I’m not just a dyer; I’ve been teaching knitting for more
than seven years now. In that time, I’ve
seen quite a few beginner knitters. Here’s
what I’ve learned and what I think a beginner knitter needs to know besides
just how to knit and purl. There’s no order
to these tips, but the last one in the list is the most important in my mind
and will absolutely define you and your knitting journey. So read on!
- Relax, it’s not a death match between you and
the yarn! If your knuckles are turning
white and you’ve cut off the circulation to your fingers from wrapping the yarn
like a mutant cat’s cradle, you need to relax!
Besides, tight stitches make the next row of stitches even harder to
knit. Consciously ease back on the
tension and you’ll find a point that gives you control of the yarn without strain.
- Use good needles. I recommend this for so many reasons. First, good needles will not catch or snag
the yarn but will have some friction to help you control the yarn and
stitches. They’ll also feel better in
your hands and reduce pressure points and cramping. Don’t be afraid to try different styles of
needles to find what works for you.
There are a lot of options on the market and twice as many opinions as
to which ones are the best. The best
needles are the ones that feel good in your hands and make your
knitting easier!
- Use good yarn.
Ok, one shameless plug per blog post, I think Beach Bunny Yarns makes
the best yarn because I won’t dye something I’m not happy knitting for
myself. That said, there’s a lot of good
yarns at various price points for you to use while building your knitting
skills. I recommend using SuperWash wool,
preferably in sport, DK, or worsted weight.
If it’s a wool and nylon blend, that’s ok. Don’t attempt to learn with cotton, linen, or
silk as they have no springiness and aren’t forgiving.
- Be patient with the learning process and
yourself. It’s not a race and you won’t
master a new skill overnight. Take your
time and think about each stitch and each movement. Practice doesn’t make perfect;
practice makes permanent. So,
make sure you’re practicing with thoughtful intent. With careful and deliberate practice, you’ll
soon find your knitting groove.
- Don’t stop in the middle of a row. I tell my beginner students that unless the
house is on fire, do not stop until you get to the end of the row. Stopping in the middle of a row is the cause
of most beginner problems because the beginner will inevitably restart the
knitting in the wrong direction. This is
great for short rows, but not so much for a new knitter. Always finish your rows.
- Count! As
a beginner, count your stitches in each row.
This helps you by ensuring that you have the expected number of stitches
on the needle. If not, you know you have
a problem in the row you just knit. It’s
a good habit to get into and even experienced knitters get burned by not
counting stitches on each row and will have to “tink” (unknit) several rows to
correct the problem.
- Learn to read stitches. As a beginner, understanding what a knit and
a purl stitch look like on the needles will be a huge boost to your knitting
skill. This is literally the, “see Spot
run,” of the knit world.
- Swatch and block, it’s worth it. As a beginner, you’ll be making swatches for
practice anyway, so get into the habit of blocking them. Why?
Well, all patterns give you a gauge of stitches per inch to knit. That gauge is usually measured after
blocking. When you wet a knit fabric
swatch and pin it out flat to dry, it will grow and the stitches per inch will
be different than the unblocked gauge. Trying
to guesstimate that difference is far too risky when making a garment, so get
used to making swatches and blocking them.
You can quickly build a set of reference swatches for each needle size
and yarn type that you like to use.
- There’s not one perfect way to knit. In your knitting journey, I can almost
guarantee that you’ll run into someone that just has to tell you that you’re
not knitting correctly. If you are
making knits and purls consistently and the finished fabric is correct, ignore
them. You’ll hear terms like English,
Continental, picking, flicking, throwing, etc. and opinions on what’s
best. What’s best is what works for
you! Seriously, if your finished
stitches are correct, how you got there doesn’t matter and I’m happy for you!
- Here’s the big one and it has nothing to do with the mechanics of knitting at all. Are you ready? Here goes. Don’t say, “I could never do that.” Arrrrrgh! That phrase makes me so mad. That’s giving up before you even try! Try! Challenge yourself to do better and learn something new! You couldn’t knit or purl until you tried, right? So why are cables or stranded colorwork or lace any different? Because they look hard? So what? Just try it! Now I’m not saying that you must love mosaic colorwork or brioche or bobbles, but you should try new techniques and styles to find out if you like doing it or not. Thinking negatively about your abilities is a sure way to limit your skill future. Replace “I could never” with “I’ll try” and you’ll find so much more joy to knitting!
Knit Happy!
-- Ron
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