What thread and weight to learn with

#1

I’m learning how to knit, and I was wondering what I should be using as a newbie. I went to Michaels and grabbed some needles and some soft cute yarn. But the needles feel awkward and the yarn is loose.
Thoughts?

#2

I would reccomend some light colored smooth medium weight yarn - a worsted or with the #4 on the label - and about size 10 needles. What do the labels say for your yarn (name) and needles (size)?

#3

What size needles? Size US8 (5.0mm) is a good choice for beginners. Couple these with a basic worsted weight yarn. Perhaps your cute yarn was too fancy (too fuzzy or does not have a spring to it) for the needle size.

Do not begin with cotton or other yarns that have no spring or give. Just makes it harder when one hasn’t gotten the hang of yarn tension in the hand.

On getting the right tension, try different ways of wrapping the yarn around the fingers. There are no rules on this. Just do what works for you. Different ways for different peoples’ fingers & different yarn sizes & textures.

On the awkward feel of the needles, yeah, I hear ya. Just…

Practice, practice, practice & enjoy.

#4

What kind of ndls did you get? Metal, plastic, bamboo, or ? When new to knitting you may have probs with the yarn slipping off metal so some like plastic or bamboo as they can have more ‘grip.’ Avoid novelty yarns…you want clean stitch definition and elasticity.

cam

#5

You don’t need to get these things from a Joann’s store, necessarily, but here are pictures of the brands/types that are good to start out with.

This is inexpensive “worsted weight” or weight “4” in acrylic: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2842&PRODID=xprd90044.
This is the same kind of thing but with wool in it:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2842&PRODID=prd23045
As suzeeq said, use a light color so that you can see the stitches better.

You want straight, relatively short US size 8/5mm needles. I actually think metal is best because is DOES give you some slip, but lots of people disagree and think you should have some grip, such as plastic or bamboo.
Metal: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2868&PRODID=prd12405
Bamboo: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2868&PRODID=prd28053
Plastic: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2868&PRODID=prd27709

#6

Thanks. I have used 4 ply worsted,and looking forward to using fuzzy warm yarn to make a shawl for my god daughter. But what I selected was wrong, all wrong.
can any of you help me in my choice of fuzzy ?yarn

#7

Fuzzy yarn is not good to learn with. It’s best to stick to a smooth, worsted weight yarn. It can still be soft like Caron Simply Soft or others like that. I usually recommend size 8 - 9 needles.

The reason fuzzy yarns, fun furs and other novelty yarns aren’t good to learn with is that they conceal stitches. It’s hard to learn what you are doing and where you might be making mistakes if you can’t see what you’re doing.