How to Knit - A Beginner's Beginning
After reading through Yarn and Knitting Basics, you’re probably more than ready to dive in and start knitting.
To help you get started, below are some video tutorials curated from some of our favorite sites that give clear instructions on how to knit.
These tutorials will:
- show you the very basics of knit and purl stitches
- show you how to get your first row started
- give visual demonstrations of terms that were covered in the Basic Basics
- link to tutorials for simple projects
- share knitting tips and tricks
After that, I’ll point you to sites where you can download free patterns, including a social community of crafters you can join for free.
Let's begin...
A Great Place to Start
Here are 4 videos from Sheep & Stitch that walk you through the first steps you need to learn for getting started knitting:
Find more knitting videos by Sheep & Stitch on their YouTube channel.
For a review of these beginning steps, check out the gifs accompanying written explanations from Wikihow's How to Knit page.
If you'd rather learn from drawings, you can print out some hand drawn tutorials from the yarn company Sirdar. These helpful drawings and explanations cover a range of things you'll want to learn, from basic casting on to how to make finishing touches.
You could print out and organize these helpful pages into a knitting journal, so you'll have the instructions on hand when you're ready to tackle more advanced stitches.
Here are some quick links to Sirdar's website:
The Basics
Shaping
Helpful Tips
- HOW TO JOIN IN A NEW BALL OF YARN OR CHANGE COLOUR
- UK & US CROCHET TERMS
- HOW TO PLACE COLOURED MARKER THREADS
Sewing Up
Finishing
Starting Out Simply
Now that you’ve got a general understanding and some terms under your belt, why not knit something really straightforward to get some practice?
Below are 4 projects by some of our favorite online knitting instructors (Sheep & Stitch, Very Pink Knits, Expression Fiber Arts, and Wool and the Gang) to get you thinking about tackling your first – simple - knitting project:
Knitting Tips and Tricks Video Tutorials
Below are some knitting tips and tricks videos, from some of the best online teachers:
- Knitting tips from Wool and the Gang
- How to fix mistakes from Sheep & Stitch
- How to join yarn from Sheep & Stitch
- How to use life lines and undo mistakes from Very Pink Knits
- Knitting using the English Style from Expert Village
- Knitting using the Continental style from Cynthia Spencer
- How to finish your knitting with binding off from Lion Brand Yarns
- How to Weave in Ends from Very Pink Knits
If you're ready to dive in to a new project, check out 35,000 Free Knitting Patterns and Digitized Knitting Magazines.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get our free How to Knit ebook.
Curious about which knitting books are the most popular and which knitting techniques are trending? Check out our curated list of 25 Best Selling Knitting Books. Click through to see what readers are saying about these beloved books.
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