“Don’t be afraid of needles!”

Think knitting is for little old ladies? Well, think again. This ancient craft has an interesting history that dates way back to the time of the Egyptians. In fact, if you want to dispel all notions of knitting as an elderly woman’s hobby, tell people about the tradition among fishing villages in many countries. Each village had its own particular stitch–because (here’s where it gets a little gruesome) it’s hard to identify drowned fishermen when they wash ashore. The stitches in their jerseys were a necessary means of identification. While people finish shuddering, you can then tell them that people in the Victorian era were obliged by law to instruct both male and female children how to knit. Finish up with a reference to former pro football star Rosey Grier (who favored both knitting and needlepoint), and you’ve transformed knitting into a time-honored, slightly exotic and powerful pastime.

While present-day laws are more lax in attitudes toward this time-honored pursuit, knitting still deserves consideration as a hobby. It’s a good way to pass the time and is a cheaper alternative to buying expensive knitted goods out of retail stores. This 2torial will give you all the tools you need to get started on the road to scarves, sweaters, socks, hats, vests, cardigans….

As you prepare to get started, find somewhere quiet so that you can really focus on what you’re doing. Noisy distractions can just add up to a lot of unnecessary frustration. Once you get the hang of these basic stitches, you can move on to more advanced projects, like a scarf or even a bag.

Attach a piece of masking tape to the base of each needle. Label the tape on the right hand needle with an “R”, and the left hand needle with an “L”. This should help you decifer which needle you should be using in following these instructions.

Place the yarn on the floor next to you or in your lap.

Knitting can be almost a kind of meditative experience while serving the practical purpose of creating something useful. As you get more confident, you can take your needles and yarn all over the place; the bus, train, jury duty, airports or anywhere where you’re sitting around and twiddling your thumbs. And last, remember that though these instructions seem to go quickly, move your fingers slowly so you don’t rush and miss a step. It’s easy to get excited when you’re starting to get the hang of it and hurry through things, and mess it all up.

Casting on stitches

Casting on is the way you build the first row of stitches on a knitting needle. There are a number of ways to cast on, but this one’s the easiest. Begin by pulling about a three to four foot (approximately one meter) length of yarn from your skein. This is just a general length to begin with for practice. When trying to calculate the amount of yarn you need when casting on, allow about three inches per stitch (7.5 centimeters).

Make a slip loop: Wind the yarn in a circular shape leaving about 15 centimeters of yarn at the end of the loop. Pull the back thread through the front one forming a loop. Slide the loop on the left-hand needle and tighten until it slides easily. You’ve now made the first stitch.

Adding stiches: Holding the needle in the right hand,wind the loose end of the yarn around your left-thumb from front to back. Insert the needle under the yarn on the thumb. Now remove you thumb while pulling on the long end of the yarn to close up the loop. You have now cast on another stich. Repeat this step until you have as many stitches as you need–eight to ten stitches is a good starting number to practice with.

Now you’re ready to knit!

Learn the knit stitch

The knit stitch is the basic method for creating the interlocking loops of yarn. This knitted pattern is called garter stitch which will create a smooth knitted piece. Later on you can learn the purl stitch which when combined with the knit stitch will create geometrical patterns in your pieces.

Pick up each of the needles in your hands–left-hand needle in the left and right-hand needle in the right.

Pick and insert: Put the right-hand needle though the first loop from front to back forming an “X” with the needles.

Wrap the yarn: Using your right hand, wrap the yarn around the back of the right-hand needle tip in an counter-clockwise direction. Pull the yarn between the crossing point of the two needles so that it’s crossing over the front of the loop.

Pull through: Pull the right-hand needle down so that its tip is touching the left-hand needle inside the loop. Be careful not to pull the right-hand needle out of the loop! Tilt the tip of the right-hand needle down and through loop A towards you. (see illustration below). Be careful not to lose the yarn wrapped around the right-hand needle (it’s easy to do).

Transfer: Using your left-hand index finger, slip the new stitch off the left-hand needle and onto the right-hand needle.

You have now completed a knit stitch! Repeat this procedure until you have finished the row of stitches. The idea is to move the knitting work from one needle to the other until you’ve finished.

When all the stitches are on the right needle you must switch hands so that the right needle now becomes the left needle. You may also want to remove the masking tape labels now that you’ve got the hang of it. Repeat this step to complete the next row.

Casting off stitches

When you’ve whipped up that marvelous scarf or put the finishing touches on the tea cozy, it’s time to cast off, or unload the stitches from the needles and put a close on your creation.

Cross over: Begin with all stitches on the left hand needle. Knit the first two stitches in the row.

Insert: Insert the tip of the left-hand needle through the first stitch on the right-hand needle. Now, lift the stitch over the second stitch and the point of the right-hand.

Drop the stitch: Drop the stitch off of the left-hand needle into the space between the needles. This leaves one stitch on the right hand.

You have bound off one stitch. Knit another stitch so there are two stitches on the right-hand needle and repeat the process above.

The last stitch: When there is only one remaining stitch on the right hand needle and none on the left hand needle, cut the yarn several inches away from the knitting. Pull the yarn through the last stitch, pulling the last stitch tight. Make a knot to keep the knitting from unraveling.