Knitting Instructions - The Basics
So you've decided that you want to learn how to knit. Great! This website is by no means a complete tutorial. It's just an overview of the main things you will have to know to get you on the right path. The book we recommend at the top of this page Knitting Essentials is the best learning to knit beginners guide that we've found, and we looked at a lot of them. We highly recommend that you get this excellent and affordable book if you are serious about getting started right on your new knitting hobby!
The Five Basic Instructions
Weft knitting and warp knitting are the two major varieties of knitting. In weft knitting, the entire fabric may be produced from a single yarn, by adding stitches to each wale in turn, moving across the fabric like a raster scan. By contrast, in warp knitting, one yarn is required for every wale. Since a typical piece of knitted fabric may have hundreds of wales, warp knitting is typically done by machine, whereas weft knitting is done by both hand and machine.Making A Slip Knot
Making a slip knot is very easy. The purpose of the knot is to secure the knitting. If the knitting is not secured properly, your stiches could open up from the beginning. Making the slip knot is very easy: just pull some yarn to make one loop. Then simply tie a regular knot. [diagram] When you make your slip knot, be sure to leave a tail end that is at least three times the width of the item you want to knit. For example, if you are knitting a scarf that is six-inches wide, you'll want to have a tail that is at least eighteen-inches long.
Casting On
The next step is to cast on stiches. You start with your slip knot. Hold the needle with the slip knot in your right hand. With the left hand, close the bottom three fingers around the yarn, then
spread the yarn open with your thumb and index finger. Next, pull the right hand side down. It will look like you're holding a slingshot. Now here's the part that will take a bit of practice. Take the needle with your right hand and pick up the left loop closest to you from bottom up. Continue this untill you get number of stitches you desire on the left needle. Now your stitches are ready. Knit Stitch
Now it's time to learn the two basic types of stiches, the knit stitch and purl stitch. To make a knit stitch, put the right hand needle point through the stitch nearest to the point of the left hand needle, slipping it under the loop on the front of this needle. Take the yarn counter-clockwise round the right hand needle, and up between the right and left hand needles. Now pull the right hand needle up through the loop on the left hand needle. This will create a new stitch. As you pull the yarn through, allow the original loop you just put the needle through to come off the left hand needle. Now just continue these movements - yarn behind needle and up between the two needles, needle pulls yarn through stitch, original stitch pulled off left hand needle - with each stitch on the left hand needle. Eventually, all the stitches will be on the right hand needle and you will have knitted your first row!Purl Stitch
To make a purl stitch, you do all the same steps as you do to make a knit stitch except with slightly different motions. Hold the needles as if to knit -- the needle with the stitches is in your left hand and the empty needle is in your right hand. . Place the yarn from the existing piece and the ball in front of the left needle. Insert the right needle towards you through the first stitch on the left needle (right to left, from the back to the front). The right needle will be on top of the left needle and pointing towards you (downward.). Now loop the yarn from the left needle around the tip of the right needle from the front around the back in a downward counter-clockwise motion. To make sure you don't lose the loop, place your right thumb over the yarn on the right needle so it won't come loose when you move the needle. Slide the tip of the right needle and the yarn on it through the center of the stitch on the left needle, moving it away from you. With the tip of the right needle, pull the new loop off the tip of the left needle. You now have a stitch on your right needle. Your first purl stich is complete!With variations and combinations of these two stitches you can create many different types of patterns very easily. For example, if you want a pattern to look like a twisted rib, then just knit from the back side of the knit stitches. This produce an even textured pattern.
Binding Off
Once you are done with your knitting, then you have to seal the ends of knitted fabric. This is accomplished through "binding off". For this bind off, first knit two stitches, then slip off the first stitch over the second needle. Knit another stitch and repeat the same procedure untill only one stitch remains. Cut the yarn and just draw it from last loop.So with this basic information you can create almost any pattern you want. Select your yarn very carefully, as the final look of the knitted fabric also depends upon thickness and type of yarn. Proper selection of the type of knitting needles is also very important, as it determines the thickness and quality of your knitted fabric. Also choose an appropriate color depending on what pattern you are knitting and for whom you are knitting.
