Knitting

Overview

Contrary to popular belief, knitting is not just for grandmothers and stay at home moms. Many young adults and college-aged students enjoy knitting as a relaxing way to pass time while watching television or hanging out in a waiting area. Everything is going digital nowadays, and every so often, it's nice to get away from a computer and actually make something.

Knitting can keep your hands and mind entertained when you're feeling restless. Plus, knitting is actually productive. When you're done, you'll have a nice sweater, blanket, or scarf to keep or to give as a gift.

Here's a list of cool and practical stuff that you can knit:

• Blankets
• Scarves
• Mittens & gloves
• Hats
• Sweaters
• Blankets
• Socks
• Pot holders
• Baby clothes
• Purses
• Pillow cases
• Bags
• Shirts
• Shawls
• Wall artwork
• Rugs
• Clothing for dolls
• Table cloths
• Stuffed toys

If you think that you can knit something, you probably can. Using your imagination is half the fun.

Getting Started with Projects, Needles, and Yarn

Use this article as a guide as an overview to help you begin. Here is a list of tips and tricks.

Pick a Project:

With knitting, it's easier to start with the big picture. You don't want to get the wrong supplies, and you want to have exactly what you need. Pick everything from what you want to what color you want it to be to what patterns you'd like to use. Then, you can pick your needles and yarn.

Select the Right Knitting Needles:

Knitting needles are made from metals, plastics, and wood. Some people choose to buy antique needles or gold needles. If you don't have a pair as a hand-me-down from your great great great grandmother, know that you can find a pair at your local fabric store. There's no need to invest in an expensive gold-plated heirloom-esque pair. In the end, the material doesn't matter at all. Pick your knitting needles based on your personal preferences.

If you prefer the feel of metal to plastic, pick the metal. Just remember that metals can get heavy if you plan to knit for a couple of hours. Metals can also be slippery, so if you are new to knitting, you might want to find a pair that gives you the right grip. If you want to be super creative, you can even make your own knitting needles!

Knitting needles come in a variety of sizes and styles. Choose the size of the needle based on your project. Some kinds of patterns need specific edges and needle sizes. In general, thinner needles create a thinner and tighter finish. You'll know what kind of needles to buy once you've determined the look and feel of your design.

Pick the Right Yarn:

It seems like you have endless possibilities when it comes to yarn. You can pick almost any color, combination of colors, and patterns. That's why you should plan your design and desired color ahead of time. If it helps, you can even draw a sketch of what you want. You might even consider shopping for packaged projects, especially if you are a beginner.

There are many different kinds of yarn made from fiber, wool, and ply. Materials can range from thin to medium to heavy weight. Most yarns are plied, which means that bundles come in strong, twisted strands. Less twisted plies will be less durable.

Yarn can be made from wool, angora, silk, cashmere, linen, cotton, rayon, polyester, and more.

Become Familiar with some Yarn Terminology:

Fine yarn is called 'fingering' and baby yarn. Fingering is most commonly used for more intricate patterns and clothing for small children. Sport yarn is the most versatile and can be used to knit anything. Large knitting needles should use bulky or chunking yarn that is heavy in weight. Virgin yarn has never been used, and shoddy yarn has been previously used. Felt is shrunken wool.

Knitting Patterns

Rib Knit and Cable Knit Scarves, Hats, Socks, and Blankets

Scarves are a great project for beginners because you can try a variety of classic designs and patters. A rib scarf will give you texture in the form of straight linear ridges, and you can choose to have a fringe at the end. Rib knit scarves look good with stripes and different colors. A cable knit scarf has a twisting and interlocking pattern. Cable knit scares look best without a fringe as one color. If you don't want to experiment with texture, you can use different patterns and colors. Depending on your ambition and skill level, you can try squares, polka dots, diamonds, argyle, stripes, and waves.

If you're a beginner who wants to try something bigger, try these patterns and textures in a blanket of any size. Socks are a great project for intermediate knitters who want to try to create specific shapes of rib knit or cable knit patterns. Advanced knitters can try these textures in a sweater. Hats and baby clothes look good with rib knit and cable knit patterns.

The garter stick is the most basic knitting pattern. Other popular patterns include the stockinette stitch, fleck stitch, broken rib, and linen stitch.

Take your patterns to the next level and create a design like a mosaic or eyelet. Experiment with finished and unfinished edges, and mix colors throughout.