Learn to knit a Step by Step Guide for Beginners

Have you ever fancied learning to Knit? This learn to knit Step by Step Guide for beginners will get you started.

Then this post will help you go from total beginner ( as in never picked up a pair of needles ) to a confident beginner who can actually create something for the home or to wear. Here’s a secret you will also get information for your first every project.

(If this post contains affiliate links please see our full disclosure policy although I have to say I tried really hard to make it interesting and even I struggled to write it so if you really must read it you can find it here)

When you are starting out don’t get too hung up with all the stitches and patterns you just want to start knitting.

You really only need two things to get you started

Yarn
Needles you need two in case you didn’t know my preferred needles can be found here, not only are they gorgeous they are a joy to use and I also have a few crochet hooks as well. I prefer wooden needles as I find steel cold.

Table of Contents

Best Knitting Resources

Needles

Symphonie needle set

Size 6 to 8 US needles are perfect for beginners.

Brittany needles

Yarn

Start off with Acrylic you don’t want to waste lots of lovely expensive wool yarn when you are just getting started. Make sure to match the Yarn to the needle size. So if you went with Brittany needles size 6 to 8 you would need yarn gauge

Knitpicks has its own affordable yarn range in Worsted weight (DK in the UK) this is a nice weight to work with.

Beginners knitting kit to learn to knit a scarf from Knitpicks click here to find out more.

US & UK charts

This is a quick reference guide with UK and US differences with needle size and yarn plus abbreviations. There is not much difference between UK and US knitting abbreviations when reading patterns unlike crochet.

Best Beginners Knitting Books

If your curious or in a hurry to find out what is the best 5-star reviewed Book on knitting on Amazon:

Get more information on Knitting 101 from Amazon Here.

If I had to pick ONE it would be this one. ☑️ This Specific Beginners Knitting book gets great 5-star reviews on Amazon.

It’s an excellent choice for a beginner Knitter with clear photos and walkthrough guide just check out the reviews BEST of all it’s under $12. If you find it under $12 then its a bargain so grab it.

More Knitting Books for Beginners

Knitty Gritty: Knitting For The Absolute Beginner

Knitting Basics for Beginners: Step By Step Visual Guide – Learn to Knit Like a Pro in Less than a Week!

Best Books for General Crafts to make and sell

Helpful Craft Books for selling your crafts:

How to start knitting

How to hold your needles

There are many ways to hold your needles depending on where you live. Yep, different countries teach different ways.

Hold your needles in each hand with your first fingers used to move the yarn over the needles.

It needs to be comfortable for you.

How to make a slip knot

A slip knot is your first stitch. Like holding your needles there are lots of different ways to make slip knots.

Create a loop by fold the right side of the yarn over the left
Pull the yarn through the loop to form a knot
Insert your needle through the knot formed

How to cast on

There are a number of ways to cast on basically its split into one needle cast on this gives a very elastic and rough edge to a two needle cast on.

The two needle cast on gives a neat and firm stitch and is my preferred cast on method.

One needle cast on

First, make your slip knot. Using either your right or left Hand ( I use my right hand) create a loop on your right-hand thumb and transfer it to your knitting needle on your left hand.

Here is a post showing you 5 ways to cast.

https://crafts.tutsplus.com/tutorials/knitting-fundamentals-5-different-ways-to-cast-on–craft-2142

Two Needle cast on

One of the most popular cast on methods for knitting is the Longtail cast on or double cast on. This cast on method creates a knitted first row and it is very versatile to use on many different projects.

https://www.simple-knitting.com/long-tail-cast-on.html

The only drawback is that you leave enough yarn for your project.

It’s not one I use I learned using the knitted stitch method and still use this way today.

One advantage to this method is that you are also learning how to knit a stitch so its basically two for one with this method.

When you use the knitted cast on you can either work in between the stitches instead of into the stitches for this cast on or using the “English Method” or “ Continental method “ casting on into the stitches.

There are even more ways to cast on apart from these pick one ( I like the knitted cast on) and stick to it till you get more confident. The post above goes into 5 different ways to cast on.

Here is how I cast on using the “English method”

wind your yarn around the needle like so

pull the yarn through to create a loop on your right-hand needle

add the stitch to the left-hand needle to create the second stitch

How to knit a row

If you used the knit stitch to cast on you will now be a little bit more familiar with how to make a knit stitch. In case you didn’t here is a handy little guide.

Once you create a row of knit stitches this is called the Garter stitch and it’s your first type of knitting stitch!

When you knit stitches using this method its called “English” or “ American right-handed style”.

How to purl a row

When you do a purl stitch instead of inserting the needle into the bottom of the stitch you are inserting the needle from behind the stitch towards you – hard to explain without showing you the difference.

start by bringing your needle through the left-hand needle stitch in front of the needle

Yarn over then complete the stitch by pulling the loop through

How to cast off

Casting off or binding off to finish your work with a nice neat edge.

You start off with two stitches on your needle that you have just done. So if I had my work on my left hand English style and my new stitches on my right hand I want to take my needle with my work on it through the first stitch on my right hand basically pull it over the second stitch like below.

Take the first stitch and pull it over the second stitch on the right-hand needle

This leaves you one stitch on your right-hand needle. You always need two on this needle so knit another stitch onto the right needle so you can pull the first stitch over it again.

Basically, continue till there are no stitches left and then you bring the yarn completely through the last loop to secure it.

Reading Patterns

First off you need a list of abbreviations here is a comprehensive list.

https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/knitting-abbreviations

Patterns are written in abbreviations to make them easier to read and save space look at the knitting abbreviations to find out how they abbreviate knitting terms.

You will find that when you first start reading patterns you will have to refer to the list of abbreviations to see what each means but as you continue you will get the hang of it. A lot of the terms are very straight forward like knit stitch – k and purl stitch p and CO cast on.

Each row will be on a separate line normally and will be labelled as row 1 row 2 etc.

Brackets are used to enclose a group of stitches that need to be repeated.

This will get you started if you want a more in-depth tutorial.

https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/how-to-read-knitting-pattern

Picking your first Free knitting pattern

Firstly and most importantly make sure it’s a beginners pattern. The difficulty level will be stated on the pattern.

I would say when you choose your first pattern make sure it’s one that will be quick to knit without lots of fiddly bits. Actually, a scarf can take some time to make so maybe something like a hat would be better. How about a dishcloth.

This post has some easy patterns that you could try including a dishcloth.