Learning to knit

[Zeeky]

My new year resolution last year was to learn to knit but selling house got in the way so never started! This year I am determined to learn. Anyone got any pointers as to how I go about learning - are there any starter kits with needles, wool etc or is it best to go into a specialist shop and ask them to kit me out?

I used to knit a bit when I was little (knitted a few dishcloths for my granny using a plain stitch) but never cast on and off by myself. My aunts showed me the basics at Christmas but I really need to get some knitting equipment and a good book and start practising.

Zeeky - there are starter kits but really all you need on the practical front are two knitting needles and a ball of wool.

I have a copy of Knitting for Dummies, which is a pretty comprehensive guide. A lot of it is online too. There are also fantastic tutorials on YouTube these days as well - every time I come across a stitch I'm not sure about I end up being able to watch a video of someone doing the stitch and explaining as they go along - brilliant!

Hobbycraft or Dunelm are quite good for basic stuff, or pop into your local shop if you can. Good luck!

Like yourself, I did very basic knitting as a child and decided a couple of years ago, I would like to re-learn. I went out and I bought the knitters bible, it is so good, very detailed explanations and projects to drool at. I have not progressed very far but will be finishing a scarf soon and that is more laziness/lack of time than anything lacking from the book.

A specialist shop (or craft section of a decent department store eg John Lewis) should also be able to advise on local 'stitch and bitch' type groups too, and can advise on books (even if you then get them out of the library rather than buying them).

I'd suggest picking a project and buying what you need for that, and build up your kit as you need it.

And nobody has said:"Join Ravelry and look for a local group" Knitting is far more easily shown than learnt even from YouTube if you have to start from scratch, so if you could find a local group, you would be a lot better off.
You can put your area into the 'groups' section on Ravelry and see what you come up with.

I don't know about wooden needles, they are quite expensive and a bit of a shame if you are not continuing. Ditto with merino and other pure wools. Any ball of double knitting yarn and any pair of no 4 knitting pins will do to start with and you won't be totally gutted if you have to undo it a few times.
The other yarn you could try is some dish cloth cotton, so you make yourself a dishcloth which won't show any mistakes. I bought mine on the market £1.39 for 100g, but found that the House of Fraser cotton was much more expensive.
Best of luck

This is a really good book too. It has full instructions on basic stitches, and some really easy patterns. I took up knitting just over a year ago and am loving it. The Ravelry website is great too. Good luck!

Bamboo needles and decent acrylic seem like a good compromise for starting out. I've been using this acrylic yarn lately and it's really quite nice. Not as nice to work with as the cashmerino I've also been playing with, but much MUCH better than the really cheap selection of acrylic I ordered off Amazon on a whim. THAT was supposed to be for me to learn to crochet with as well, which was a big mistake!

I find Youtube videos really useful. Pictures in a book are often difficult to understand, and videos fill in the gaps. Plus if I don't like the way a book is trying to teach me to do something, I'll look for a video that features I way I actually like (or even just understand).

I taught myself to knit entirely via random YouTube videos. I would also recommend bamboo needles as I found/find the wool tends not to slip on them compared to metal ones, plus they feel fabulous to handle.

My first ever project was a short scarf for DD using just a knit stitch. My second was a scarf for me using knit and purl stitches (rib).