Monday, August 10, 2015

Learning to Knit


If you're new to the knitting world, welcome! I hope that this post will make it easier for you if you are just starting out. Don't be discouraged if you are not instantly at the level you want to be at, that's okay. You'll get there one day with practice and dedication. If you want to be a knitter there are just a few things you need to know: how to cast on/off and how to do a simple stitch. If you know those basics, you are well on your way to fabulous things!

#1. Casting on (putting the yarn on the needle) / binding off (taking the finished knit off the needle)

- here are two detailed videos by New Stitch a Day: Knitting and Crochet Video Tutorials that teaches the basics of casting on/off in a series of easy to follow steps. They do a great job explaining each step.

  

#2 learning basic stitches (knit & purl stitch) 

Once you have your yarn cast onto your knitting needles it is time to put on your stitches. The first stitch I ever learned was the knit stitch which will be shown on the left. Once you are comfortable with that stitch you can move onto the purl stitch. I use these two stitches the most to make just about everything. 

 


I hope that this has been helpful to get you started. In my next post I will write about the different patterns that you can make using the knit/ purl stitches. 
Leave a comment, I'd love to know about your knitting experiences and how/ why you started knitting. 


My little sister taught me how to knit when I was a freshman in high school. I started off learning the simple knit stitch and since then I have been sporadically knitting ever since. I remember one holiday season I attempted to knit scarves for 9 of my family members. That was not a fun holiday for me, but I was eventually able to complete my goal- just in time for Christmas! Even though the scarves were riddled with holes and mistakes, I was so proud of myself every time I finished a scarf. Not only was I proud that I was able to make it myself but because I was making it for my loved ones it felt a lot more purposeful. With each scarf, I was able to refine my skills and it took a lot of practice and time for me before I was able to comfortably hold the yarn and knitting needles.

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