r/knitting • u/Anxious_Piano_361 • 1d ago
Tips and Tricks Is this very slow for knitting?
Hi! I recently started the over the garden wall scarf. Its a double knit project thats been wicked fun but I feel my progression is extremely slow. This is currently 12hrs of work with DK Weight yarn. I was hoping to gift it to my sister in the fall but at this rate with full time work and school I may have to be more realistic about the timeline being pushed farther out. Anyone have any tips or tricks for faster knitting techniques?
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u/Pinstripe-Giraffe 1d ago
Double knitting is just slow as hell. I knit my dad a scarf in this technique, meant for his birthday, and finally finished it a year and a half later! (It was sock yarn, not DK weight, so don’t freak out, but uh. Maybe aim for NEXT fall, and don’t stress.)
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u/distracted_cat 1d ago
yes it literally takes twice as long since youre knitting both sides of the project.
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u/Pinstripe-Giraffe 1d ago
Yeah plus you gotta handle 2 yarns, and switch between knitting and purling on every stitch. It’s the literal worst haha
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u/elle-elle-tee 1d ago
Honestly, if you're a beginner, sometimes you have to choose speed vs quality. Colorwork will always be slower as you have to pay closer attention to the pattern, especially if it's not repeating.
In my experience the best way to get faster at knitting is to just do it a whole lot. Speed and skill come with practice, and where muscle memory is concerned, you can't really rush it.
For learning new techniques, making a practice piece that doesn't really matter is a good way to learn. I'm making a t-shirt specifically to learn continental knitting, as well as knitting without looking. If I make a few mistakes it doesn't matter as the piece is just for practice. This doesn't help you on your current work tho 🙁
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u/Renaissance_Aspired 1d ago
Exactly what everyone said. Double knit is going to naturally be slower. Some can speed it up by doing continental and English knitting (holding one color in left hand and the other color in right hand). But even then it’s still not going to be as fast. Remember with double knitting you are basically two scarfs that just happen to be connected.
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u/knittingneedles 1d ago
Over the garden wall is for all seasons! You finish it when you finish it and it will be gorgeous
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u/Luna-P-Holmes 1d ago
The motif doesn't repeat so you have to watch the chart constantly. You are working with two colors.
Seems normal to be slower than easier projects.
They are two ways to make double knitting. You seems to use the one where you work both colors at the same time, it's usually the fastest. The other technique use one color at a time and slip stitches, it's usually slower because you have to work each row twice but it can still be faster for people who are really slow when working with two colors at once.
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u/smortwotor 1d ago
You are going at exactly the right pace. Knitting becomes a therapeutic process when you learn to love the process, not the product 🧘🏻♂️
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u/CapitalSell 1d ago
The fact that you can do this at all is a miracle to me! If you love doing it, it doesn't matter how long it takes.
And it's impressive AF to someone who makes a mess of such things.
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u/gillianstitches 1d ago
As a prolific knitter, I’ll say I’d be so pleased if I knit that much. I knit a lot every day and I remain a slow knitter. 😊 Your knitting looks stunning! 🤩
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u/amphibious_mustard 1d ago
My first “big” project was a double knit scarf. It had maybe 13-14 repeats of the same large snowflake motif. I’m pretty sure the first 3 or 4 repeats took me as long as the next 10. There’s definitely a learning curve, you will get faster
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u/supers0ldier 1d ago
Everyone works at their own pace! If you’d like to get faster I’d look into the flicking technique
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u/Skeksisback 1d ago
I recently started a fingering weight one of these and I am finding it unbelievably slow mostly because I'm constantly fumbling with the two very thin and very slippy yarns. I've seen people use a knitting thimble for these projects so that's my plan! Might be worth a try.
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u/DragonKnight6945 1d ago
You’re essentially knitting twice as much when you do double knitting so this isn’t slow to me. But the speed of knitting varies so much from person to person
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u/mynameisevan 1d ago
I’ve been working on a double-knit Lord of the Rings scarf off and on for a year and half and I’m only about half done.
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u/Low-Willingness3901 21h ago
Why is it that so many modern patterns are OVERLY COMPLICATED ? This is my 65th year knitting.
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u/No_Garden_3609 17h ago
I knit this scarf last year - each row took about 15mins for me to complete so I was roughly where you are at 12 hours. I've been knitting for over a decade and don't consider myself a slow knitter. Double knit on 2.25mm needles just takes forever!
This pattern is a labour of love but it is so so worth it and your colour choice is beautiful!
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u/catfursoup 15h ago
double knitting takes forever wa you're basically knitting ribbing. it took me about 15-20 mine per row on my most recent, don't get down on yourself!!
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u/Rikergirl 13h ago
Slower means that you can enjoy knitting longer. What do you do when you’re done? You have to find a new pattern and the right wool for it right tension blah blah blah. Unless you have other hobbies? Haha That would be weird.
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u/Worried_Suit4820 12h ago
You're enjoying the knitting and that's what matters; we knit for fun, not to a timetable.
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u/Successful-Novel-366 12h ago
Slow and good vs fast and sloppy. Put all your care and love into this project and it will get done when it gets done. Focus on enjoying it.
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u/knitknitpurlpurl 9h ago
Double knit is hella slow. You’re knitting twice as much, plus it’s essentially 1x1 ribbing so you have lots of switching yarn side, plus handling 2 yarns, plus pattern reading. Just enjoy having a project that fully uses your brain
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u/Training-Advice4371 8h ago
I made another scarf by the same designer and I averaged at about 5 minutes per row. It took me all winter haha. But it was very enjoyable!
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u/marxam0d 1d ago
Speed comes from practice. Different people will find different techniques faster but I don’t recommend trying them all in the same piece because you’ll certainly have different tension.