Hand knitting

Hand knitting is a form of knitting, in which the knitted fabric is produced by hand using needles.

Flat knitting uses two straight needles to make generally two-dimensional (flat) pieces. Flat knitting is usually used to knit flat pieces like scarves, blankets, afghans, and the backs, fronts and arms of sweaters (pullovers).

In flat knitting, generally stockinette stitch, the hand-knitter knits from right-to-left on one side of the fabric, turns the work (over), and then purls right-to-left back to the starting position. Usually the smooth side of the fabric is considered the right side, the one facing outwards for viewing; and the side that faces inwards, towards the body, the ridged side, is known as the wrong side. Thus, flat knitting involves knitting each row on the right side, then purling each row on the wrong side, etc. If each row is knit (no purls) this creates garter stitch, which has the same appearance on both sides and creates horizontal ridges offset by valleys, rather than a knit and purl side. Patterned stitching, such as cables, can be accomplished with either flat knitting, or in the round, however the technique must follow the desired pattern.

Circular knitting (also called "knitting in the round") creates a seamless tube. Knitting is worked in rounds (the equivalent of rows in flat knitting).

Originally, circular knitting was done using a set of four or five double-pointed knitting needles. Circular needles were later invented making this type of knitting easier. A circular needle resembles two short knitting needles connected by a cable of varying length between them. A circular knitting needle with a long cable can be used in place of straight needles to create larger flat-knitted pieces of fabric. Both types of circular knitting are used in creating pieces that are circular or tube-shaped, such as hats, socks, mittens, sleeves, and entire sweaters.

In circular knitting, the hand-knitter generally knits everything from one side, usually the right side. Circular knitting is usually carried out on a single circular needle. In such cases, the knitter can resort to a variety of alternative techniques, such as double-pointed needles, knitting on two circular needles, a Möbius strip-like "magic needle" approach (commonly known as "Magic Loop"), or careful use of slip-stitch knitting or equivalently double knitting to knit the back and front of the tube.

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