Learning to knit as a neurodivergent crocheter

I started leaning to Knit. I will list down a few things about my learning journey as I remember.

Learn to knit- do not have any needles, So try to learn to knit with giant yarn needles, sharpened hexagon pencils, bamboo skewers sharpened on both sides, Susan Bates finishing needles(arguably the worst choice of all.) Pencils and bamboo skewers fared best.

Learn to knit and purl English Style.

The person who taught English style says you can't knit fast this way in the next video.

Frantically look for the magical Continental Knitting style.

Learn to knit Continental

Realise purling is way harder than I thought

Breakthrough: Use my thumb instead of index/ middle finger to push yarn away while purling. Couldn't tension this quite right, but at least this was working.

learn to knit in the round. After all, that's why I picked up knitting. To make tiny cute toys with the Stockinette stitch.

Knit in the round with magic circle method

Try to figure out knitting with Double Pointed Needles(DPNs)because the smallest size I had was DPN 2.5mm. I needed 2.25mm needles but I couldn't find that anywhere.

Apart from the Prymm needles, everything else that was available was the metal needle with plastic/ horrid steel cable. They were slippery and annoying and fiddly, but not unusable.

Learn to knit flat and seam the joins. Ugh why work in the round then.

why didn't anyone teach me the long tail cast on. why is it the most commonly used one? Learn long tail cast on.

Try the monkey pattern from Knitting Teeny Tiny mochi mochi. Learnt increases and decrease stitches - K2tog( knit two together), Kfb(Knit through Front and back loops)

Attempting Colorwork Knitting. A new nightmare begins

I pick a three color patterns, using only two colors in any given row.

I realise I have to learn a new way to purl because the thumb thing wasn't working. Enter Norwegian Purl. Was easier than I thought.

I did not realise that I had to change up the direction of the pattern while knitting the colorwork in a flat knit, unlike in a round. I needed to learn how to HOLD THE yarn. How to carry the long strands in the back when I didn't need yarn of that color of a few stitches. Took a lot of searching. Finally I knit a row.

Then came the purl stitch. Everything had to be done the opposite way/ differently for this side. Looked up new videos only to find that NO ONE WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS STEP. Then I realised colorwork knitting almost exclusively is done in the round. SO you don't need to worry much about the purl side, if you're working the stockinette stitch.

If you don't catch floats, they show up on the right side of your knitting in weird ways. Color dominance is a thinga nd you must follow it for every project

Increasingly frustrating to even LOOK for colorwork tutorials. It has to tick all the boxes - in continetal style. not one hand continental and the other hand english. Hold both yarns in one(left hand). Had to be someone who knows how color dominance works. Has to talk about how to catch floats. On the knit AND purl side. example search term - stranded colorwork knitting tutorial flat/ in the round / continental style/ how to catch floats. If your head hasn't spun yet fe

Marco asks me to knit a sock. I can't think about anything until I figure out colorwork.

I start looking up sock tutorials because how I can I resist a challenge.

I don't want to make a swatch. I don't want to measure the gauge, I don't want to wash my swatch in a washing machine. Two days of break from knitting later, I finally muster enough energy to make a swatch. A quarter of the way through, I confess to A that I can't believe I have to wait to days to even start knitting a sock. A says to throw everything to the wind and just start knitting. I turn the tiny swatch piece into a beanie for a finger and make a pom pom for the head and I hate it. So, three tries later, I decide to just give up and use the best pompom I had so far.

I take a break for one more day.

Listen to you tube tutorials for a whole day

Decide if I want to start socks- toe up or cuff up, one at a time or two at a time, or concurrently work two socks. Learn about second sock syndrome.

I do some calculation and start casting on for socks. 69 stitches. midway, I mess up and do only one purl instead of two in my k2p2 ribbing pattern. It's so difficult to tink stitches on the cast on row. TINKED THE ENTIRE PROJECT. The knit version of 'this TANKED'.

Somewhere in the middle I decide to make a colorwork ring, learnt to make a stable base by using a doubled up yarn to make the cast on stitch. I have by now forgotten how to knit int the round. My work ends up with half a side with purled stitches and half a side with knit stitches.

Learn about binding off. I LOATHE BINDING OFF.

At this point, I'm not sure what I want to do. I do know I want to make tiny colorwork dresses/ rings because I cant handle a large project, but I can certainly work with a miniature project.

Will I ever knit a sock? Stay tuned to find out.

There's so much more about this journey that I may have already repressed but oh well.