The Beginning of My Knitting Journey

I’ve been trying to learn to knit for many years. I would always get frustrated with the process & eventually give up, never finishing anything. It seemed so much more complicated than crochet! You have two needles with points versus one with a hook. I felt I would never be able to get the process down. This was extra frustrating for me because I’m the kind of person that can usually pick up things fairly quickly. I was still determined to learn to knit! Earlier this week I decided to give it another go & I’m excited to say I’ve finally figured it out! This is just the beginning of my knitting journey & I thought I’d share more about the process with y’all today. Maybe it will inspire someone else itching to knit! : )

Not Knitting

When I first decided I wanted to learn to knit, I bought a “learn to knit” pamphlet & needles at my local Wal-Mart. I mean I bought a whole set of long, metal needles because I thought that was the “beginning” of my knitting journey.

I’ve used these for just about everything except knitting! That’s why one of them is bent – oops! The instructions from the booklet were clear, but the whole process seemed so awkward. I think part of that was because of the long needles.

A few years later, I decided to try out knitting again. I’d purchased the book on the left on a whim from a book club & I was excited to make some of the projects. The book on the right came last year when I became obsessed with making knitted socks.

I was still struggling with the technique of knitting. It wasn’t the stitches, it was how to manipulate those needles that kept holding me up. I even bought these big, circular needles at some point.

Have I made any of these projects or used these needles either? No, no I have not! One of my goals last year was to learn to knit. Did that happen? Nope. Sigh.

Finally Knitting

I spent this past year watching knitting podcasts & drooling over the projects they were making. Don’t get me wrong, my first love will always be crochet. Especially since I’ve been doing it for over 30 years! However, I love all fiber arts & knitting had eluded me for so long.

Eventually, I found crochet podcasts & started my own podcast. I noticed many of them knit as well & had some wonderful tips for learning to knit as a crocheter. Something else I realized is that watching a video tutorial was a much easier way to learn this technique. Earlier this week I grabbed my needles & yarn from my first Darn Good Yarn club box & started watching a tutorial…

And to my surprise I was knitting & enjoying it!! I chose to use these needles & yarn because they were meant to be used together. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with those long metal ones again!

Y’all, I have been working on this a little each evening because it’s so much fun!

I really think I was mostly just holding the yarn wrong the first few times I tried. Plus, most of the people I watch knit had smaller needles with cables. Using the long, metal needles I was using just made it hard to manipulate.

I’ve pretty much got the knit & purl stitch down, so I decided to try out some different techniques. I’m currently working on some rows of ribbing!

Once I figured out how to hold the yarn, it really just flowed from there. I was trying to hold it like I do when I crochet, which just doesn’t work! The two needles really help hold the tension & the yarn just goes to the front or back. If you’re looking to learn to knit as a crocheter, I’d like to recommend watching this video from Chaos Monkey:

• Knitting Tips for a Crocheter

It really opened my eyes to some of the issues I was having while trying to learn to knit. She has lots of fun videos to watch, so go check her out! I’d also highly recommend the Knitting Basics videos from Happy Berry Knitting. She uses big needles & chunky yarn which makes it really easy to see what’s happening.

I can hardly wait to learn more! I’m hoping I’ll be working on a sweater before the end of the year, haha!

Okay y’all, it’s time for more knitting! Have a great weekend! : D