Newbie to needles!

[MiLady]

Hello All,

I've been an avid crocheter since my first year of university in 2010 and I've managed to mostly self teach to an intermediate/ advanced standard. I always said I wasn't interested in knitting and never bought any of the tools, well, today that all changed. I became the owner of a large quantity of vintage knitting needles and patterns. I am already a member of ravelry and as a child I did dabble in a bit of knit/perl. I was just wondering where to begin...

Can anyone reccommend me a nice pattern to get started with that isn't too complicated, will get me to try new techniques but isn't so huge that I become disheartened and give up entirely? It seems a shame to let this equipment go to waste just out of my own stubborn ignorance!

Any other tips or hints or stories of other people's starting points are entirely welcome, I need all the help I can get. Anything reguarding terminology or stores or yarn, just for reference I live in the UK.

Many Thanks

MiLady

[soozeq]

Rather than learning on a project, start with a sampler. The videos at knitting help are very good - http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/learn-to-knit - you can learn to cast on, the knit and purl stitches, increases and decreases and how to cast off/bind off when you're done. Go to the tips page and look at Demo of a Small project to learn how to put together the cast on, knit and purl and cast off. So practice the cast on with about 20 -24 stitches, and the knit stitch first, then add a purl row and alternate knit and purl rows for a while; then find ribbing and seed st on the Tips page as well. Those are alternating knit and purl sts on the same row. And you can try out the various increases and decreases to see how they look.

[peachessunshine]

I agree with soozeq. Samplers are an awesome way of learning new techniques/improving skills, and are really cool when finished.

[dawn0684]

I'm currently teaching one of my friends to knit and I had her start off with a simple K2,P2 scarf.. I like scarfs as starter projects because you get a hang of the tension. And they knit up pretty quick depending on the needle size you use.

[mrsflibble]

I second the comments about samplers.
my mum still has a cushion she made when I was little which has all sorts of different squares of knitted cables. it's lovely.

[hooksforfeet]

I love the idea of samplers! You could do a bunch of squares in different colours, practicing a new technique on each. Then when you're done you could throw them together into an afghan or throw.

When I teach people, I always get them started with dish clothes. They knit quickly so they're satisfying, and you really can't make too many.

[pops]

hi there milady! i could have written your post myself - as a uk crocheter for a few years who has just picked up a pair of needles and started (spookily i once had a warcraft character called milady too! )

love the sampler idea, thanks for the OP, saved me a job!

[yarnynerd]

When I started knitting I made the usual scarfs and such but then when I decided to learn new stitches such as cables I made samplers but I made 2 of each in bright colors and sewed them into bean bags.

[kimadagem]

Well, you don't sound "stubborn" and "ignorant" to me. You knew enough to ask here, and besides, you sound open to trying new things, which is a great way to be.

Samplers are good and I like scarves because you can vary the length; if you need to keep practicing the stitch to get it right you can just keep going. But another idea is to just make different squares and then sew them together into a blanket or afghan. They don't have to be all the same size, and in fact they don't even all have to be squares; you could use rectangles too. I've actually seen crochet books that taught stitches that way, but I don't see why knitting stitches couldn't be learned the same way. And if you make pieces that just can't be connected to anything else, maybe because they're an odd shape, you can always use them as potholders or coasters (is that what "tea cosies" are? Sorry, I'm in the US . )

And if all else fails, and you decide you just hate knitting, you can always try selling those supplies or donating them. Things like that sell fast at thrift shops here and charities that teach crafts to underprivileged or challenged people really appreciate those kinds of donations.

Meg

[MiLady]

I'm still persevering thanks for all your advice, I'm now comfortable with casting on, knit stitch (garter?), moss stitch and purl (stocking?), I have a book with flowers and leaves to knit/crochet and I wanted to try out some of them, but alot of the patterns call for dpns, which I have, but I can't find any clear instructions on how to use them once you've casted on and distributed stitches between needles, anyone got any links to good tutorials or can reccommend any books which might help? Most of the books I have looked in have only provided a page or two on dpns and circular needles and haven't been very clear. Equally I've tried a few google searches but to no avail?