Tips for left-handed child?

Macuhica:

Teach her as if she were rightie but in continental way of knitting.

Bummer! Forgot to mentioned that in my earlier post. I am German, so I knit continental style. (And this sounds so weird. Because for a very long time I thought there was only one way of knitting.)

 There are some great videos on YouTube.com that demonstrate left-handed knitting (also how to cast on and purl). That's how I taught myself to knit, and it seems to be working fine, although I've only done very simple projects. After reading some of the previous posts, now I'm not sure if I'm doing things right (if I should reverse the instructions), but I guess I'll figure it out if it becomes an issue.

JH

Rightie/continental worked for me, a leftie.  I learned to knit at 8, and my motor skills were abominable.  Even so, knitting came fairly easily.

Good luck, and I hope she has fun learning - and you teaching!

This may be a bit late, but I'll offer my method in case it helps.

I teach all of my elementary students to knit. When I teach a 'leftie' I sit cross-legged on the floor face-to-face with the student, close enough that our knees touch. I knit on my own piece while they knit on theirs- mirroring my movements exactly. We go very slowly at first, a bit of a dance, until they see what they are doing with the yarn. Then we can do a little technical tweaking if we need to.

Of course, I have already cast on for them to begin with- and once they have the hang of things they get a lesson in casting on. It's much easier this way and I've successfully taught at least 10 left-handed students this way.

I hope this is helpful!

Avery in CT

i'm so grateful that you know exactly what im going threw i have a 12 yr old son that wants to learn so bad but he's a lefty and its hard for me since im right handed so i will try it that way, i'm pretty sure he'll pick it up that way thank you!

I'm a leftie who knits right-handed. I learned from books and it was never uncomfortable for me. However, I also throw pottery, cut, bat, pitch, bowl, etc etc right-handed, so I'm never quite sure of which way will be the "right way" when I start something new.

Interestingly enough, I was shown how to crochet a few years ago and didn't like it at all. This past weekend I pulled up some videos online to try it again. Suddenly, it all made sense was quite easy compared to my first try at it... and then I realized I was watching a left-handed crochet video! I knit right-handed, crochet left-handed.

So, who knows!? I say start with right-handed and if that doesn't pan out, take a stab at left handed. I also have a friend who taught her (right-handed) 11 year old to knit left-handed because my friend is left-handed and wanted to be able to pass projects and help each other and she figured it was easier for the young one to learn a different way!

 I'm left-handed, and I knit right-handed. Mirroring was too hard.

I knit Continental. (The kind where the stitches go from the Left to the Right Needle) - The left hand does most of the work anyway, so it works for me!

Hope that helps!

I'd like to respectfully disagree with anyone who uses the terms "the right way". *smile*

I call myself a Sinister knitter because my knitting moves from my right needle to my left needle. If I don't change some patterns, I end up with a backwards version of the pattern. BUT....working *against* the natural pathways of the brain cause other struggles and challenges which can remove the enjoyability of the craft. (It's been determined that lefties forced to switch can have difficulties framing thoughts and doing some tasks as the brain tries to figure out *how* to do it.)

I've got a pamphlet put out by Coats & Clark in the 1960s (I'm guessing by the picture for the free pattern). It was offered in a "left-handed" and "right-handed" version. With that, I could sit and work on my own. When I was ready, I asked my mom to show my how her right-handed knitting compared to my Sinister knitting and the only mistake was how I was wrapping my yarn: it was creating a twisted stitch.

I've not been able to determine copyright on this pamphlet---I'd love to scan it and get it online to get the basics out there more easily. Also, check out http://www.leftoutknitter.com/ for an excellent DVD which will help any new knitter.

Thank you for trying to teach your daughter to work from *her* strengths. As an adult lefty, I personally am glad I learned this way. The few challenges which remain are minor, compared to making my hands work against their own inclinations.

Anne.