Advice for Beginning Knitters

I posted the following message to one of the knitting lists I read. A woman who learned to knit as a child was returning to knitting and wanted some pointers. This note is one spot where I put together everything I usually tell beginners. It's worth posting here, as well.

Knitting is a great way to keep your hands busy. I got back into it a few years ago when I was dieting. Can't do mindless eating when you have two sticks in your hands. :)

Since you are refreshing dormant skills, start with something basic. Don't be too hard on yourself if there are mistakes at the beginning. Frogging (Rip-it! Rip-it! ) and Tinking (Knit spelled backwards which refers to unknitting stitches one at a time) are a very real part of knitting.

I'd suggest a simple garter stitch scarf. I start beginners with size 15 needles, worsted weight yarn of their choice, and have them cast on about 20-25 stitches depending upon how wide they want the scarves. Garter stitch is created by knitting every row. By the time you have a five or six foot scarf, you will have the mechanics of tension and stitch creation under control. Your second scarf can be a k2, p2 rib to let you practice the purl stitch. After that, check some online sites, such as Lion Brand's website ( http://www.lionbrand.com/ ) or www.knittingpatterncentral.com to find new projects to create. The Lion Brand site rates their patterns by difficulty. I'm sure you will find other sites that do the same.

Two mnemonics my grandkids use to remember stitch formation are these ditties:

Knit stitch:

In through the front door,
Run around the back;
Out the window,
Off jumps Jack.

Purl stitch:

Under the fence,
Catch a sheep,
Back we come,
Off we leap.

A note on needles: metal and fiber (bamboo, wood, etc.) needles each have their purposes. Fiber needles work well with slippery yarns because they grab them better than metal. Metal, on the other hand, lets rougher yarns slip off the needles easily. My beginners usually like to start with short, size 15 bamboo needles because they feel good in their hands. It's part of the tactile experience of knitting. You should pick the needles that you like. Many experienced knitters only use circular needles, even on flat project. I prefer circulars when I'm traveling. I can't loose a needle if I drop it. (I can guarantee I will drop a needle at the most awkward moment, in the most crowded situation.)

Another note on yarn: don't work with too cheap yarn. After you put hours of work into a project, you don't want it wasted on a yarn that doesn't hold your stitches well, or that is scratchy and uncomfortable to work or wear. My mother made me a pull-on vest when she was a beginning knitter. She worked too tightly (it's a common problem with beginners) and she literally stretched all the spring out of the yarn. The vest couldn't stretch enough to go over my head and shoulder! I was never able to wear it. We always felt half the problem was her too-tight stitches and the other half was cheap yarn that didn't have a lot of memory. (Memory is the quality that lets yarn spring back after stretching.) Your work is worth decent yarn.

By the same token, don’t be a yarn snob. Every yarn has its purpose. Some folks who start knitting with the “good yarns” such as wools, wool-blends, and other animal fibers, decide they are too good to knit with acrylic or plant fiber yarns. The animal fiber yarns are lovely to touch and work up beautifully, but they require special care and they cause some people to itch. Don't forget to look at the other yarns. Suit the yarn to your project.

If you are making a baby blanket that will be washed constantly or a hat for a rough and tumble child, acrylic is a far better choice. Acrylics and other synthetic fibers can be made to feel like animal fibers, but the are wash and wear. Many of your fun furs, ribbon yarns, and other specialty yarns will only be available in some sort of man-made fiber. If you don't use man-made fiber, you will never have the joy of making items from these yarns. Lower priced acrylics often feel scratchier than those that are more expensive. The oils and sizing used in the processing of the yarn will generally wash out over time and the product will become softer, but that doesn’t help your hands while you are making it. Touch your yarns and see which ones feel better right now. After all, you are going to be handling this yarn a lot while creating your project.

Plant fibers don't have the spring that animal fibers have, but they are cooler, they wick moisture and they breathe better. A summer tank top or a kitchen dishcloth is far better made from plant fiber (cotton, linen, bamboo, etc.) than from wool. If you want to make socks or something that needs the springiness of animal fiber, but you want to make it from a plant fiber, look for a blend that has some elastic in it. The elastic will help your socks keep their shape.

You can check further on my blog for hints and directions for doing the thumb cast on (a variation of the long-tail cast on) and other helps for beginners.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting Ditties and Tying a Bowline

Have trouble remembering how to form knit and purl stitches? These ditties remind me of the story about the rabbit running around his tree* that we taught Brownies when they were learning knot tying. (I was so-o-o-o bad about tying the bowline that my rabbit couldn't even find the tree!)

By the way, these ditties work. I taught them to Lala on a Monday night. She was the first of our Stitch n Bitchers to learn the purl stitch! The next day she took her yarn to school and was teaching the kids in her second grade class knit and purl stitches during show-n-tell. That's pretty good for the girl that was forgetting to finish her knit stitches before she learn the poems.

To help you remember the knit stitch: 

In through the front door,
Run around the back,
Out through the window,
And off pops Jack!


This translates as: (Knitting American style)

In through the front door -- insert your right needle from front to back of the first loop on the left needle.  

Run around the back -- Loop your yarn from the bottom around the back of the fabric bringing it onto the needle. You will be looping the yarn from underneath, between the back of the fabric and the right needle, and laying the yarn over the needle.

Out through the window -- draw the yarn that is laying across your right needle point through the loop that is on the left needle.

And off pops Jack -- Tug gently to form a new loop on the right needle, and then slip the other loop off the left needle. The left loop will form the "knot" that secures the loop on the right needle. (If this doesn't work right, the stitch will not form and you will drop the stitch.)

and the purl stitch:

Under the fence
Catch the sheep
Back we come
Off we leap.

Under the fence -- Insert right needle from back to front into first loop on left needle.

Catch the sheep -- with yarn pulled to the front of the fabric, slide it underneath the right needle and over so that it is laying in front of the loop on the left needle.

Back we come -- using the point of the right needle, guide the yarn through the loop on the left needle to create a new loop on the right needle.

Off we leap -- Slip left loop off of left needle, and allow it to tighten at the bottom of the loop on the right needle. Again, if this step doesn't finish and create the "knot" your stitch will drop and disappear.

NOTE (6/30/09): Oral traditions are always evolving. My grandkids have already modified these to be:

In the door,
Run around the back,
Out the window,
Off jumps Jack.

and

Under the fence,

Catch a sheep,

Out the window,

Off we leap.

*For the curious, I searched the Net and found this tutorial on tying a bowline from Boy Scout Troop 184 in Tranquility, New Jersey. (Unfortunately, the site had been removed, so the link no longer works. :( iij 5/09)

The Bowline

It is time to put your first accomplishment to use. We will dip into Nature Studies to come up with the mnemonic or memory aid for tying the Bowline. Form an Overhand Loop about two feet from the running end of your rope. The part of the rope in your left hand is a tree. The standing end is the trunk of the tree. The Overhand Loop is a rabbit hole at the base of the tree. The running end is the rabbit.

The story goes: the rabbit comes out of the hole (through the Overhand Loop towards you), runs to the back (to the right) around the tree and goes back into the hole from which he came. Now grab hold of the running end and the part of the loop which is closest to the running end in one hand and the standing end (the tree trunk) in the other hand and tighten the knot.

The question of which way does the rabbit go is frequently asked. Consider the loop which forms the letter “P” to be the direction pointer and go straight back on that side. The result will be that the running end will be inside the noose. If the running end winds up on the outside of the noose, the knot is not a true Bowline (called a Left-Handed Bowline, no offense, Lefties) and it will be a much weaker knot.

I have lost the illustrations that originally came with these directions, but I did find this website that gives step-by-step photos. http://www.wikihow.com/Tie-a-Bowline-Knot