KNNH ( knitting novice needs help! )

[bobkate]

For some bizarre reason, I decided I wanted to learn to knit last night. Not a problem, other than I decided this at midnight, and was then up until 2am. I was given a getting started leaflet from the art of knitting by someone and this means I can now cast off and I did about an 18 stitch by 10 row almost square that looked pretty good for a novice I think!
Then I thought I ought to practise casting off.....I just couldn't work out what to do. Can anyone recommend a good you tube link that I can try to follow.
Also, what would be the next step once I can knit a square in knit stitch? Should I then try to learn different stitches, or learn to add a different colour wool so I can make a stripey item like a scarf?
TIA

I'd do purl next, then you can do rib and stocking stitch. Try YouTube fro videos.

Thanks - I've tried you tube but there's so, so many and I'm spending ages watching bits of each, but can't find one that is really simple... wondered if anyone had any recommendations for you tube linkeys?

this iswhat you need: www.knittinghelp.com/

Thanks borntofolk that looks just the ticket!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=2UH-htXoBwQ
This seems clear for purl.

Stocking stitch is alternate rows of knit and purl.
Rib is knit one purl one, double rib is knit two purl two.

To make rib that stretches for cuffs, cast on by putting the needle between two stitches rather than into one. Where do you live, btw? I'm in Teesside and more than willing to help.

You're welcome! I find it a very useful site. Sorry for the bad typing in my first post, was typing one handed whilse eating a Magnum with the other..

If I were you, I'd avoid a scarf as a first project. They go on forever and can be very boring! Practice a few different things, then find a simple project that you like the look of and try that.

Ravelry is an excellent source of free patterns and advice.

Thanks - was just doing some more practise. I'm finding it hard to get the tension right. I seem to be making it all quite tight which then makes it hard to get the needles in, if that makes sense. Tried a couple of rows and had a go at casting off, but again, as it was a bit tight...it was a bit messy. Hey ho - my daughter now has a knitted tea towel for her dolls house! As well as a knitted bath mat!!!
Jealous of your magnum by the way! I'll sign up to ravelry and find something on there to try. Think I'll do some more practise rows and have a go at knit and purl.
Thanks too drsuess but I'm in Essex....a far way away from Teeside Appreciate the offer though .
I'd really like to get good enough so I can donate a square to woolly hugs...I find the idea of them so lovely.

bobkate you're doing really well!

I like the Planet Purl channel on You Tube, although one of the best resources for getting started is probably Knitting for Dummies. The book is excellent too.

I would agree with avoiding a scarf as a first project - especially at this time of year. You finish it and then - voila. Hopefully the weather is too warm for a scarf for several months!

How about trying a few simple dish cloths or face flannels? Instantly useful but no-one sees them if they don't turn out right! There are lots of links for all kinds of things on the document I'm writing for Woolly Hugs, and how about something simple to get you going: grandma's favourite dishcloth.

Keep posting if you need any help - we have a support thread running for the blankets but you're welcome to dive in!

Thanks tribpot! That's made my day you saying I'm doing well! Luckily my DH is on night's tonight and there's bugger all on the box...so more practising for me. Never in a million years did I ever think of knitting a dishcloth!!
Those links are great too so I'm going off to immerse myself in all things knitted .

Well no, bobkate, there are perfectly good alternatives to knitting dishcloths, we don't live in Little House on the Prairie after all but as a practice item, it's useful and they can be beautiful too (I've just finished this one although the photo doesn't do it justice - the iPhone struggled with the screaming red colour selected for ds' 'red stuff' stall at the school's summer fair in a fortnight!)

They do make lovely face cloths as well, particularly if you do a textured stitch to get a nice exfoliating effect. Garter makes a good start for this. I do mine in a very heavy cotton yarn but you can do them with a readily available 100% cotton like Patons and even if they're a bit wonky, they still do the job!

Sorry tribpot I think it didn't read as I wrote it - what I meant really was that I had totally no idea you could use a knitted piece as a real life proper dishcloth...does that make any sense? or even as a facecloth....when I read that I was a bit surprised as presumed something woolly would go a bit funny when wet... sorry, I probably sounded a bit snobby or something else, very . I also think it's a great starting point.
That one you've done is lovely - I have beginners envy! I've just been attempting to do some purl rows. It went very curly ( which I've read is why it's good for cuffs - see I'm learning! ) so I've unravelled and going to keep messing about and seeing what I come up with.

or rather it didn't read as I meant it to read...it did in fact read as I wrote it!

see it's the novice thing....only presuming knitting is done with woolly type wool, not cotton wool iykwim....I'll stop now before I make a plonker of myself

No, I totally see what you mean, bobkate. You wouldn't naturally think that you could get wool that's actually made out of cotton, and thus do stuff with it that isn't 'woolly'. You definitely wouldn't want a dishcloth made out of woolly wool, that would be deeply odd.

If you've been doing a knit row then a purl row you're doing what we call stocking stitch and the Americans call stockinette. (Ravelry uses a lot of American terms so it helps to know what they are). It does get very curly, so one way to make it less curly is to knit the first couple of rows and then knit the first and last 2 stitches of every row. That way you get a bit of a border around the thing and you also avoid the curling-uppiness.

Good - glad you got what I meant! Anyhoo - I've decided to try my hand at a pattern now. I'm going to try this one...hearts Oh lordie
Just re-watched one of the planet purl vids, and realised that where I was going wrong before was that I wasn't putting the wool back in the right place after each stitch ( when practising changing from knit to purl ) and was ending up with extra stitches.
Cool - so I'm now able to do knit, purl and stockinette! Whoohoo.
Thanks for the new tip by the way

oh - p.s I only have size 4.5 needles and the pattern says to use size 7. Is this ultra important or can I have a go with the ones I have? What difference would that make? I presume the big fat needles make bigger, fatter stitches? Is that right? Not sure though how the numbering works.

Ah now actually this is a good question that I should put into the 'getting started' stuff for Woolly Hugs.

Right. Needles in the UK are now sold by circumference (like 4.5 mm). The US still uses size numbers and the UK used to use size numbers that went the opposite way round from the US (so the smaller the number the bigger the needle). A handy chart with them all on. So as you'll see, Size 7 actually is 4.5mm, so you are bang on track.

Normally, a particular weight of wool (you're probably using double knitting weight?) has a needle size which is used with it, so 4mm would be 'usual' for double knitting, but the world isn't going to end if you use 4.5, as you say the stitches will just be a bit bigger. If you're using big ol' chunky wool like I was with the square I've just finished you want a bigger needle or it'll be impossible to knit. Every person and every wool knits slightly differently, however, so when you're doing something to a certain size (which you aren't) you need to work out what gauge your knitting comes out at, so you can adjust accordingly - this is on the Google doc I linked to and will be on Woolly Hugs shortly I hope. For a blanket square, you can just change the exact number of stitches you do. When following a pattern, though, you need to change needle size to get it to come out to the right number of stitches per 10cm, according to what the pattern tells you is the right gauge.

However, no need to worry about any of that right now. You have the right size needles and the final size doesn't have to be spot on. You did mention you were finding it a bit tough to get the needle through the stitch, so I wonder if you are using a thicker yarn than you'd normally go for for a 4.5mm needle?

By the way, the hearts pattern has a border that is knit 1, purl 1 etc then purl 1, knit 1 on the next row. Looks lovely but beginners can find it super tedious to do, because it takes ages moving the yarn back and forth between each stitch. See how you get on, but what I would do is:

Rows 1-4: knit
Rows 5-44: instead of KPK or PKP, just knit 3 at each end
Rows 45-48: knit

Thanks - I feel like you're my knitting guru at the mo! I appreciate you taking the time to help me out
I got the needles and wool with a make your own corsage kit I got ages ago - but I can't find the pattern for that. So I have no idea what weight of wool but I presume they are a good match as they came together. I think I was finding it a bit tough as I was pulling the stitch too tight, I've loosened up and finding it a lot easier. Amazing what you can do if you practise enough times! Just done my first row of the pattern off to do the next row. Took AGES!!! Going to time the next one! It's knit 1 purl 1 and I have to really concentrate to remember what stitch I'd only just done.

Yes, this is the other reason I dislike the knit1-purl1, purl1-knit1 for beginners (it's called seed stitch). It's quite easy to go wrong if you lose count and you can accidentally end up with rib rather than the intended effect. It's fine if you know what the stitches look like cos then you can just do the right one based on looking at the stitch below.

But anyway, keep up the good work, if you get fed up with it I would have a look at my revised pattern to see if it helps at all. :)

I did look at your pattern...but I wasn't sure about what right side and wrong side meant so I thought I could have a go at this one as it didn't mention right and wrong sides!! Thought I'd ask that on another day ... I know I've gone wrong on a couple of stitches but I'm going to keep going and see what happens!

Oh no, I only meant the one in the post above, where I edited out all the knit1-purl1s that you're doing for the border for the heart square and replace them with knit stitches.

Right and wrong side is just about which side of the work is the front and which is the back. (I suppose it would be too confusing to call them front and back because if you were making a cardigan, it would have a piece that was at the back but it would still have a side that was the right side (the front) and the other side would be the wrong side (the back .. of the back .. erk!)

When you do stockinette, the right side is the side that's all smooth, i.e. the rows that are facing you as you knit and facing away from you as you purl. When you finish this border you'll be doing a couple of rows of stockinette so you'll see what I mean then.

Ah! I see what you mean. Ta! Well I've got to row 7. Doesn't look like much at the mo....can't really tell what is meant to be what, but I'm going to crack on again tomorrow night.
I feel like I do when I read a book and really get into it, I just want to keep going until I've finished, but sadly, the two DDs have put pay to my reading at the mo for that very reason....and so I'm having to step away from the needles too for tonight otherwise I'm going to need the needles to prop my eyes open tomorrow instead of knitting with them!

bobkate, I don't know if you've seen that we have a new blanket project running already :(

Feel free to sign up if you want to have a go when you've finished your heart square.

Oh that is too sad... gosh would you really want a novice having a go?
I ended up getting to row 20 last night! I went up to bed, then came down and took it all back up into bed...I knew I wouldn't be able to leave it alone! The dogs woke up my eldest by barking at goodness knows what so she then came and sat and watched me at 1pm!
Finally finished it tonight... I've worked out where I was going wrong with the purl, as I was still getting extra stitches despite the wool placement being right. Too tricky to try to explain, but I've got it sussed now. Just worried about how to cast off, as all previous attempts have been unsuccessful and ended up mending with a sewing needle. Anyway - have a look here... first attempt at hearts and let me know what you reckon!