You gals are so much smarter than me!! I cannot seem to catch on and I feel SO left behind-- one of my friends has already learned to do pants and diaper covers!! :knitting: I am lost. I can cast on, purl, knit, and… yeah.
Can y’all tell me what you started off doing? What was your first project? How did it turn out? How many times did you have to start over?
I am determined to learn this. I just need some help!!
TIA!!! :)
Hello 
My first project was a scarf . I think a lot of people start off with one of those .
It was all in garter stitch . Which is what you get when you knit all stitches throughout .
Some people start off doing squares . Then when you have lots you can sew them together and make a blanket .
Good luck and i am sure you will get there . If you get stuck . Everyone on here is only too glad to help and give you advice. Also the Amy’s video tutorials on here are great for beginners:)
my first project was a dishcloth.
By the way, I just wanted to mention that we are a community of all kinds of knitters! We have male knitters, child knitters, international knitters, etc. All of us gals, guys, kids, and compadres are held together by our love of knitting. Welcome!
Don’t really remember, too many years ago. Try something flat like a dishcloth or scarf, so you can practise the sts without worrying about shaping at first. When you end up with something useable, even better.
Don’t worry about the ripping and starting over. I still do that sometimes after 20+ years. (That was meant to be encouraging, hope it doesn’t sound DIScouraging.) Welcome and happy knitting!
When I first started knitting, I made a blanket all in garter(all knit). It helped me to get the hang of the knit stitch. If that’s too big of a project for you, try a scarf. A couple of months back I finally got up the nerve to move beyond the knit stitch. This taught me how to yo and k2tog. I’d say if I certain stitch scares you, view one of the videos, or ask for help on here. Then try it! And, if at first you don’t suceed, try try again! :mrgreen:
My first project was slippers. My grandmother taught me to knit and it was the only thing she could make. Since then I have knit alot of scarves.
Scarves and dish clothes are the most common first projects. I started with a 2x2 ribbed scarf, which I never did finish but learned a great deal doing. The first project I actually finished was a pair of socks.
Maybe you’re just being too hard and impatient with yourself. It takes time to develop new skills. Take your time and just knit something.
For my students, the first project I give them is to make a potholder: cast on 30 or so sts using worsted-weight yarn and size 8 or 9 needles, then knit a square in stockingette-stitch. Now knit a second square. Sew them together and presto! one heavy-duty, wash-and-dry potholder.
It’s great and you can make a number of mistakes and it’s still serviceable [if not an item of perfect beauty ;-)]
Hope this helps,
Dot
Hi Rocheal! I know how you feel - I felt like that for a long time - and I kept starting things and then getting discouraged and stopping. I finally started making really simple scarves with the fun fur yarn - I LOVE it because it is so fluffy that it hides any little mistakes! I do mine all in a knit stitch, but if you want to practice the k and p you can do stockinette - you just won’t be able to tell too much detail with the fluffy yarn. And, I did work a slit into mine - the fluffy yarns balls aren’t usually as long as some of the others. If you want the pattern, let me know and I will send it to you! After a few scarves I worked up to a basic triangular shawl that was all garter stitch - it was a free pattern from the Lion Brand website.
I just love making the scarves with the fun fur yarn - there are so many different colors and they are so soft!
Good luck!!!
Amanda
Scarves! Lots and Lots of Scarves! Everyone received one and I just kept making more. I just practiced the knit and purl stitches in different combinations to make different patterns. Then, when I wanted to learn cables, I made a cabled scarf with big, chunky yarn so it would go fast and I wouldn’t get bored and give up. Then, I learned to knit socks with a combination of Silver’s tutorial and Amy’s videos on turning the heel here at this site. Keep at it. It’ll come.
Hi and welcome. I’m a really basic knitter - scarves, hats, dishcloths, and a few purses. The very first project I did was a scarf that was done with knit stitches only. Then I think I did a dishcloth done with only knit stitches. And then I moved onto felting! I started knitting a purse to felt and what is really nice about felting…it hides mistakes! hee hee I’ve since made about 6 purses. Right now I’m knitting hats, but they are very basic. I really want to try socks, and that will probably be my goal for 2009.
Well that makes two of us! I’m not a ‘smart knitter’ yet either.
My first experiments were little swatches of knit/purl/stockinette then i did a scarf using some furry yarn and a matching light weight acrylic to ‘fatten it up’. that turned out pretty well.
Yesterday i spent 3 hrs on a cable pillow cover, found the pattern from a link off of this site. It was going well, then at about row 16 just when the ‘pattern’ was suppossed to be established, the next row just looked wrong.I tried to fix it, but…
ribbit ribbit…
starting over tonight!
Good luck! What are you working on?
I am working on a repeating pattern and am going to use a life line this time. It uses a line run through the stitches where you can pull out the stitches to where the line is. Check out the lifeline video on KH. Thought it might save me some aggravasion (sp).
I believe my first project was cutting out a sweatshirt neck and knitting the neck back using 1 end yarn and 1 end eyelash.
Don’t get discouraged–it takes a little practice! I would agree with the suggestions that others have made. A dishcloth or a scarf would be a good choice. You might want to consider a felted pot holder or trivet. A square pot holder such as this one, http://emjayknits.blogspot.com/2006/04/trivetpotholder-pictures-and-pattern.html, would be good garter stitch practice. The great thing about felting is that small mistakes just disappear after the felting!
Have fun with whatever project you choose!
My first project was a scarf too. I did a few scarves, many hats, then I moved onto socks with the help of an experienced knitter friend. I ended up moving away from that friend and was on my own! I did another scarf, then I started a ‘scrappy’ blanket made of all knit squares. I got bored with that and abandoned the project. I tried mittens, but got frustrated and abandoned that too. I ended up abandoning knitting for 10 years! I took up quilting a few years ago, but I realized that knitting is much more convenient (quieter, portable) and versatile (a quilted sweater is not really my style). So, all of that and I also just had a little boy and became motivated to knit him some pants. Now, here I am starting up again! And I’m glad I did!