Learn to knit a blanket kits - suggestions?

[BlueBunting]

I want to learn to knit or crochet , and had a look at kids kits but thinking about one of those Chunky type blankets? Any suggestions?

Very chunky yarn can be hard to manage.

I found crochet much easier than knitting. I learnt from the Attic24 blog and made the Granny Stripe blanket first, the yarn packs are available from Woolwarehouse, although some of the yarn is out of stock at the moment as its from Turkey. The blanket I made only needed a chain stitch and a treble stitch and because its a blanket tension doesn't matter massively if its a little uneven.

CocoBella video tutorials in YouTube are great too.

I learnt to crochet by watching youtube. Some videos are better than others-some too far away to see the actual stitch, and lots of stopping and scrolling back and forth. Once you find someone who can demonstrate the basics, it does gets easier.

Sorry, I don't know of any specific kits, but your local knitting/yarn/craft shops could likely recommend a basic class to get you started.

Thanks both, have tried to find ideas but need a push so will look at the YouTube suggestions and wool

For yarn I would start with a DK (double knit) and size 4 hook, I like style craft special DK, it's acrylic, cheap and comes in nice colours and washes well.

Just get one ball to start with to practise with.
When watching YouTube videos double check whether they are using UK terms or US terms as they use the same words (single/double/triple) but mean slightly different things.
Lots of people say start with a granny square, I've never really gotten the hang of them and always go a bit wobbly so I stick to horizontal blankets instead.
It doesn't matter if you make mistakes, you can just undo it.

Leave changing colour until you are happy with the stitch technique. It's harder to undo and reuse yarn if you have different colours and sewing in ends is annoying.

Despite seeing it as a bit of an 'old' hobby, homemade blankets are always in demand and I'm always being asked "when are you making me one?" by family and there is nothing nicer than seeing loved ones wrapped up in something you made, mistakes and all.

Good luck, stick at it!

The best kits ever are Attic 24. They come with instructions for a beginner, photos and theres a whole community to ask for help from. And they are gorgeous.

I'm an experienced knitter (but never got the hang of crocheting). You don't need an expensive kit just try simple garter stitch (or moss stitch if you can do purl as well) with some cheap yarn first. Although I agree very chunky wool is quite hard to handle for a first attempt I'd try chunky with 5-6mm needles rather than double knitting (with 4mm needles) just because of the speed it grows. The ball band on wool usually recommends the correct size needles for that particular yarn. Bonus chunky (stocked in Hobbycraft or online) is reasonably priced and does a cosy blanket. Just cast on as many stitches as you can fit on your needles and knit away until it looks big enough.

I learned to knit in 2007. I got a kit from The Works but struggled with the instructions. KnittingHelp.com and a friend showing bits helped me crack it. Yarn recs for chunky thats nice to work with (knit or crochet) stylecraft special chunky or cygnet seriously chunky.

I would go for 4mm knitting needles, stylecraft DK wool and YouTube for some basic lessons.

Knitting is just 2 stitches, knit and purl. So look up videos for how to cast on and then do lots and lots of practice rows, you can make a pattern of it if you like, 4 rows of knit and 4 rows of purl. Just keep going until it feels comfortable and you aren't having to talk yourself through every stitch. You need to develop the muscle memory.

Once you are comfortable with knit and purl you can start to learn how to make patterns. At that point a knitting magazine like Simply Knitting or Lets Knit is pretty handy as they have around 10 pages at the back of every edition that includes a glossary of acronyms used in patterns and some instructions for commonly used increases/decreases and pattern combinations.

Buy some cheap needles / hooks and wool (Wilkos used to stock?) and give it a go before you invest in anything more expensive. Try YouTube for videos, or ask someone you know to show you.

I'm a keen knitter but never got the hang of crochet.

You'll need to learn to start a project, do some stitches and how to finish off - it's much less pressure learning how to do this with cheap stuff, you can balls up and start again until you get comfortable! Hopefully it won't take you long.

As for chunky knit kits I like a shop named Wool Couture on Etsy.