Chunky Yarn Hand Knitters Welcome!

Hand knitters are encouraged to use our patterns! Read on to learn a bit about what to expect when using a finger-knitting pattern for hand-knitting.

There is a lot of overlap between finger knitters and hand knitters. Both groups share an affinity for large gauge, chunky chenille yarn. Both have shunned traditional knitting with needles, in favour of a more hands-on approach to knitting, and the ability to make large-scale projects quickly. Knitting with jumbo yarn means finishing your knitting project in days, instead of weeks or months - we love that instant gratification!

Customers frequently reach out to me, asking whether my patterns will work for hand knitting. The short answer is: Yes, absolutely!

The techniques used in finger knitting are basically the same as hand knitting, with one major difference - loop yarn. Because finger knitters use yarn with prefabricated loops, they don't have to worry about gauge or making sure the size of their loops stays the same. But otherwise, the stitch techniques are the same.

Hand knitters need to know a few extra techniques, like how to create a starting row, but otherwise, knit and purl stitches are performed the same way, as well as many other stitches. So if you want to translate a finger-knitting pattern into hand-knitting, you can basically go right ahead, with a few small difference/adjustments.

Each of the blanket patterns for regular loop yarn finger knitting on this website include the following:

• Photo(s) of the finished project
• Details of recommended yarn and finished dimensions
• A stitch guide explaining how to perform each stitch type in the pattern 
• Row-by-row written instructions 
• A chart showing the placement/order of the different stitch types

Photos and Dimensions

As a hand knitter, because you will be using a different yarn and different technique, your finished project may look slightly different than the photos shown in the pattern, and the dimensions of your blanket may be impacted.

If you want to get a sense for the stitch gauge of the original pattern, I recommend consulting my blog post Loop Yarn Sizes: How do they compare? In it, I detail the differences in the loop sizes of the different brands of loop yarn I use in my patterns. 

Replicating the small gauge of the original pattern may be impractical, but comparing it to the size of hand loops you are comfortable with will help you estimate the finished size of your hand knitted project.

Stitch Guide

For stitches you are not familiar with, you may find it useful to refer to the stitch guides including with your pattern. Keep in mind that the guides are written for finger knitting, so the assumption is that you are working with pre-formed loops. Create your own loops as you normally would when hand knitting, and then follow the instructions from there!

Row-by-Row Instructions

Hand knitters should be able to follow the written instructions with no problems, with a few exceptions. For your starting row, while finger knitters can just count out the correct number of loops and dive in, hand knitters instead need to create their starting chain of loops from which to knit the rest of the rows of their blanket. 

This video tutorial by Lisette Bencomo shows you how to begin your starting row (as well as the techniques to hand knit a plain knit-stitch blanket).

 

Other than the starting row, the rest of the row-by-row instructions should be fairly straightforward to hand knitters.

Pattern Chart

Some knitters prefer to knit straight from a chart, rather than reading row-by-row instructions. Hand knitters should be able to use the charts included with each pattern with no problems. Just remember to refer to the Stitch Guide - each stitch description includes a symbol or letter for use as a legend for the chart.

Examples 

Here are some examples of my patterns as originally finger-knitted by me, vs. hand knitting by my customers:

Here's my Celtic Knot Lattice Blanket, finger-knitted with Alize Puffy loop yarn:

 

 

And here is the same pattern hand-knitted by my customer, Donna:

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A post shared by I Love My Blanket Knitting (@iloveblanket)

 

Here is my Chunky Celtic Cable Saxon Braid Blanket, finger-knitted with Bernat Alize Blanket-EZ yarn:

And here is the same pattern hand-knitted by customer @mbblankets:

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A post shared by MB Blankets and more! (@mbblankets)

 

If you are a hand-knitter and you're enticed by my patterns and would like to give them a try to see if they will work for you, I encourage you to check out my Free Patterns first, to 'test drive' them and determine if my pattern-writing style feels like a good fit for your abilities. Once you're ready to dive into paid patterns, certainly feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have! You can send me a message using my Contact Form.

Happy knitting!