#doctors office chairs usually aren't comfortable for me but I can get a row or two in while waiting

[journeyman-tier-fibercraft]

Seconding all of this. Esp yarn weight, anything above aran makes my hands hurt.

For reference I have scoliosis and osteoarthritis. So a bit part of comfortable knitting for me is posture/back alignment. I personally have to have my elbows resting on something to comfortably knit and I’ve seen pillows specifically marketed to rest your arms on while knitting (which sadly don’t help me but could easily help someone with a less picky spine lmao). Hobbii sells a version here for an example of what they look like but you could probably find something similar for cheaper, maybe a body pillow?

A good option is to play around with different styles of knitting. I first started knitting continental for speed but once I got used to it I found it hurt my hands significantly less than what I was doing before. Norwegian purling for ribbing or swapping to Portuguese style knitting for long purl sections could be helpful if you’re having problems with moving between knit stitch and purl stitch.

Types of needle also can play a part, at least for me. Straight needles are hell on my wrists and wood/plastic needles make my tension too tight which hurts my joints. It’s worth experimenting with different needles if you can, when I first started knitting I spent a lot of time in thrift stores looking for a bunch of different needles just to try them.

Also don’t be afraid to picked seamed projects. Knitting a whole blanket or even a sweater seamlessly might be easier, but having to lift and turn a whole queen sized blanket is Not Great. Having to mattress stitch for 4 hours isn’t my idea of fun but I find it’s a lot easier on my body long term than the alternative.

Hi, you said in your bio that you're chronically ill. I was wondering if you had any tips for knitting with chronic pain (assuming that's your flavour of chronic illness)? Or do you know anyone who could give me advice?knitting/sewing is my sanity-saver.

I use compression gloves, only knit with specific weights of yarn (the ones that are the least painful for me), and try to take frequent breaks, which for me looks like switching hobbies every 30 minutes or so (knitting to spinning to knitting, etc). I also do my best to be very gentle on my joints when i can, altho i honestly rarely have the choice at work.

Personally i have joint problems and migraines, so thats what im correcting for/trying not to make worse. Helpful advice probably varies depending on what youre trying to correct for. Really my only general advice is "when it starts to hurt, try to stop" and "if possible, save the painfully difficult stuff for when youre doing well, and make the easier stuff your usual work"

If anyone who sees this has got other tips please feel free to comment them