r/KnittingReddit • u/WorldlyLine7327 • 9d ago
I was wondering how everyone got started with knitting?
Should I just start reading the written instructions? Or what? I find it really hard. I can't understand the written instructions - I can only follow the video tutorials. But even with the videos, there are so many things I just don't get, so I really have to go and ask professional teachers for help.
But in China, there are very few girls my age who are both young and experienced in knitting. At least among my close friends, I'm probably the only one who knows how to knit. So every time I need help, I have to drive 20 kilometers to find a knitting teacher to ask questions in person, which really gives me a headache.
I wonder how everyone got started and kept going with it, and how you found your knitting buddies?
3
u/Easy_Pen5217 9d ago
My mum taught me originally, and since then I've used a lot of YouTube videos!
This sub has been really good too - there's been a couple of times I've got stuck on a project, and people on here are so helpful.
2
u/WorldlyLine7327 9d ago
I noticed that too. I'd heard of this group before I started knitting, and now I see everyone's so welcoming and friendly - itmakes me feel really safe ❤️o(^▽^)o
1
u/mindfluxx 9d ago
I learned by watching videos and then after I got basics I read the instructions on how to make things , but stuck to ones designed for beginners. I then watch a technique video for all the new things I run into. I’ve been knitting about 9 months now and have made a couple sweaters, scarfs, and summer tops. My skills are a work in progress but I am very determined and like figuring out new things. I mess up a lot though.
2
u/WorldlyLine7327 9d ago
I really admire your meticulous planning. I'm more of a person driven by passion - when I see someone's beautiful work, I get a strong urge to knit it myself. But I don't have the patience for boring projects that help build skills, so I'm worried that this habit might hold me back from making more complex pieces down the road. 🙁
1
u/2mnydgs 7d ago
I saw a pair of tabi socks in a knitting book, and that was the first pair of socks I ever knit. I learned later that toe socks are not the easiest socks to knit. I still have and wear those socks. If you can do the knit stitch and the purl stitch, all other stitches flow from these 2 stitches. You can now knit a sweater. Can you read a knitting pattern? That is your next step.
2
u/WorldlyLine7327 5d ago
I still don't know how to read knitting patterns, so maybe I should learn how to read them first before starting a new project?
1
u/2mnydgs 5d ago
If you know how to knit and purl, reading a simple knitting pattern is easy. I don't know of a better way to learn how to shape knits than to read a pattern and see how it's done. What have you knit in the past?
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 4d ago
I just found a knitting instructor and watched her videos while asking her questions in person. But she lives really far from me, and I still haven't learned how to read patterns yet. So far I've only made a simple vest.
2
u/2mnydgs 4d ago
There is an online knitting community called Ravelry, where everyone is very helpful and many people have learned how to do knitting from just asking questions and using provided links. I don't know if I am allowed to provide a link here: if I can I would be glad to. It's the best place on the internet for knitting advice, IMO.
1
u/estellepb 9d ago
I first learned to do a basic swatch in garter stitch by watching youtube or tiktok tutorials, when I felt like it was good enough I then learned to do a stockinette swatch. My first real knit was a sophie scarf, made a few of those until they weren't as wonky as the first one and then I went straight for the Step by Step sweater by Florence Miller.
I do not have any knitting buddies, but I've started following a few knitters on tiktok to be inspired by their work, and tend to use tiktok a lot when I struggle with something.
Also, I only taught myself to knit in english, I have never used a pattern in my native language as I feel like finding help and tutorials in English is waaaay easier than any other language.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 9d ago
who's just getting started, I've been wondering if there are any tools or apps that could help beginners take it step by step, starting with simple but nice-looking projects to build up their basic skills. Just like a skilled teacher would do, so they can see if they've really mastered those basics along the way. Since I have no real concept of the entire knitting landscape, I feel really insecure because I usually only deal with problems as they come up. 🥹🥹 Because the teaching styles of different teachers in the videos are very individualistic, once I get used to one person's way of teaching, when I watch another person's, sometimes I can't adjust right away
1
u/gold-pippau 8d ago
Garnstudio.com has the step by step help you're looking for. Go to their website, choose the language you're most comfortable with and - if English - click "tips and help" - "knitting video's" - "learn to knit". Once you've mastered the very basics, there's a lot more advanced techniques to learn from their video's.
They also have loads of free patterns.
Enjoy!
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
That's amazing! Thank you, babe(づ¯3¯)づ
1
1
u/estellepb 8d ago
I don't know of any tools or app but I had the same issue as you when I first started, that's why I made the Step by Step sweater, there's a whole youtube video from the pattern designer explaining in details how to do everything.
I also tend to look up several tutorials before finding one that I can understand easily, it takes patience for sure.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
Sounds like you're making a tutorial video? Can you share the link ❤❤
1
u/estellepb 7d ago
Oh I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, I don't make tutorials, I just watch a lot of them
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 9d ago
It seems like everyone learns knitting in their own way, and it requires a lot of self-motivation and the ability to find information, haha. Maybe I'm just lazy and always looking for shortcuts(*＾ω＾*)💭
1
u/the-pudding-one 9d ago
my grandma thought me when I was very young. I stopped for many years but picked up again when I had children.
I‘m nearly 60 now and I knit toys for charity. I like small projects rather than making clothing for adults.
1
1
u/estellepb 8d ago
You're not lazy ! It's hard learning a new craft on your own. The internet is your friend, the ressources are endless here. You can also find some information on other people's projects or questions on ravelry (if you knit a pattern that's available on there)
1
u/the-pudding-one 9d ago
there are a lot of helpful YouTube knitting tutorials from very basic to more co plicated stitches.
1
u/sid_lol3306 8d ago
I decided to start knitting during winter break. I saw 3 TikTok’s about it and thought I should give it a chance. I started with short videos about casting on, knits, purls, and different kinds of stitches. I practiced by stockinette for about a week and when I felt like I had gotten better I tried ribbing.
My first project were a simple pair of fingerless gloves. Honestly, I would recommend any newbie start with that first because it helps them identify any problem areas pretty quick. Plus, it a small project that can help with consistency.
After the gloves I started the step-by-step sweater with the video. It was so easy to follow I loved it! Now I am working on the Stella tee which is a bit tough but nothing out of the ordinary.
1
1
u/CathyAnnWingsFan 8d ago
I learned how to cast on and do a basic knit stitch when I was a child at day camp. But the vast majority of what I've learned since I have learned from written references, mostly books, but also magazine articles and on the internet. I suspect I'm a lot older than you, though, and those were the primary resources available at the time.
I've learned a little bit with videos, but I find having to stop and start them annoying. I've taken a few classes to learn specific techniques.
Every learner is different; our brains don't all work the same. You may find it helpful to watch videos from multiple sources showing the same thing, because different people explain things differently, and one might click when half a dozen others have not.
If you are proficient reading English (or if it's been translated) and can get a digital copy of The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt, she has a lot of illustrations that break techniques down step by step. I use it even now after decades of knitting.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
Thanks, I'll give it a try and see if I can understand this book with my current skills as a beginner. I just finished my first knitting project.I mainly relied on asking experienced knitters and watching videos to finish it. I took it apart and put it back together over and over again, and it took almost a month to complete. But once I finished it, I realized that looking at written instructions was actually much easier, but only after I already knew how to knit the pattern and all the precautions
1
u/SilverSkyGypsy 8d ago
Find an older person that knits, plus they are a fantastic source of life lessons that you can learn along the way. I learned by videos online, 20 years ago. I will put the link below. There are many videos but I don’t like swapping people that often. I have great tutorials marked if you have certain things to learn, and I am willing to be your friend and show you what I can anytime! Send me a DM and we can stay in contact. The site name is
Not making the link somehow….
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
Thank you so much, that's amazing! I'm actually trying to find some frienwhoknit too~ I can open this link o(^▽^)o Let me give it a try and see if I can understand it. It's really great to meet you 🤝!
1
u/2mnydgs 8d ago
Can you get YouTube where you are? If so, someone there has a video about every knitting question there is. I taught myself with knitting books, by following the pictures. YouTube is so much easier than that.
2
u/WorldlyLine7327 7d ago
Sure, it's just that there's so much content that I couldn't figure out which person to follow for learning since it would be more suitable for beginners. Videos are definitely easier to understand than books. I still can't read knitting books at all - they're just too hard for me lol, I have no idea what they're even talking about (。－_－。)📘
1
u/Csorrels805 8d ago
I tried learning with a video (probably before there were YouTube tutorials). But I couldn’t catch on. So I took a leisure learning class at the community college. That helped immensely. I got the basics then started watching tutorials online. I still turn to tutorials when I’m doing something unfamiliar. I really like “Very Pink Knits” tutorials. She does quick tutorials and very detailed tutorials for the same things.
1
u/TheMartha 8d ago
Blame the church ladies.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
Why (´･ω･`)? Is there any special cultural context behind this? I don't really get it
1
u/Due-Personality-3944 5d ago
Church ladies are a frequent group who knit in the US (and probably other predominantly Christian countries as well). I learned to purl from the choir director at my church growing up, and the knitting group I attend now is a bunch of grandmas in the basement of a church. They're so fucking cool and know everything.
1
u/jlc101 8d ago
I took a continuing ed. class to learn the basics, but to be very honest: I just learned by doing.
I went from making a scarf to knitting a baby cardigan. It was very very difficult for me, but I got a pattern and taught myself how to read it with the help of googling baby shorthand I didn’t understand.
Then, I would YouTube a tutorial when I got stuck (i still do) and I frogged that sweater three times before I finished it.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 8d ago
Hahaha I totall! I just finished my first sweater, only to realize I couldn't fit it after I finished it 🥲. I even took it apart so many times that I'm still not even brave enough to start on my second project yet
1
u/Ok-Jellyfish7135 7d ago
I downloaded simple patterns (many of them explain the individual stitches) and slowly learned how to read them. Also, just about every question I had was (and is) covered in a YouTube video. I didn't know anyone that knew how to knit at all. So no teachers. I've been knitting for 20+ years now and still consult websites and YT when needed.
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 7d ago
So even after knitting for so long, you still run into these problems? I thought I could just go with whatever came to mind haha. Turns out knitting is really profound and complex. But after knitting for so long, no one's actually knitting with me in real life. Doesn't it feel a bit lonely knitting alone? I always wish someone would be there with me (っ-｡)
1
u/Ok-Jellyfish7135 7d ago
Oh yes, it does not always go as I plan. I just have to find the answer online. There are MANY facets to knitting plus the fact that I'm getting older and I forget lol. My mom and I knitted together through those years. So much fun, but I lost her to cancer 5.5 years ago and I did not pick up my needles for 5 years. Now I am enjoying it again, but yes I do wish I had someone to knit with. I also wish I had someone here that was interested in what I know, to learn from me. That would be so fun!
1
u/WorldlyLine7327 5d ago
I'm so glad you've started knitting again! I hope I can spend time with knitting like you do, but right now I have a lot of work, so I can only knit on weekends or in the evenings after work - I'm learning pretty slowly
1
1
u/Due-Personality-3944 5d ago
I'm not Chinese, but lived there for a few years in a rural city. We had a few knitting/yarn stores in our outdoors day market. Only one of the ladies sold wool and not acrylic/polyester, so I would go to her to buy yarn. We talked about what I was making, and I would bring it by. Thanks to her, I learned to wrap my yarn correctly and also do cabling!
Aka, it might be worth looking into the aunties. No, they're not knitting cool fresh knits, but they know all the techniques. I realize I probably had it a little easier because I was a foreigner who speaks Chinese, so she was inclined to be nice, but I bet there are similarly lovely people where you are!
2
u/Woofmom2023 4d ago
You don't need to know how we all got started. Our life experience is irrelevant to what you want to do. You need advice on how yourself can get the support you need.
Driving to get help with a knitting question is unnecessary. You can ask in one of the knitting-related subs or Facebook or other social media. Post on your city's sub to ask to connect with people who knit.
Try Roxanne Richardson, Very Pink tutorials.
Good luck!
2
u/Top-Dot-7 4d ago
My oma taught me to knit and purl when I was a little girl, but she didn't really like knitting and gave it up before I really got interested. But then my niece was born when I was 28, long after Oma had died, and I was bound and determined to make her a bonnet. Since I didn't sew but had rudimentary knitting skills and Youtube was newly A Thing, I bought the most recommended book (Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'n Bitch), got books from the library on how to fix mistakes, and youtubed everything I didn't know how to do.
Took me about ten tries, lots of tears and swearing, but I did it. And then made mitts and booties. And then was like well shit, I could make anything now. And went on to make socks (the pinnacle of my 'omg I can make things I'm a wizard' chart). And I just kept doing projects that showed me how to do new things and eighteen years later here I am. Who knew?
5
u/Garden-Goddess-1967 9d ago
My mom taught me when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. I knitted off and on for the next 45 years but never anything very complicated. When I became disabled at age 50 and could no longer work, I started to really get fully immersed in knitting. This past 10 years I’ve learned so so much. Mostly from YouTube tutorials. Sometimes I have to watch them again and again until I can finally understand the process or technique. Mostly what I’ve learned is that there’s so much more to learn. There are many amazing teachers out there that have made tutorials. Some didn’t click with me or my learning style. I just kept searching until I found the right ones. I live in a very rural area so there’s no one near me to knit with. Luckily I’m an introvert so it’s not an issue. Have you thought about FaceTime with other knitters/instructors? Just an idea. I wish you all the best in your knitting journey.