Learning How To Knit: A Beginners Guide

Learning how to knit may take a little practice, but you'll find it is pretty easy. There are basically two stitches you use in knitting… knit and purl. Any pattern you will come across works with these two stitches and their variations. All you need to knit is a pair of knitting needles and a skein of yarn. Ready to begin?

First, you need to get the yarn on the needle. This is called casting on. There are many methods for casting on, but we will cover a simple one here for you to try. First you need to make a slip knot and put the loop over one needle.  Hold this needle in your left hand. Pick up the other needle in your right hand and slip it into the loop that is on the left needle from front to back. This is known as "opening the loop" because you're getting it ready for a stitch. Next, take the yarn (the side that is running back to the remainder of the skein) and loop it over the point of the right needle in a counter-clockwise direction.

Keep the yarn held loose enough to work with, but tight enough to stay on the needle. This is the part that takes practice… slowly slide the right needle down so the loop is near the tip but doesn't come off. The right needle should also be coming down from behind the left needle. It's okay to use a finger to give the right needle a little push to get it in front of the left needle. Now just push that loop on the right needle onto the left needle, next to the slip knot loop. Repeat this as many times as needed to get the amount of stitches for your project. For practice, 20 stitches work well.

Are you ready to learn how to knit? This is how to make a knit stitch. First you need to open the stitch. Hold the needle with the cast-on stitches in your left hand, and the empty need le in your right. The yarn leading to your skein should be at the back. Slip the tip of your right needle into the first loop on the left needle from front to back, just like during casting on. Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle, making sure it passes between the two needles.

Just like the cast-on, slide the right needle down until the new loop is at the tip while the needle moves from the back to the front. Now you have the right needle in the front with a loop on it. To finish your stitch, slide the right needle up until the first loop on the left needle slides off. You've made your first knit stitch! Repeat across the row and then turn the work over. The left needle will be empty, and when you turn the work over, it becomes the new right needle and you do the same thing you just did to create each row.