Who are you people? Are you crazy?
This is one of those things that totally confounds me, that I just can’t wrap my head around, like holocaust deniers or people who genuinely like Golden Corral or 3 Musketeers candy bars, or the Wesboro Baptist Church nutjobs. It seems to me a form of madness.
(Yes, I know how fucked up it is to throw Fred Phelps and Ahmadinejad in the same sack with people who enjoy dubious “food”–they’re obviously not on par in terms of pure evil, but I’m equally incapable of understanding their world views and predilections. This isn’t about them; it’s about me.)
But unlike the Westboro churchies and 3 Musketeers eaters, I think there must be some logical reason behind this madness, something I’m overlooking, something, even, that I might come to appreciate.
So tell me: why? Why on earth would you do such a thing?
P.S. From the comments, I just have to clarify: I’m not talking about knitting from the outside by necessity, like when you’re working from both ends, when you’ve got a low-yardage silky ball that would collapse almost immediately, or when the inside end is impossibly lost. I’m talking about people who routinely knit from the outside as a lifestyle choice, without regard to fiber or purpose. I’m talking about people who work from the outside of a sturdy ball of wool, leaving a perfectly good center-pull end just sitting there. Why?
depends on the composition of the yarn. Most animal fibers will hold up well to pulling from the inside, but some acrylic only and some natural plant fibers will collapse and begin to tangle when you get to the end.
I only knit from the outside of the ball when the inside of the ball makes me cry.
Like when it’s all tangled up and you can’t find the end? That’s just a survival technique. I mean the people who knit from the outside on purpose.
I’m currently knitting a double strand, one from the inside and one from the outside. I it’s a variegated yarn, and I wanted to strands to be different shades as I knit. When I compared both inside ends, they stayed the same shade for a good long time…
If I am knitting two sleeves or two socks at the same time, I work from both the outside and the inside of the ball. I put it in a sandwich bag with the two bottom corners snipped, and pull an end through each. No tangles!
Jamie, I can see the point, on, say, a low-yardage silky ball that is bound to collapse before you’ve gotten halfway through it, and I officially recognize the wisdom in that.
I’m more talking about people who always knit from the outside, on purpose, even with a sturdy wool where the skein would maintain its shape until the last couple of yards. I should go clarify my outrage… :)
I was reading your hilarious outrage to my husband who said, “Hey, I was with her til that 3 Musketeer comment. Now she can go pound sand!” Apparently he feels strongly about his candy bars.
As for the yarn, I’m with you. I’m a from the inside gal, unless it’s silk and going to collapse halfway through. Even then I’ll sometimes tempt fate.
Hee hee! That’s hilarious. And I haven’t heard “pound sand” in so long I almost fell over laughing!
(But I do maintain the 3 Musketeers is an abomination, a candy of last resort. I can only condone its consumption in a survival situation, or maybe in a world where no other candy is available. But we do not live in that world. Marvelous candy is plentiful.)
lifestyle choice–no way, that would be crazy!
I usually go from the outside, because I can better gauge how much yarn is left when I’m running low. I also run into the collapsing factor a lot. Besides, what else are my kitties going to play with. It’s like an exercise program!
As a yarn crafter who is very new to anything other than Red Heart Super Saver and its cousins…. I can honestly say that for most it is probably just habitual. Also, as a person who knits alot of “most of the skein” projects, it is nice to have a neat and organized ball left when you are done with your project. It makes it easier to save the “scraps” that are 5 or more yards. Since I knit alot of baby stuff, I regularly end up with 1/4 of the ball left and knitting from the outside saves me the time of having to reball the leftovers to avoid chaos! If I am pretty sure I will use the whole skein, I do knit from the inside though.
I have a friend who is driven crazy by the twistiness of yarn when pulled from the center so she knits from the outside. To me that is just substituting the major inconvenience of chasing your ball for a minor inconvenience.
The yarn barf caused by an improperly wound ball that is being knit using center pull action causes me to gag…but I`m a delicate flower.
I always knit from the outside, partly out of habit, partly because I have a better idea of how much is left and partly because when I first tried to knit from the centre I could never seem to find a ball of yarn that didn’t give me a headache just trying to find the end in the middle and not just with cheap stuff either, I still had no luck with Rowan and Noro so I gave up.
I have a big container from a fancy fat whiskey bottle and I’ll usually dump the ball in there although sometimes, and I only tell you this because there’s a good chance it’ll wind you up, sometimes I just knit away and let the ball of yarn wander its way back and forth across the room. Just because:)
Am I a weirdo for not caring if I go from the inside or outside? I don’t really care how toilet paper rolls either.
However 3 musketeers. they are gross!
Some sticky yarns like mohair I do from the outside or rewind to mind the tangles. I have heard that whether you knit from the outside or the inside of the yarn you should do this for your entire project. I have also heard that it might be somewhat different in color if you knit from inside to outside then outside to inside
Nestra, no, you are just a reasonable person instead of a fussy freak.
P.S. I don’t care about the TP, either. That has always mystified me.
I do. I don’t know why. Rebellion?
I knit from the outside for two reasons, firstly I find that the yarn gets extra twist in it when I knit from the inside of the ball, and I end up having to let whatever I’m knitting dangle in order to untwist the yarn. Secondly, the ball invariably gets floppy and ends up in a horrendous tangle, which I spend precious knitting time unraveling and winding into a conventional “granny” ball.
Plus, yes, the rebellion.
Oh. My. God. I love Three Musketeers! Now I’m all self-conscious about it though. Thanks a lot! ;-)
Because it really is easier and tidier? Most of the yarn I buy is already wound into balls and the inside appears to be so well buried that any attempt to find it results in a big mess.Heck, even the outer end takes some finding, sometimes! In the few yarns I’ve used that appear to have a definite nap, the yarn actually runs more smoothly from the outside in.
If I’m winding yarn myself, I only make a centre pull ball if it’s a really small amount, anyhow. Even then, I often get narked with it.
I’ve simply got into the habit of pulling off a row’s worth of yarn at a time as i work. That way, I can also check for knots and imperfections before I end up screaming at them halfway through a cable.
I knit from the outside of the ball mainly because I got tired of having the inside of my yarn turn into yarn barf. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
Maybe the outside-the-ball knitters are people like me who have taught themselves to knit from books and youtube videos and are now reading your post thinking “what? you can knit from the inside of the ball?”
p.s. I LOVE your sheep and dream of the day I can get a couple of my own.
i have a friend who is a nurse, and she keeps her ball of yarn for socks in her pocket. apparently it’s easier to deal with it from the outside when it’s in her pocket.
me? i prefer the inside, but sometimes i don’t have a choice