In Simple Steps to Knitting, we start you at the very beginning, taking you through all the different types of yarn, needles and other tools you might need to finish your projects
Welcome to Simple Steps to Knitting
Simple Steps to Knitting
YARNS • Although you can quite easily start knitting with just a pair of needles and a ball of yarn, there are lots of other useful tools available
KNITTING NEEDLES • The tools of the trade, choosing your needles will ultimately depend on your project, yarn and, of course, personal preference
KNITTING KIT BAG • Although you can quite easily start knitting with just a pair of needles and a ball of yarn, there are lots of other useful tools available
SLIP KNOT • Almost every piece that you knit will begin with this simple knot, which creates your first stitch
HOLDING YARN & NEEDLES • Picking up your needles and yarn together for the first time might feel a bit awkward and unnatural, but it will soon become second nature
CASTING (BINDING) ON • Now you’re comfortable holding your needles and yarn, it’s time to get knitting. The first step is casting on
KNIT STITCH • Learn the foundation stitch of knitting with this simple tutorial and you’ll be making scarves, tea cosies and more in next to no time
PURL STITCH • Now that you have mastered the knit stitch, it’s time to learn how to work its partner purl stitch – you’ll find it’s not all that different
SLIPPING STITCHES • Slipping your stitches in the correct way is a technique that is important to master, because it will ensure that your knitting looks neat and professional
RIB STITCH • Rib is an elastic stitch that is most commonly used for welts and cuffs of garments, but used in its own right can be very useful
MOSS (SEED) STITCH • Combining knit and purl stitches can create a pretty moss (seed) stitch which, when worked in conjunction with stocking stitch, looks great
JOINING A NEW YARN • If your project is going to use up more than one ball of yarn, then you will need to join the next as seamlessly as possible
SIMPLE INCREASES • Not all knitting is worked straight; for garments and some other projects you will need to increase the number of stitches you work
SIMPLE DECREASES • Use these simple stitches to shape your work or pair them with increases to create texture and lace patterns
YARN-OVER INCREASES • A more decorative than practical increase, yarn overs add stitches, but also create a hole
TEXTURAL DECREASES • Use these decreases in order to add texture and direction to your shaped knitting
DOUBLE-POINTED NEEDLES • Double-pointed needles (DPNs) are used to knit a tubular shape such as socks, and are often used to make the yokes of jumpers
CIRCULAR NEEDLES • Using a circular needle to work garments in the round, means that you won’t need to sew up as many seams
TWISTED STITCHES & CABLES • Often worked in knit stitches on a purl background, cable and twisted stitches offer a raised detail
I-CORD • The i-cord is a tubular piece of knitting that is worked using two double-pointed needles (DPNs)
WORKING WITH TWO COLOURS • Over these two pages we will look at Fair Isle knitting and how to cope with the two different yarns as you knit
COLOUR WORK • Adding different colours in horizontal stripes is a fairly easy and simple way to make a plain piece stand out
SHORT ROW SHAPING • Learn how to create definition in garments by adding shape and smoothing edges – all you need to master is the technique of working partial rows
FIXING A DROPPED STITCH • It’s easy to panic when you drop a stitch, but there’s really no need to worry, as it is very simple to fix
PICKING UP STITCHES...