Who taught you to knit?

[DougalDaydream]

I'd love to be able to knit, but I don't know where to learn. My Grandma tried to teach me when I was an impatient teenager, but she said my tension was all wrong and I wasn't suitable for knitting

Are there knitting courses you can attend?
Has anyone taught themselves?
Book or YouTube?

My Grandma and this

I've loved reading your stories...and I'm rather jealous of those of you who are now teaching your own children to knit.

I'm determined to give it a go (it's encouraging to hear some of you have taught yourselves) and I've been looking on ebay and amazon for some of the titles mentioned. The Learn to Knit website looks like a good place to start too. I'm off to buy knitting needles and wool today - I hope the lady in the shop takes pity on me and gives me a hand in picking out what I need . If I can manage to get started I might brave a knitting group somewhere...if they'll have me!

Thank you for inspiring me

Good luck! It is seriously addictive once you get going.

I run a knitting club and I would have you like a shot. And I would never give up on you, however much you said you couldn't get the hang of it, your only get-out-of-it would be not to turn up any more.

My mum taught me to knit. DD's school teaches all pupils to knit, and she loves watching Grandma knit. I'm not a great knitter and get bored following complicated patterns and increasing/decreasing, so it's not my favourite way to spend time. I prefer crochet as it doesn't matter so much if you cock up, and you don't knit three rows to spot you've dropped a stitch half an hour ago.

I am left handed. When it was time for me to be taught to knit, there was great discussion and much furrowing of brows, before I was despatched weekly to the house of my Great Aunt (the only other left-handed female of the generation) for instruction. I think I was about eight.

It never stuck, mainly because the other reason for my being there was to learn piano from my Great Uncle - much more interesting. I finally learned to knit a bit later from my mother - so I knit right handed.

It's easy!

Crochet is scary though!

I've only just learnt to knit. My MIL taught me the basics (Cast on, knit, purl) and I used you tube to teach myself some of the other stuff. I'm still very new and not very good but I'm fining ravelry.com a great resource. I dl free patterns and look up anything I'm not sure of.

Oh, and my Mam is a left handed knitter, but she knits right handed because she was taught by a right hander. She can't get her head around the idea of knitting left handed because patterns are written right handed (apparently)

My mum taught me to knit when I was 7. She taught herself to knit when she was pregnant with me and then just improved her skill by getting books out the libarary, picking up patterns from magazines or buying old patterns she found in Charity Shops (she has thousands of patterns now).

When I was in Primary School, I joined the knitting club run by the librarian. We would knit toys based around a theme (eg underwater, Christmas or circus) and the toys would then be displayed around the library to liven it up.

I was taught to knit at school in the early 70's. I have very fond memories of being in my first year of infants, sitting next to our coal fire (yes really), drinking cocoa made from our school milk and knitting squares for a blanket for charity. A local 'old' (probably only 55 but I was only 5) lady called Mrs Beer would come in two afternoons a week to teach us to knit, crochet and embroider.

my gran

I learned two years ago via YouTube. I started with knit, then purl, then rib, then double rib, then moss stitch, now cable. I still haven't progressed beyond scarves. A simple sweater is my next goal (via YouTube and Ravelry).

Oh, I'm left handed but knit right handed with no problems at all.

YouTube ;) but, need a real person soon because I need a real person to tell me if I am too tight, loose, or just horrible at it because mine's not as pretty as the video when it's all done.

My mother taught me when I was about 9 or 10 I think. I can't remember it really but I always thought that the first thing I actually made was a pair of gloves with a cable pattern on them. I think I might even still have them somewhere, 35 years later.

Crochet on the other hand was a bit of mystery until about 5 years ago when I finally cracked it and taught myself. Couldn't handle all the different stitches nor the fact that you do a set number of stitches and then add some more when you turn a row. Knitting is so easy in comparison - only 2 stitches and everything you can make is just a various combinations of those.

Putri it is a lack of experience that makes your knitting less pretty than the one on YouTube.
If you join Ravelry.com and look for groups you may well find one in your area. That will get you all the help you need and also encourage you in your own efforts.
But mainly it is a matter of doing some more and eventually it WILL look as pretty as anyone else's knitting.

Best of luck

DutchOma, thanks! I will do that!!

My grandma taught me, with difficulty as she was right handed and I am left! I didn't knit then for 20+ years then had a yearning to start again. It did come back to me quite quickly but I am another fan of Aneeta at Knitty Gritty, I worked my way through all the projects and it really helped my 'flow'.

I self learnt knitting when my son was born.I bought a basic knitting kit form shop.Tried as instructed and then went from there.I have done a cable knitted sweater for my son.If I like some pattern or techinque I will try them.I also learn from youtube,some of them are really good.

Youtube. Knows loads more than my Mum .

My Nanna taught me to knit, my grandma taught me to embroider. My mum could do both, and crochet - but she never taught me to crochet, and I still can't.
I have no doubt my MIL would teach me to crochet if I asked though!

My Nanna taught me more than my mum ever did in terms of householdy things - probably because we spent a lot of holiday time with her while Mum worked and she had more patience than Mum.

I have tried to teach a left-hander to knit before, by sitting in front of them and getting them to copy me in mirror-image fashion - it seemed to go ok!

I learnt to knit when I was about 6 or 7. My Mum tried to get my Grandma to teach me since she (i.e. my mum) "lifted her hand". I couldn't do Grandma's method and have always "lifted my hand" too!

I knitted A LOT when I was younger. I always had something on the go. I knitted an aran jumper whilst still at school and got into Lopi jumpers for a while. I hated sewing up and remember converting a glove pattern to one for 4 needles when I was about 13. I knitted all through my student days but eventually started wearing fleeces more than jumpers and sort of stopped knitting. I got heavily into cross-stitch for about 10 years, although I did do some knitting for dd when she was small. I've only really got back into knitting and crocheting over the past 2-3 years. My previous crochet experience was only granny squares and "slabs" of double crochet which my Mum taught me when I was 8 or 9, but I never really got into it then.

Ravelry has been an revelation and an inspiration. But so much has changed since I was last an avid knitter. Manufacturers have gone out of business, or changed name, and new ones have appeared. I hate not having any decent yarn shops locally - although I do still have the results of a few closing-down sales in my stash.