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01 05Circles, steeks& stitchesWords by Dr Kate DaviesThere really is no “right” or “wrong” way to knit:different styles suit different individuals, and a widevariety of methods and techniques exist to match anequally wide variety of garments and fabric types. Yetknitting is a community with its own particular trendsand followings, and like any other community, notionsof “either / or” divide it. Do you knit English orContinental? Top-down, or bottom up? Do you workback-and-forth, or in-the-round? Such questions oftechnique — of the “best” stretchy cast-off method; ofthe “right” way to strand the yarn in colourwork —can transform a bunch of friendly knitters into fiercelyopposing camps, each with its own passionateadherents. And there is perhaps no technicalopposition more fundamental, or more divisive, thanthat which is perceived to exist between knittingback-and-forth and knitting in-the-round.01. Traditional Setesdal costumeincluding sweaters.02. Girl knitting a sock on Whitby Pier c.1880by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe. Courtesy of theFrank Meadow Sutcliffe Gallery.03. Knitting Madonna (detail of Annunciationfrom the right wing of Buxtehude Alter,Bertram Minden, 1400-1410.88