I have never ever knitted in my life before, but I would love to learn. Are there any good books out there that would help me learn
Book reccomendation for Brand new knitter
thousands!
The best idea is to hit a book store and look at a few…
some books are going be be better (or worse!) depending on so many factors…
An other idea, is to check out YOUTUBE.
most of us learn better by seeing something done than we do by reading about it being done.
Knitting is very kinetic… seeing how to knit is a good way to learn how to knit (Books make excellent references for details… i have over 50–(and have been knitting almost as many years!)
a third process is to join a knitting circle/stitch n B*tch/or guild.
most members will spend a few minutes helping–and if you need more help, a lesson or two (expect to pay about $25 or more for a 1 hour private lesson) will get you started.
some things to remember:
knitting is a two handed skill (just like driving a car or touch typing…it doesn’t matter if you are right handed or left handed, knitting, at first will be difficult… easier than touch typing, but harder than steering a car!
there are many ways to knit… if you find yourself getting the right results --with a slightly different method–don’t worry… chance are thousands of other knitters do the same thing! (even if no one else you know does!–i knit slightly unconventionally… but MILLIONS of other knit like me… i just realize that till i had been knitting 20 years or so!)
You’ll never finish learning… i have been knitting 45 + years, and i am still learning new techniques–still you can get the basics down (knit, purl, cast on, bind off, simple increase and decreases) in about 10 to 20 hours…
Don’t forget the videos right here at knitting help! Here’s the direct link.
I learned best from the videos here at knitting help. 
I agree that using the videos and the resources online are an excellent way to get started. I found that for myself, there were multiple ways I learned–books, internet, videos, and a couple of classes.
A couple of books I found very helpful when I was first learning:
Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book
and
Go to the knitting section of your library and see what’s there. But check often, I’ve found many of them are checked out a lot and there may not be very many on the shelves.
I learned most from studying the books at my local library.They also had 3 new books by Sally Melville (KNIT, PURL, & COLOR). These books are very clear and easy to understand with great pictures. Look for them at you library or even ebay.
I second this one by Maggie Rhigetti: “Knitting in Plain English”. I taught myself to knit using this book. Also, ANY book by Elizabeth Zimmerman-her first one is great for calming your nerves (lol!); it’s called “Knitting Without Tears” and is a classic.
I agree on the KH videos too~they are wonderful for clarifying any questions on translating methods learned from books to real-life. Amy is a wonderful teacher!
my favorite teaching learning book is too expensive for most to buy, but it is in most libraries
it is Marans Illustrated
but there are wonderful books, plural, many many
its great that so many people want to share this skill with others enough to make their own version of a perfect book
The Dewey Decimal System # for knitting books is 746.42.
I found Knitting For Dummies and The Domiknitrix to be good books. Knitting For Dummies has all kinds of stuff covered and Domiknitrix has good COLOR photographs of the basics.
Besides tons of videos and all the wonderful advice you’ve rec’d here…my personal preference is Learn to Knit by Debbie Bliss…then once you get the"hang" of it (I use Stitch-n-Bitch for a referrence book and patterns) check out E Zimmerman’s books…
The videos on this site and the Knitting In Plain English book have been extremely helpful to me learning.