Need Ideas Please!

Hi, Friends,

I’m a beginning knitter, and so far I’ve just been practicing the various stitches (garter, purl, stockinette…) by knitting little samples squares and I’m doing pretty well (I think!). I think I’m ready to move on to my first real knitted project. Can anyone recommend an easy-ish project for a total noob? What did you guys start out making? Hats? Scarves?

Any ideas are appreciated! Thanks!

After many, many swatches, the very first thing I made was a scarf. A scarf would be good to start out with as long as you have chunky yarn and big needles…lol…I almost don’t like making scarves anymore though, I think I got burned out on 'em. Another thing that’s easy is washcloths. Washcloths are also a great way to try out different types of stitches. Depending on how comfortable you are, you could also try something like a basic hat, something with some decreases to get used to decreasing. Really it’s up to you and what you’re comfortable with. I recommend going to a site like knitting pattern central and perusing their patterns for something you like!

I agree. Dish cloths and scarves are good first projects. You can even try some with pattern such as yarn overs so that you can practice stitches, blocking etc. Before you know it you will be ready for a baby afghan.

Ditto! A dishcloth was my first project~ I liked it because I got quick(er) gratification at having finished something. A scarf might be good for you as well since you’re already comfortably doing swatches, so a bigger project wouldn’t be as intimidating.

Good luck!

Ditto!! I made so many scarves and dish/wash cloths. I still love making them. There are so many dishcloth patterns on the net. There’s always something different to try. :slight_smile: It’s a quick project, gives you almost instant gratification on completing a project and you can USE it! LOL

i went from squares to a hat.
I like to jump into things but not too much!! (so a sweater or socks would have terrified my but a hat was ok)

I picked a hat which would teach me a couple of new techniques but not to many so that i could get my head around it. The hat patterni chose was worked in the round (teaching me circular knitting on DPNs) and had two types of decreases. I was so proud of myself and felt so cool for using DPNs.

I think the best way of choosing a newproject when you are learning, is to find something which is 75-90% things you know ad 25-10% things you dont know and can learn on the job. so if you can do knit and purl stitches but have never tried ribbing or decreases or increses a ribbed scarf with eyelets (created using simple increses and decreses) would be interesting, or a washcloth using ribs and pearls to create a picture could also work.

I love doing more advanced stuff now but I still enjoy scarves. When you finish, they’re substantial, but they don’t take a really long time. And they’re pretty. If you search “Two Weeknights with Warrick” you can find one I like :slight_smile: I made it pretty quickly, and it looks very nice finished. The pattern is easy to remember and not very complicated.

A good starter project is a sunglasses case…you just cast on 30 stitches, rib (knit one, purl one) for 1 inch, and then do 6 1/2 inches or the garter stitch. Then all you have to do is sew up the bottom and sides, weave in your ends, and turn it inside-out.

The Klutz knitting book has some great projects in it like a cell phone sock which I made (two, actually; it’s fun!) and I just completed a little coin purse (didn’t turn out too good).

Some ideas, anyway! :x: