In my collection of tools for knitting, knitting belts, sheaths, and double-pointed needles take pride of place. I don’t use them all that often but I have spent a considerable amount of time researching and finding sources for these tools.
Shetland knitters in the past used knitting belts or sheaths to knit as they walked around their crofts or farms. The belts or sheaths hold one of the needles while the other is held in their hand. The belt takes all the weight of the knitting which makes it possible for them to knit at fairly incredible speeds.
Shetland knitters have been recorded knitting at a rate of 200 stitches per minute. With my circular needles, it takes me around 4-5 minutes to knit 150 sts. That is five or six times slower than an experienced Shetland knitter. And I have been knitting all my life.
© Deborah Mason | My Knitting Belt
My knitting belt is made out of leather and it is basically a pouch filled with horsehair attached to a thin belt. The pouch has a number of holes of different sizes. It is these holes in which you place the end of your empty needle when you are starting a new row.
When I am knitting with single-pointed needles or my circulars, I do most of the work with the right-hand needle (I am right-handed). At the beginning of the row, the right-hand needle is empty and I manipulate that needle to form new stitches and transfer them over to that needle.
Working with a Knitting Belt
With the belt, the right-hand needle is the one that is inserted into one of the holes in the pouch and it stays pretty much stationary while I am knitting. You manipulate the left-hand needle to form the stitches on the tip of the right-hand needle. Basically, I have to move the left-hand needle close to the tip of the right-hand needle and slip the next stitch over the tip of the right-hand needle to work it. It takes a while to get used to the different hand movements, but once you do, you can knit much faster.
You can also attach the knitting to the belt (using the tail from the cast-on edge) so that you can add a little tension to the piece. It makes it easier to work the lace pattern by separating the stitches somewhat. Shetland knitters were also known to hook their ball or skein of wool onto their belts. They knit from the centre so that the wool feeds smoothly into the work and they didn’t have to hold onto it.
A knitting sheath or stick serves a similar purpose to a knitting belt. Antique sheaths were made of timber or silver if the family was well off and were basically a long thin block with a deep hole in the top and a groove or a hook at the side so that it could be hooked on a belt, apron string, or a cord tied around their waist.
Want to see how to use a Knitting Sheath?
I don’t have my sheath yet – I have one on order but they are a little like hen’s teeth. Difficult to find and not at all from around here, so it is coming from overseas (during a global pandemic no less). So I will not be able to show you how I knit with it until it gets here. If you watch Elizabeth’s video and you will get the idea.
If you decide to give this knitting method a go, you are going to need to get your hands-on some double-pointed needles. Because I knit a lot of shawls and stoles which can be quite wide, I wanted to find some needles that were longer than the standard 15 or 20 cm needles that you can get from most knitting stores.
As with the belts and sheaths, longer dp’s are not all that easy to find. My sets are 30 cm long and came from one of my suppliers in China. As they come in sets of 4 or 5, I have two sets of each size from 1.25mm up to 4.00mm.
© Deborah Mason | My Double-pointed knitting needles
When you are considering tools for knitting, belts, sheaths and double-pointed needles may not be for everyone. If you want to knit as you move or if you want a method that will enable you to become a speed knitter, you might like to consider adding them to your collection of tools.
