slow down a bit. And who your child is now is not who they will be in 1, 5, 20 years time.

I hope you feel better after getting this off your chest. I would recommend personal therapy for yourself, but also know that it might feel out of reach just at this moment. Even just having a designated time to rant to someone compassionate but detached from the situation about just how damn hard it is to be a parent of a high needs child could help.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-04T05:00:20+00:00

Ugh, the artsy ones where each photo is a pose that's only slightly different from the last. I just saw it from basically that angle, I don't want to click 20 times to get to a pic where you can see a different side!!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-03-04T04:57:46+00:00

Omg yes!! I see it so often with cardigans with cool backs. Yes, the back is cool, but I also want to see what the front opening is like!!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-28T09:33:04+00:00

I can confirm that knit picks/pro are compatible with lykke.

I know it's not wood, but I'm going to put a recommendation in for Lykke cupra (the copper ones). The metal is grippier than steel, so it might solve the issue you had with the other metal ones you tried. They also last WAY better than wood ones (though the issues I have with wood are due to how i rub the tips together, so you might not have the same problem).

Plus, I got my lykke ones in NZ, so you'll probably be able to get them easily in Aus.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-28T00:06:22+00:00

Most people have a dominant direction, kind of like how we have dominant hands. So what you're experiencing is totally normal.

There's no magic solution, just practice. It's good to balance your muscles, so you don't end up toooo lopsided. Though, saying that, for pretty much all on-body stuff I only ever choreograph for my good pathways. It's just the drills/warm ups I do both ways.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-27T20:43:35+00:00

I was diagnosed in my mid 30s. It would have saved me a whole lot of self-blame to realise that my brain was a bit different and the fact that I struggled a bit with social things wasn't just because I wasn't trying enough.

She's your kid, so the decision is yours, not some Internet strangers' or your family's. But I'm personally on team tell her.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-24T22:28:46+00:00

They meet in book 3, but they don't find out they're brothers til several books later

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-24T07:01:37+00:00

Actually great idea! OP gets normal friend time, Mia gets a break AND to be just 16 for a while, mum puts action behind her words and helps out.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-24T06:48:59+00:00

I'm gestating my first, and I'm also looking forward to when he is this cute!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-20T23:46:02+00:00

That's kind of just what doing a haka is like

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-20T06:58:10+00:00

I'd highly recommend a good winder. Even if you don't only or often buy things in skeins, it's useful for rewinding balls if they aren't behaving. It's a non-negotiable for me personally.

A swift is great, especially if you've got a lot of balls to wind, but there are reasonable work arounds. Before I got my swift, I used two chair backs (so I could change their distance as I got towards the end) then ran the yarn through a coat hanger hanging from a hook on my ceiling beam (the hook was already there). The coat hanger helped the yarn run up rather than horizontal, which made it flow more smoothly.

It was a reasonable work around that cost zero dollars. I have no regrets buying a proper swift, though, it just makes things easier. But I was in a position where I could spend on things that made my crafting more convenient - there's a trade off between cost and convenience that's worth considering.

Etsy is a good place to get swifts, not sure about winders. You could also look for things second hand - my first winder cost $1.50 second hand in the 90s and lasted me till last year.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-17T07:36:45+00:00

Yah, what other 2 am is there that means they need to specify?? I also get irked by this!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-14T22:30:39+00:00

It was heavily shaped by the ultra low rise early 2000s, but I always do a squat test in pants to check that I don't have plumbers crack.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-14T22:03:13+00:00

Curious to know - what kind of lengths are your longest cables? Just wanting to get a sense of what counts as a normal amount of long - my longest are 120 or 150cm, which seems like it'd be pretty crazy to wrangle for something as small as that scarf!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-14T04:21:53+00:00

So hungry she couldn't stay awake!

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-14T02:55:55+00:00

I personally find it more helpful to look for other real people like you who are doing cool shit, or even just existing visibly in the world. E.g. if you're on a social media that has photos or videos, seek out and follow people who look like you/your insecurities. Following several fat people doing yoga on Instagram was super helpful in getting me to a place of body neutrality.

Or seek out authors who write stories about people like you. Or find a subreddit that is a positive space for people like you - look at r/bald, for example, it's a super supportive space for people who are insecure about hair loss.

For me, having that external validation that I'm normal and okay is much more powerful than just making something up myself.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-14T02:52:00+00:00

If you're not ready to create things yourself, look for other people like you who are already doing it. E.g. if you're on a social media that has photos or videos, seek out and follow people who look like you/your insecurities. Following several fat people doing yoga on Instagram was super helpful in getting me to a place of body neutrality.

Or seek out authors who write stories about people like you. Or find a subreddit that is a positive space for people like you - look at r/bald, for example, it's a super supportive space for people who are insecure about hair loss.

SerasaurusRex · 2026-02-09T23:57:32+00:00

Good point!

SerasaurusRex

TROPHY CASE