How To Knit - Basics

Winter is here and the cold weather is fast approaching, scarves, beanies and gloves are all being displayed in shops for all kinds of prices, if the item seems too pricey, why not make your own? Don't know how to knit? Read on and you'll learn the basics of knitting and before you know it, you'll have your own wonderful Winter warmer made with love and in the designs and colours you want for much less than what you saw in the shop.

First of all, you will need knitting needles. Depending on the yarn you are using and the stitch you are creating, determines the needle you should be using. For the basics, we are sticking to 4 mm needles which can be bought at any yarn/wool shop, especially the ones we listed in our Top 10 Winter Warmers You Can Make post. In terms of yarn, generally aim for 4 ply or 8 ply, you can find a range of colours and they are very versatile.

The starting point with knitting, after you have your needles and yarn, is the slip knot. We find it is always much easier to follow step by step diagrams than it is to understand just written instructions.

After you make the slip knot, the next step is called Casting On. This is where you determine how many stitches you are going to have in a row. Later we will teach you about adding and subtracting stitches as you work, for now though we will keep it basic.

When it comes to Casting On and knitting, provided you are right-handed, the wool needs to be on your right and controlled by your right hand. The simplest diagram to show Casting On, we've included below.

You then continue this on by using the newest stitch you make, or in other terms, the stitch closest to the point. Do this until you have made enough stitches for the row, patterns will generally tell you how many stitches to cast on. A good number for any beginner to practice with would be 20.

Now you are ready to start knitting. The first stitch to start with is called Garter Stitch.

Step 1)With all the stitches on the needle in your left hand, take the empty needle in your right hand and insert it into the first stitch (closest to the pointed end) on the left needle, making sure to keep the right needle underneath the left needle.

Step 2 & 3) Still holding onto both of these needles, with your right hand, wrap the yarn counter clockwise around the left needle so that it is pulled between both needles in the middle (sometimes you will hear a click of the needles if you pull it all the way in).

Step 4) Holding onto the yarn so the stitch you are making moves with the right needle, you can gently pull the right needle out, but not enough for the stitch to come off, you want to keep that stitch you made on the right needle, and as for the stitch on the left that you originally put your right needle through, you can now slide that one off the left needle.

When you have knitted to your heart's content, you will then need to know about casting off, this takes place once the item has been completed or, when you have completed the knitting stage and just need to stich parts together.

Casting off or as some people call it Binding off, involves knitting the first 2 stitches, which will then end up on the right needle, then the trick is, to insert the left needle into the stitch you knitted first on the right needle, pull it over the second stitch and off the needle. In a way it is leapfrogging the stitch on the right needle, over the new stitch on the right needle. You do this with every stitch you knit.

Once this is done, you will be left with one stitch on the right needle, the last stitch, take the tail of the yarn and thread it through the last stitch and pull tight. This will secure your work and if you have no need for this tail, you can then thread or sew it back through the work, this helps to keep your work tidy.

We hope you enjoyed our post on knitting, please feel free to share or leave a comment.