Getting started: knitting

Making clothes for your family is extremely rewarding! I make a wide range of clothes for me and my family! My favorite projects so far are the ones I have made for my husband. He and my dog have matching sweaters and I want to design and knit matching sweaters for him and I next. 

You don’t have to design your own patterns to enjoy making things for your family, just come here and I will post free designs for you to use! You will also need supplies. If you are just starting out I recommend finding in your supplies at the thrift store! Most places I have been to will have buckets of knitting needles to choose from. I even found an interchangeable needle set one time! 

First, pick out an easy pattern you love. My first knit item was a free washrag pattern I found on Pinterest. You can find tons of patterns from amazing knitters that were designed to learn knitting on Pinterest and Etsy. Just be sure to look up beginner friendly patterns!

Next, you will need needles. Take a look at the beginning of your pattern. It should have a supplies/materials section at the front where you can find what size and type of needle. I could write a whole blog post on knitting needles, but here is the fast track version. Fixed needles are the classic stick needles with a stopper on one end to keep your stitches on. Circular needles are two short needles connected by a cable. Circular needles are easier to use in my opinion, because the weight of your project is more spread out. This makes it easier on your wrists as well! So if you have hand or wrist pain I would stay away from the classic needles. Interchangeable needles are circular needles that allow you to detach the cable in between needles to create different lengths. If you aren’t sure you will love knitting I would get your first needles from the thrift store! Then if you love it, get a set of interchangeable needles! 

When it comes to buying yarn I recommend staying away from the thrift store for your first time. Although you can find really high quality yarns at the thrift store, it can be difficult as a beginner to pick out good yarns. We want our projects to last us a lifetime, do we not! I recommend starting with a wool or cotton yarn that does not split easily. With the way natural fibers are spun this can be difficult, but there are awesome new techniques that are creating easy to use yarns. Some of my recommendations are Knit Picks Wonderfluff and fluff of the Andes for wool, and Drops Air for wool yarns, and Knit Picks Woolen Cotton, Drops Merino Cotton for warmer weather yarns. While these are my favorite yarns to learn on, there are plenty of awesome yarns out there to try! Just be on the lookout for splitting your yarn with the tip of your needles. P.S. make sure the yarn matches the yarn needed on your pattern! Most of the recommended yarns are worsted or dk which are great options to learn with!

Last but not least, look up some videos on YouTube and get started! Everyone knits so differently so if the first video does not make sense, don’t stress, just keep watching videos until the process makes sense! Really focus on exactly what the yarn is doing, how it’s looping together. If you understand how the yarn works into a fabric then learning different stitches down the road will be a lot easier! I will have a chart explaining how knitting works and posting beginner patterns soon to help you on your journey!

Sincerely, 

Milo’s mom