Learn to KnitGrab your knitting needles and yarn, and learn a new knitting skill the easy way: by watching! Start by learning the knitting basics such as Long Tail cast-on and the knit and purl stitches. Those three techniques make up the vast majority of any knitting project, so pat yourself on the back. From there you'll probably want to learn a couple of increases and decreases, and check out our knitting tips page. When you're ready for even more excitement, delve into some advanced knitting techniques.
The knit stitch is just pulling a loop of yarn through an existing loop on the needle. Pulling it through with the yarn in the back creates the knit stitch. Pulling it through with the yarn in front creates the purl stitch. These are the foundation stitches of knitting. To begin your knitting, start with a cast-on.
Which style should you learn?
Well, if no one has given you a suggestion yet, and you're looking for someone to point to one method for simplicity's sake, I'll say try Continental. This features the yarn held in the left hand. But if you're up for it, try English knitting as well, which places the yarn in the right hand. The "best" method is simply the one you feel most easy with, the method you most enjoy. Each method has its own appeal. And at some point you'll find it quite handy to know both English and Continental knit stitches, because you can employ both of them simultaneously for a very efficient technique of doing color work ("Stranding"). |
