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Knitting @lemmy.world quinacridone @lemmy.ml

Knitting resources for beginners

I hope this post is okay here?

Basically I can knit, and I can purl. I can knit a long 'thing,' and once, using circular needles, I made a 'tube' but I'd like to do more

Can anyone recommend a resource, preferably written with pictures, and maybe a link to a video to progress to something more complex? (it would help if the video is simple and slow)

I would like to eventually make a sock (I must be a masochist).

The thing is I struggle to understand the 'code' of patterns so I need something really basic, I'm also autistic (I don't know if that would cause issues, per-say, but thought I'd include it in order to give an overview of potential difficulties)

Thank you for any help you can offer 👍

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19 comments

  • Welcome to the community! We would be only too happy to enable you 😄

    My usual advice for newbies is to have a goal, which you already have: to knit socks one day.

    So that gives you a "curriculum" of sorts to shoot for. I'd definitely recommend having the following skills down first:

    • Casting on with a stretchy method (I like long tail cast on, personally)
    • Knit and purl
    • Knitting in the round
    • Basic increases and decreases
    • Slip stitches

    To complete a typical top-down sock pattern with a heel flap and gusset, which tend to be the most common sort, you'll also need to pick up stitches and learn how to graft toes together. However, those two skills can just be looked up and learned when you get to that part, you don't really need to practise them beforehand.

    So really the most useful resource is going to depend on which of these things you already feel comfortable with and which you don't.

    We had this thread a few weeks ago from a fellow want-to-knit-socks-one-day newbie, so that has a lot of good advice too. And OP totally achieved socks!

    • Thank you for the welcome!

      I think I've done a long cast on- the one with a tail (if that makes any sense?) it has been a while though.

      I can definitely knit and purl, though I'm rusty

      Ditto for knitting in the round

      Basic increase/decreases and Slip stitches- no idea!

      Would it be a good idea to do a knitting in the round, and maybe a basic tube/neck warmer (it doesn't matter if it takes ages to make as it would always be useful to wear next winter)? Something with a nice pattern as I can practice the knit and purl?

      I am on Ravelry so I can find lots of free patterns (assuming Ravelry still exists, it's been a while)

      Cheers

  • I put together a Ravelry search for you to start from. Knit, difficulty level 1, website patterns, cowls - looks like you have to be logged in to see the search page.

    The thing to search for (in addition to gaiter) is a cowl. They're a tube-thing that works like a scarf. Some are smaller tubes that fit like a gaiter (if I'm thinking of the right thing), and some are scarves with the ends stitched together - you can decide if you want to make in the round or long, using some fancy stitches or doing nothing but stockinette stitch.

    Some of the websites will have written step-by-step instructions that work for you, some will be a little confusing, and some will only have videos. It's going to be harder for me to pick anyone specifically, because what I find useful might not be as helpful to you.

    Don't be afraid to start over, either. If you're not happy with the pattern, find something else that you want to try with that yarn and start again. You will probably be happier in the long run if you don't force it - and you get to practice the cast-on! (Seriously, long-tail is a really useful cast-on to know!)

    Hope that some of this was useful for you! Good luck!

    • Thank you for this! It's really kind of you 😊

      I've started saving them to my favourites so I can weigh up which ones to try out

  • @quinacridone You would absolutely love Tin Can Knits. They have tons of written guides for beginners with pictures, and videos aren't mandatory in any way.

    • Thank you, I'm now checking out their hats in one of my many tabs

      • @quinacridone Hope you enjoy! I love their patterns and my self-taught knitting journey started with their incredible beginner's guides. I learned socks with their tutorial too and every pair I've done has turned out perfect.

  • So to echo some other comments, add a left leaning increase and decrease (make 1 left / slip-slip-knit), and a right leaning increase and decrease (make 1 left / knit two together) and you'll have nearly everything you need to make socks. Add in basic Kitchener grafting for cuff down, or Judy's magic cast-on and Jeny's super stretchy bind-off for toe--up and you're good to go!

    • Thank you, I'm going to star your comment so I can find it again when I think I'm ready to tackle socks.

      I'm going to start 'simple' and try to build my skill set as I go, at the moment the words 'basic Kitchener grafting for cuff down' sounds like quantum physics!

      • Lol my bad for loading up the jargon!

        To unpack that last bit: "grafting" is a word used to describe using a needle and yarn to join two pieces of knitted fabric, often so they look like a single knitted piece. When knitting a sock starting from the cuff, when you eventually get to the toe you have to close it up as the last step. This can be done by grafting the top and bottom halves of the sock together.

        Kitchener stitch is one specific grafting technique that you can look up in you favourite book or search engine! (And full confession: since I knit toe up I've never actually mastered it!)

19 comments