How to get into knitting?!

[Chocolatelovingirl]

Hi! I would really love to get into knitting and make nice things like gloves or jumpers! But I've never done any sewing or knitting before and don't know where to start, I don't have any experience in being deft with my fingers!
Should I borrow a book or watch a video, and if so, which one/s?
What material should I buy to start off with?
How long should I expect to take before I can be good at this?
I'd really appreciate any advice!

Watching with interest. I’d love to be able to knit myself a jumper or two.

DM is an amazing knitter (sewer, wallpaperer, DIYer) and I have sadly not inherited her skills!

I did, years ago, get a monthly knitting magazine that came with all the wool & patterns. I made some lovely pattered squares which would have looked great sewn into a blanket - if only I’d manage to get them all the same size!

I was looking at this because the review say it’s so easy but I’m loathe to make it and it end up a mess.
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/901895929/knitting-pattern-super-simple-sweater?click_key=162d415961c7b881c218252fae20dec2a1e25c30%3A901895929&click_sum=c8f6dca5&ref=user_profile&bes=1

I taught myself to knit a few years ago.

I started with YouTube videos and just did a scarf, plain, no fancy patterns or anything. And obviously an easy shape.

Since then I’ve done other things with more complicated patterns. But I think YouTube is a good place to start and then go from there.

Not knitting (because my grandmother taught me how) but I recently learnt crochet by taking 1-2-1 lessons in my local wool shop, I had tried books and videos but couldn’t get my head around it so I went for a few lessons to understand the basics and recently finished my first project (a crochet hippo ). If I was you I’d have a look to find my local independent wool shop and go along and ask for some suggestions (eg. Please recommend a good first project, which wool should i buy etc.) usually I find they are very willing to offer advice.

I'm teaching myself to knit using this book:

You Will Be Able to Knit by the End of This Book https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabc0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ

It's going well so far, I'm about halfway through but I'm really enjoying it!!

Knitting is a brilliant hobby. I took it up in my late 30s (I'm 50) and I can now make fairly complicated things - Fairisle stuff, cable, socks, jumpers etc. There are a gazillion YouTube videos on everything from the total basics of how to cast on and do the basic stitches. I watched lots, but I also bought a total beginners' book called Knitty Gritty, which was really helpful.

If you want any more advice, you could pop over to the current Knit, Crochet and Natter thread. Lots of wise knitters there, and total beginners are very welcome!

I would love to learn to knit but just couldn't pick it up from YouTube tutorials!

YouTube is definitely your friend. It really helps to see some of the stitches in action. I agree with starting out with a scarf/something very simple. That will help you to get a feel for holding the needles and the yarn.

I also recommending signing up to Ravelry which is a free website for knitters/crocheters. There are loads and loads of patterns on there (many are free) and it's a great place to get inspiration and chat to friendly people to get advice. It's a really nice community for people of all levels and very welcoming.

@cheeseisthebest

I would love to learn to knit but just couldn't pick it up from YouTube tutorials!

I'm not sure what's running at the moment but sometimes you just need someone helpful to sit with you and show you. I've found wherever I've lived there's usually been a local knitting group, and I think most (all?) hobbycrafts run them as well. The people I've met at them have loved new knitters and helped me when I've been stuck on something. My favourite group was a combined knitting/book club!

Local libraries often have a knitting group, they will show you

Some community centres run Knit and natter groups.

Thank you so much ladies for all the advice!
I will look into those books. Does anyone like any specific Youtube channels?
Do you just buy some wool you like the look of and some needles and make your first scarf or whatever based on that, or should I find a specific pattern then go buy things?

You need 4mm knitting needles, and stylecraft special dk wool

Look up some YouTube videos for long tailed or thumb cast on method, that will get you started.

Then you want some simple videos on how to do garter stitch/knit stitch.

Start with just casting on 20 stitches and knitting a load of rows till you don't have to think about your hand position or which way to move the wool around the needle.

Once you've got the hang of knit, look up Purl stitch and do the same again.

All knitting is a combination of knit and purl stitch, knit you are making the knot at the back of your piece, purl you are making a knot at the front.

If you just do knit for every row you get a thick, stretchy, bouncy length of knitting.

If you do a row of knit then a row of purl, you get a very stable, neat and less stretchy piece in a pattern called 'stockinette' stitch.

If you alternate stitches so you do Knit, purl, knit, purl you get a ribbed piece of work like the brim of a beanie hat or a cuff of a sweater.

@mrstea301

I'm teaching myself to knit using this book:

You Will Be Able to Knit by the End of This Book amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ smile.[[amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm]]amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm]]smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ sw]]wamazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ r]]amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ cp]]pamazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ api]]amazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ glt]]tamazon.co.uk/dp/1781577595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ fabc0HC1BP12RCE853AS12ZJ]]

It's going well so far, I'm about halfway through but I'm really enjoying it!!

I bought this one, spent £20 on the wool for a scarf only to have given up before I attempted it 😂 I’m sure I could knit by the end of the book if I bothered to finish the book but I think I’m more a YouTube kind of person or for someone to show me how to do it.

I still can’t knit but I still haven’t finished the book so it’s true to its word I suppose 🤷🏼‍♀️

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo you make it sound so easy! Can you come to my house and show me please? Cake will be provided 😋

When you're just starting out and don't yet want to spend a lot on yarn, Wilko, £shops and similar homeware shops sell dk in a variety of colours.

[quote sarah13xx]@HalfShrunkMoreToGo you make it sound so easy! Can you come to my house and show me please? Cake will be provided 😋[/quote]
😆

I taught myself to knit a few years ago, had lots of false starts mainly because I tried to start too fast. I am generally impatient and figured I'd go straight in with a pattern which was a mistake because until you understand the acronyms and the basics they're just gibberish.

Knitting is muscle memory first and foremost, the more you do it, the more your hands can do it without you thinking, you want to get to the place where you can look away from your needles to glance at the tv and realise that you've kept knitting even though you weren't watching your hands.

Once you can do the basics then you can start deciphering patterns, learning how to add more stitches to the needle so that the piece gets wider or to decrease the number of stitches so it gets narrower, to cast off a couple of stitches in the middle of the row to create a buttonhole or a thumb hole.

I really rate buying a couple of the knitting magazine too, they all have several pages in the back which are repeated every month. Those pages have illustrated instructions for casting on, knitting and casting off as well as a page giving the most common acronyms and what they mean to help you read patterns. Plus they often come with useful stuff like stitch markers in cute designs.

I taught myself to know over the lockdown earlier this year. Started with squares, scarves and simple one piece toys and then graduated to more advanced toys. ( see attached for one I made last week!)

I started with the chunky wool on thicker needles and then moved down to DK on 4mm/ 3.5mm needles where you can get more detail. I have the bamboo ones as the wool tends not to slip so much.

Make sure you use a decent brand of wool ( I like the Hayfields DK bonus brand) Don't be tempted by the stuff you can get in the Pound shop- it's shreds and is very frustrating for a beginner!

It takes patience and practice ( and a fair bit of swearing) but there are loads and loads of tutorials on you tube which I found really helpful - I don't think a book would help me- I am much better being shown.

Wow, it wasn’t something that appealed to me before this year but now I’d love to be able to do it. Lockdown in March last year would have been a good time to start! Now I have a baby and a quick half hour window here and there. I have the needles and various wool but just need to find a YouTube video and start off slowly 🙈

Oh and if you are the kind of person motivated by beautiful tools, I am that person who gets all dreamy in stationary stores looking at all the pretty journals, the. Knitpro symfonie knitting needles are wonderful.

They are very pretty but more importantly they're smooth so the wool doesn't snag, sharp points so they slide into the stitch well and wood so they're a little less rigid and cold than metal needles and less bendy than plastic ones so they are kind on your hands and good if you have any joint problems.

I have very recently taught myself to knit (very much still learning).

Went to home bargains and bought myself some wool which is only £1 per ball for double knit yarn and some 4mm needles. They actually do a knitting starter pack for £5 with some yarn, needles and a few other bits and pieces like a small crochet hook and a darning needle.

I ordered the Knitty Gritty book second hand from world of books, it’s an excellent book that is really easy to follow. It teaches the basics and then has some easy to follow patterns. I would absolutely recommend.

So far I have knitted baby mittens, booties, a couple of hats and have just finished my first cardigan.

I got shown how to knit and purl one Christmas and taught myself the rest. None of it is that complicated! Start with squares and scarves. Don't begin with a jumper for yourself, it will cost loads, be very boring and slow and probably not fit at the end! Hats, scarves, kids stuff is good to begin with.

Join ravelry, it has tons of patterns including free ones and you can filter by difficulty.

Don't be tempted to go for fancy yarn to begin with, a nice DK cotton is easier to wrestle with than something with high wool content or a fancy texture.

Needle sizes and yarn weights can be very confusing, double check you have the right stuff before starting! There are mm, US and UK sizes for needles and they're all different. Weights like fingering, doubleknit, Arran etc all have equivalent terms 2 ply, 8 ply based on how many threads of yarn are twisted together to make them.

If you're going to start with a scarf, OP, I'd suggest you use chunky wool and therefore biggish needles. Scarves are ideal for beginners in that they are straightforward, but they are also big, long things which take aaaages when you're slow at the beginning!

As far as choosing yarn and needles goes, you can just buy some yarn you fancy and look on its label to see what size needles to use with it. If you just go on YouTube and search 'how to knit a scarf', loads of total beginner videos come up. They all tend to use either aran, chunk or even super chunky weight yarn and they tell you what size needles to get. They might suggest using a particular brand of yarn (because they're promoting it!) but you can ignore that and just choose one yourself as long as it is the same weight category of yarn.

So for example one video suggests using Bernat Pop yarn. If you google that yarn, you'll find out its yarn weight (aran) and that the recommended needle size is 5mm. So just find yourself another yarn that's aran weight and/or recommends 5mm needles.

I'd recommend aran or chunky rather than super chunky to start with - the needles you use for super chunky are hugely fat, to the point that they'll be less good at getting you used to using more normal size needles!

I would also recommend starting with bamboo needles, the stitches slip about on them less. It helped me to begin with but now I prefer metal ones so I think a little trial and error until you find the ones that suit you best.

Do you have a local wool shop?

I know it could feel a bit intimidating but in my experience the ladies (has always been ladies) who run any wools shops I've been in have always been very friendly.

So my advice would be to pop in, say you're brand new and just wanting some basic yarn and needles to start with.

Just cheap DK wool and 4 or 5mm needles.

You'll also be able to find out if they offer any lessons or groups. X