Technique Tuesday: Beginner Guide to Knitting Part V, Binding Off

The final step in learning to knit is binding off your knitting, or casting off. This takes your live stitches and secures them from dropping and unraveling all you hard work. It is as simple as the knit stitch.

1. Loosely knit two stitches, you want to make sure that you are not pulling your stitches too tightly while you are binding off.


2. Insert you left hand needle into the 1st stitch of the row.


3. Next you are going to slip the first stitch over the second stitch. Leaving the second stitch on the right hand needle. The First stitch will now be secured around the second stitch.

4. Remove left hand needle from stitch. You have know just bound off 1 stitch.

Continue with this process by knitting one and passing one over the second stitch till you have no more stitches left.


Now you can wear you newly knitting Item!

Binding Off Resources
Learning to Knit: Cast Off, Video Tutorial
Knitting Bind Off, by theknitwitch, A great example of binding off and English style
Binding Off with Stitch Diva

Beginner Guide to Knitting Part IV: Knitting

Now that you have stitches on the needle its time to learn to knit! This is the fun part. In this guide I am going to show you the continental style of knitting. What this means is that you will hold your yarn in your left hand, and "pick" the yarn with your right hand needle. The other popular style is English knitting, where your yarn is held in you left hand and wrapped around the needle.

Hold the needle with your stitches in your left hand and your empty needle in your right hand. Wrap your yarn around your left index finger. Insert your right hand needle into the first stitch on your left hand needle. Insert your needle front to back from the left side of the loop, as seen in photo below.


Wrap yarn around right hand needle.


Pull wrapped yarn through stitch on left hand needle creating a loop on the right hand needle.


Slip loop off of left hand needle.

There you have it the a knit stitch. Continue in this manner till there are no more stitches left on your needle. When you have done this you have completed one row of knitting. Switch you needles in your hands and begin your second row.

Beginner Garter Stitch Scarf
Garter stitch is the result of knitting all of your stitches on each row. Its a great way to become framiler with the knit stitch
Using the backwards loop cast on, Cast on 20 stitches
Knit all
continue knitting until your scarf measures 60" or desired length.
Bind Off (check back next Tuesday for a look at how to Bind Off)

Knitting Resources
Which Style Should You Learn?
Learn to knit: knit stitch, video tutorial
Knitting-Basic Knit Stitch (continental), video tutorial

Tuesday Techniques, Beginner Guide to Knitting Part III: Casting On

Now that you have your yarn and your needles it's time to learn how to cast on. There are many different ways to cast on but as a beginner you should try the backwards loop cast on. It is simple, easy to learn and it gets the job done.

First you will want to place a slip knot on your needle. If you do not know how to make a slip knot check out the tutorial on Wiki How.

Here is how it should look once your slip knot is on your needle:

Next you want to take the live end of your yarn (the length of yarn that leads back to your ball of yarn) and wrap it around your index finger. As you can see in the picture below my live end is under the length of yarn coming off the needle.


Slip this needle up through the loop from underneath.


Now the easy part. Slip your index finger out of the loop and pull the loop tight around your needle.
Make sure you don't pull your loop too tight. You want the stitched to be snug around the needle, but you want to make sure you can still slide the stitches along the needle and get your second needle into the loop with out difficulty.

Tomorrow we will learn how to knit and a simple project pattern. Go practice the backwards loop cast on. Below are some more resources for this type of cast on.

More Backwards Loop Cast On
Learn To Knit: Backwards Loop Cast On, a great video on how to execute this type of cast on.
Wiki How: How to Make a Slip Knot
Knitting Daily: Backwards loop cast on, short, sweet and to the point.
Knit Wiki: Backwards loop cast on

Beginner Guide to Knitting Part II: Needles

Once you have your yarn its time to figure out your needle situation.

If you are a beginner buying your first set of knitting needles can seem just as confusing as the wide world of yarn. There are so many types of needles, straight needles, circular needles, and double pointed needles. These are all made in just as many materials, wood, bamboo, steal, and acrylic. And these all come in sizes ranging from US 000000 to US 32. With so much variety it can make your head spin.

What Size?
If you were successful in finding a single ply worsted weight yarn you are going to need about a size US 8 to a US 10 needle. Checking your yarn's label is also helpful because there will be a suggested needle size printed there. These are usually pretty good recommendations.

Which type of needle?
I am a fan of the circular needle, but this is not important in your adventure to start knitting. Over time you will develop a preference for certain needles. As someone just starting out you should look for a pair of 9" straight needles. Straight needles come in longer sizes, but for a scarf you won't need the extra space of a longer needle and shorter needles are easier to wield.

What material should the needles be made out of?
Again over time you will develop a personal preference depending on how tight or loose you knit. But when you are just starting out give the bamboo a try. They are light, and smooth, strong, warm to the touch, and flexible. Bamboo is also renewable resource. (Did you know bamboo can grow up to 12 inches in one day!)

Once you fall in love with a yarn look for an appropriate sized pair of 9" bamboo straight needles and you will be ready for action. Just like buying yarn ask questions and let the employees know what you are looking for.

Needle Resources
Clover 9" Straight Needles
Knit Picks Harmony Straight Needles
Wiki How: How to Choose Knitting Needles
Blue Betty: Bamboo, Wood, Steal or Plastic

Beginner Guide to Knitting Part I: Yarn

When you decided you want to learn to knit where do you start. You need needles, yarn and some one or some thing to tell you how to cast on, how many stitches to cast on, how to knit, and then once your project is completed bind off. The interenet has a plethera of infomation on knitting there are video tutorials, articlas, blogs and everything in between. Where does one start?

Before you even cast on there are some tool and supplies you will need to purchase.
You will need:
Yarn
Knitting needles.

Today we are going to discus yarn.
With so many different yarns out there where do you start? What will work the best for a beginner? Well, if you are just starting out you want to look for a smooth single ply worsted weight yarn. This probably makes little sense to some one just starting to delve into the world of knitting. Essentially you want you yarn to look like this:

What is single ply?
Single ply means that there is only one strand of yarn. Some yarns are multiple strands of yarn twisted together to make the yarn thicker. These sometimes can split, which means as you are knitting your needle can separate the plies or strands. As a beginner you will want a single strand of yarn this way you won't have to worry about your yarn splitting and this means less head aches.

What does worsted weight mean?
Worsted weight pertains to the thickness of the yarn. When knit a worsted weight yarn knits to about 4 to 5 stitches per every inch. This is classed as a medium weight yarn. When you are looking at a yarn the label that the company uses to brand their yarn will have this information on it. It will tell you suggested needles and give you a suggested gauge. You are looking for a label that has a suggested needle size of about a US 8 to a US 10 (we will get to needles in Part II) give or take a needle size. There will also be a suggested gauge, a worsted weight yarn will knit to about 16 to 20 stitches for 4 inches. Again this is just a suggestion if you fall in love with a yarn that is a little thicker or thinner that's fine just try to find a good medium weight yarn.

How much yarn is enough?
An easy simple beginner scarf would require about 250 to 350 yards of worsted weight yarn depending on the size of the scarf. Keep in mind that an adult scarf is about 50 to 60 inches long depending on the wearer's height. Another tip, buy all your yarn at once. Having worked in a yarn shop for three years I can't tell you how many times customers haven't bought what they needed, ran out and either we couldn't get the color they needed or the same dye lot. (Dye lot is how a company keeps track of a batch of yarn in a certain color, sometimes different dye lots look a little lighter or darker.)

What fiber is the best?
There are so many answers to that question depending on your skill level, project, and price range. Lets just start by say you should get a yarn that you like, that feels nice to you. What a yarn feels like is called the "hand". A 100% merino wool will have a softer hand than a peruvian wool's hand. Those who find wool itchy are probably dealing with a low quality wool with a poor hand. There isn't one best fiber although a wool or wool blend is warm and will hold up well to time and use if cared for properly, but if you are against wool there are a lot of alternatives out there for you. As a beginner though you should find a yarn that you will like working with, you are going to have this yarn in your hands while you work with it so try to find something you enjoy the hand of. Two suggestions, stay away from mohair for your fist project it's fuzziness tends to obscure stitches and it can be a pain even to an experienced knitter. And stay away from acrylic yarn from big box stores, yes it is cheep and you get enough on one hank of a project, but those yarns are poor quality, cheap, and are usually not a single ply.

If you are concerned about price and do not want to spend a fortune on your first project I hear you. There are plenty of yarns out there that are a great quality for the quantity and the price. Knitting should be enjoyable and you should purchase the highest quality yarn in your price range. Most yarn shops also have a sale section where you can get great deals on great yarn. Be prepared to spend at least $20 to $30 on a good yarn.

*Go to your local yarn shop and don't be afraid to ask questions. Let them know you are a beginner, and tell them your price range and what your looking for.

Great Yarns for Beginners
Sulka by Mirasol
Grace by Louisa Harding
Kureyon by Noro
Latte by Ella Rae
Peruvia by Berroco (good buy!)
Mauch Chunky by Kramer Yarns