Learning to knit

[CheeseandGherkins]

I've been thinking about learning to knit lately and wondered if anyone could give me any advice? I'd love to help with knitting sqaures for the blankets here and any other projects, especially as one is currently being made for me and I'm most grateful for this.

My nan taught me how to knit basically when I was very little but she died many years ago and I haven't tried in years. I have no needles or anything so any advice on what to get would be brilliant.

Thanks in advance :)

When I decided to learn to knit, I was told to not use fancy wool, and get number four needles by a nice lady in hobbycraft. Whatever they are.

And I watched a LOT of youtube tutorial videos!

Ah youtube, good idea, hadn't thought of that thank you. I'll have a look online at hobbycraft, have no idea where to start with wool either!

And join ravelry ! Have fun knitting is addictive. You tube is brilliant to help you learn.

Do you have a local wool shop? They will be able to advise you on needles and wool. Needles come in a range of sizes measured in millimetres depending on the diameter of the needle - so a 3mm is much thinner than a 6mm needle. My local shop sells needles in bamboo, steel and plastic (usually the thicker needles). They come in different lengths too, just to confuse matters further. I use shorter needles but the long ones are good if you want to tuck the needle under your arm.

Thinner needles are better for finer wools and the thicker the wool then the thicker the needle as a general rule. The squares for the blankets have been knitted in double knitting (DK) wool and the usual needle for this thickness is 4mm.

I taught my daughter to knit this year and she liked to use thicker needles and chunky wool as it knitted up quicker and she could see individual stitches to see if she had gone wrong. She then taught herself to cast on and cast off using youtube. Initially I would advise counting your stitches after every row. She also undid her work and started again (a few times) so I didn't have to keep finding her new wool to practice with. Buy fairly cheap wool to start with.

If you live in Northants I'd be happy to give more practical help.

I'll have a look at Ravelry.

Hmm, I'm not sure to be honest, live about 9 miles outside Cambridge city so I assume there would be some kind of wool shop but no idea what. Lots of different things to think about there then!

Would the 4mm ones be ok for me to start with do you think?

That's all really helpful thanks :)

I've taught myself to knit this very week from youtube! (also in Nothants!)
I went to the haberdashery department of house of fraser and got advised to get 4mm needles and some dk 'cashsoft' for my mini-snood making adventure. except its taking me FOREVER because the stitches are small. im done about 24 rows i think and its only nearly 3 inches long so far! I also have no idea how to pick up a stitch thats fallen out and am going to buy some thicker wool and needles tomorrow.

boxoftricks how about this chunky snood pattern from the Guardian. It will knit up quicker than a DK one?

The tutorial videos on letsknit are really good. They are all very clear and the camera's point of view is as if you are looking down at your own hands, so you don't have to get confused with lefts/rights by looking at someone else face on. IYSWIM. Can you tell I am easily confused?!

www.letsknit.co.uk/index.php/knitting_videos/

(sorry for the hijack cheese!)
I have just unravelled the 3 inches and wound it back round the ball I was getting so frustrated!!
I found that pattern when I googled for snood yesterday Angel, its EXACTLY what I wanted. But I dont understand what the measurements mean, I keep looking at it and can't!! I can knit fine, and just about purl, but think I'm going to go back to Beatties and ask the woman to show me how to pick up my stitch.

I'll try and find somewhere local otherwise I'll order from amazon or elsewhere online. The letsknit website seems good, I see what you mean about it being confusing otherwise!

Bought some needles and wool today, oh and a basics book. I'll be attempting to learn tomorrow as I'm knackered tonight. Found some in John Lewis in the end, they had balls of wool for £1.50 so I bought a couple, seemed cheap compared to some of their other ones. I got 4mm needles too.

Good luck with re-learning to knit Cheese! I knitted as a child but then didn't knit for about 2 decades. I re-learnt last year by teaching myself via t'internet - youtube videos are great! I ended up making a little teddy for DS last Christmas and was never so proud in my life!

Am currently knitting some squares for the Refuge appeal for blankets that's a sticky at the top of this topic. I hope to do one child's blanket. It's very relaxing, and has the bonus of making me feel like I'm "doing something" while basically watching telly

Youtube for tricky stuff! Book wise i found this great. Also making kids clothes/toys a good starting point as results are fast!

I've recently taught myself to knit and can thoroughly recommend this book explains everything in plain english and I've managed to knock together a pair of bootees and a baby hat.

I taught myself to knit a while ago and am now addicted! I started by making chunky scarves with thick wool and fat needles. There are lots of videos on youtube, but the clearest ones I found were on a site called videojug. The woman on it makes a chunky scarf, here and you can see really clearly what she's doing. After that, I discovered ravelry.com, which is a bit bewildering at first, but has thousands of patterns, many of them free.
I also have a brilliant book called Knitty Gritty, which has patterns for complete beginners. Good luck!