How to Hold the Working Yarn Correctly While Knitting

Dear users, dear authors,
Do you have any tips on how to hold the working yarn while knitting?

I hold my working yarn just like in the photo—that’s how I learned it in needlework class :-)

Best regards, Inge

I do it a little differently. I wrap it twice around my little finger at the bottom and then just once around my index finger at the top.

I wrap it twice around my index finger (but the other way around than in Inge’s photo). If the yarn is too slippery, I also run it between my pinky and ring finger.

My grandma used to teach me to wrap the yarn around my index finger and also run it under my middle finger, over my ring finger, and under my pinky. I always thought that was horribly complicated.

Just like I learned from my grandma and mom. Hold the yarn from bottom to top between your pinky and ring finger, then wrap it over all the other fingers and around your index finger twice. So it’s similar to the Akela method, but my yarn runs over my fingers, not in my hand. 

I do it like Marlies.  
But you can also wrap the yarn around the fingers of your right hand and then knit “French-style.” To do this, you bring the yarn from the right around the stitch and then pull it through. I use this method when I’m knitting with two colors: I wrap the yarn of one color around the fingers of my left hand,  and the yarn of the other color around my right. 

I’ve always wrapped the yarn twice around my index finger, then threaded it under my ring finger and back out in front of my little finger. That way, I don’t have too much or too little tension.

It’s easier if you’re using just one strand.
There are special rings designed to keep the yarn taut—some say they’re good, others say they’re bad; it depends on who you ask.

Wrapping the yarn around twice doesn’t work with every type of yarn—or if your hands are sweaty.