Congratulations on your decision to learn to knit! Knitting is a pastime which has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, and with good reasons. Knitting not only allows you to make some wonderful garments and household decorative items, but it also allows you to create while you relax as well.
Knitting gives you an amazing sense of accomplishment when you are finished with a project. Whether you are making a sweater or a scarf, you will be proud to show off your work when you have finished it.
Being new to knitting, there are a few things you need to keep in mind so that you will have the most success possible. They are:
Knitting Needles
Knitting needles are not all created equal. By far, the easiest needles to knit on are made from wood. Wooden knitting needles allow you to knit much easier because your yarn will stay in place on them. When you use plastic or metal knitting needles you will soon find that your yarns want to slide off the needles if you are not careful in handling them. When you are new to knitting it really is best to stick to wooden needles.
If you cannot find wooden knitting needles in your area, you can take a dowel of wood and cut it to be about a foot long, sharpen the end with a pencil sharpener to a blunt point, and then rub a bit of candle wax on it. This makes a great pair of inexpensive and custom knitting needles.
When you are a beginner at knitting you should create your first project with large needles for a couple different reasons. The first reason is that the large needles are easier to work with and allow you to see your mistakes much easier. If you drop a stitch you will immediately know it and can rip out and start again fairly easily. The second reason is that large knitting needles make your projects much quicker to do. You can very easily finish a scarf on large knitting needles in only a couple days. This sense of accomplishment is great for newbies.
Yarns and Fibers
When you are new to knitting you will want to start out with natural fibers such as cotton or wool. The reason you want to stick to the natural fibers is because they will not slide off of your knitting needles quite as easily as synthetic fibers will. While all those fancy yarns look inviting, they can be a challenge to work with if you are new to knitting. It is best to start off simple and move you way up.
When you purchase yarn or fibers for your projects make sure you take the time to get all of it from one dye lot. The packages of yarn will be marked with a number and you want to make sure they all match. This ensures that all of your yarn is an exact match to each other.
Knit With Others
Being new to knitting offers some challenges. One of these is trying to learn to knit well from a book or off of the Internet or television. Knitting is one of those things which appears much harder than it really is. If you have a friend or relative who knits, ask them to show you how. If you do not know anyone who knits, then you might want to take a class at your local community college, or join a local knitting group. While you can learn to knit on your own, and many people have, it is a lot easier to learn when there are people around you who can show you what to do.
Learning to knit allows you to make new friends and to create beautiful works of art while relaxing at the same time. By taking care to use the right supplies for beginners, and for looking for groups where you can learn new techniques, you will be on your way to knitting complex sweaters in no time.