Teaching myself to knit- possible?

[GingerRodgers]

I'd love to learn how to knit but I don't have anyone to teach me.
Can anyone recommend a website? You tube channel? Anything else?
Also, do I need a basic starter kit? What would I need needle wise? Wool?
I've seen a gorgeous pattern for a cowl scarf I'd love to attempt. Possible?

Oops forgot to say thanks in advance !

i'd rummage about youtube until you find someone you like the sound of...it's basically two stitches to learn and then doing them all in different orders/rows gives you the patterns

Sure someone will be along to recommend....my ma taught me and I learned teh rest myself.

Scarves are great to start as tension and gague is not a problem.

Good luck!

Yes it's definitely possible. I taught myself from you tube about 18 months ago. If you've got some needles and yarn, just search for 'beginners knit stitch' or 'how to knit for beginners' and get cracking.

The great thing about you tube is that you can pause the film after each step, or go back as many times as you need.

Would you say it's reasonably easy then? Learning and teaching yourself? I really need a hobby, love crafty type things and have always fancied knitting.

youtube is a great place for tutorials

a friend of mine taught herself using the book "knitty gritty", which had a few starter projects too.

there are lots of sizes and styles of needles, and thicknesses of yarn (and yarn types), but i would start with acrylic double knitting wool and some 4mm needles, then branch out once you've practised a few techniques with them

can you link to the cowl project?

What needles and yarn do I get? Will any old ones do or should I go to the shops and get advice? Do I need different needles for different items?

Cross post petula
Give me a sec and I'll have a search for cowl scarf (which does specify needles and yarn but I didn't know if they were good for starters)

definitely able to teach yourself! it's really only just two stitches (knitting and purling) and one is the reverse of hte other. there are fancy bits in terms of shaping and patterns, but none are tricky and you can learn them in the progress of a project ime.

the reason why i suggested those needle sizes and wool thickness is that they're pretty standard, cheap and big enough to see your stitches but not so big that it's unwieldy

Yes it's possible to learn by yourself. The cowl pattern should state what size needles to use. If not, or if you just want to practice first, go for a fairly thick needle - maybe 8mm - and a chunky (but not fancy or hairy) yarn. This will keep things easy to see and also you get faster results.

Have fun!

i'd say to stick with a straight forward smooth yarn to start with...anything hairy or bobbly is a bastard to unpick!

Generally fat needles use thicker yarn. Hobby craft can be good for picking up projects... esp for scarves, am sure last time i was in they had a GIANT ball of wool and needle with a pattern.

hope this link works

as you learn, you may find that you need larger/smaller needles to get the right tension/gauge for whatever you're making, because you might knit tighter or looser than average. but don't worry about that until you have got more confident

I taught myself from a combination of books, YouTube and a nice Rowan lady at my local John Lewis who helped me when I got stuck. Check out your local knitting shops/ department stores.

try again

this one?

last attempt

definitely doable, a really good beginner project. i wouldn't start with that - i'd do some squares and swatch the pattern with less expensive yarn to start with. get used to casting on and binding off etc. but definitely a good project

Yes! That's it!
Thanks all for the tips and advice. Will be off to purchase some yarn and needles this weekend and have a browse of YouTube for some lessons.

Petula, if I can practice an work myself up to that pattern I'll be happy!

I was going to ask the same question! If so I think this is a nice project - worsted/Aran is a good place to start because it knits up quick and you can see the stitches. If you do a sample first to get the stitch pattern down, I think this would be a good quick knit and worth getting some really nice yarn have you realised yet that knitting can be really expensive? :)

yes, i would do it in really nice yarn too

practice with some cheaper yarn of the same weight (worsted is the same as aran/10-ply in uk terminology as littleomar says) and maybe get some needles of 5mm, 5.5mm and 6mm to practice with. you will use them again once you've got hte hang of it!

but for the real thing, you want something cushy and soft and as it will be next to the delicate skin on your neck it's got to be totally non-itchy! so this will be more expensive but worth it because it will look better and you will actually want to wear it

here are some other yarn suggestions that others have used. i have used the madelinetosh, malabrigo merino and malabrigo silk merino next to skin. another lovely one i've used is fyberspates scrumptious aran

Oh no littleo is it really? Is it because there's so many lovely (expensive) yarns to choose from? This is going to be like when I started sewing and got addicted to different fabrics isn't it?

Dh will be using the eye roll again

IME experience the way to keep the cost down but knitting time up and still use nice yarn is to get into lace knitting. so using laceweight yarns and making big beautiful shawls - 100g goes much further that way, and they can take weeks/months to finish

of course i never stick to that , as after making a laceweight shawl i start craving sock patterns and chunky jumpers

Ask your local yarn shop if they do knitting classes, OP. A lot of them do, and most of them are happy for you to pop in with your project if you get stuck. Knitters are lovely people!

If you're anywhere near Brighton, I'll teach you!